New York, New York, The City So Nice, They Named It Twice

Today we went down to the city.  We walked from the hotel to the train station.  There started the observations/people watching.  We were sitting waiting for our train and a guy loudly tells the woman next to him "I'm waiting for my friend, he's coming from Grand Central...." and he goes on.  She ignores him and scoots over. He then makes eye contact with me and repeats himself. I am thinking to myself, do I look away now and take that womans lead, respond to him, what should I do? What do I know? I am not from here. So, like a true southerner I smiled and said "that's nice".  Then he got Dave's attention and he went on to tell us about his birthday and where he grew up.  He then gave us a map and told us that he did not have any snacks for the girls but he can show us on the map how to get to the American Girl store because he thinks they will like that.  He circled on the map where we should go. Interesting. Nice guy.
We then got off the train at Grand Central Station and caught the subway to Times Square.  When we came up from underground and saw the city for the first time, it was breathtaking.  So much noise, so many people, cars, concrete, buildings, signs. I have never been before so this was a new experience for me. I wanted to take it all in.  We stayed in that vacinity for the day. We hit Toys R Us first. That place was 3 stories high with a huge ferris wheel in the middle. Of course, the girls had to ride that.  There are several departments...Barbie, Lego's, Baby, Rocks, Candy Land, Wonka, Games, etc.  We were in sensory overload there. We moved on to Planet Hollywood and had lunch.  Stuffed, we got back on the streets and went down to the m&m store.  This is where I learned a life lesson. Nothing is free.  I did not know why but there were Elmo's on every corner, sometimes accompanied by a Minnie Mouse.  I thought, oh, that's cute.  I told Maggie "go stand there and take a picture". So she did. Next thing I know they are coming after me with these stockings shaking them in my face.  I stumbled through my backpack for a dollar for each, Elmo and Minnie. I was afraid what would happen if I did not pay them.  I did not want Elmo to get violent on me. LOL. Dave knows better than to make these rookie mistakes. He tries to hurry us up through the train station, as to not sit and watch Michael Jackson sing and dance or some other street performers. If you watch them, or take pictures, they expect to get paid and might get mad if you don't.  Don't take flyers from people or slips of paper. There are a lot of people doing that.  He knows all of this. I'll learn.  Knowing which train and which subway to get on can be tricky, but eveyone around us was really helpful. Everyone is in a hurry and busy, but we have had nice interactions with people.
We made it back home safely.  The girls said this was their "funnest" day yet while living here.  Both mine and Dave's eyes burn tonight. Could it be the pollution or just our imaginations?
Tomorrow we are going to a co-worker's house for dinner and to let the kids play!! Yay, I am so glad the kids get to play with new friends. They happen to be boys, which my girls don't mind one bit!