&: To New York City and Beyond

So rather than take an eight hour flight to England (or rather, a ten hour flight to Reykjavik followed by a three hour flight to Heathrow, as direct flights are prohibitively expensive), I decided that Kiddo and I would fly to New York City and then take the Queen Mary 2, a luxury cruise liner, across the Atlantic to Southampton. Since November is the off season, the cost of the plane tickets to LaGuardia plus the cruise ship tickets was actually cheaper than plane tickets to Heathrow.

We spent a few days in New York before boarding the QM2. Words can't describe how happy I was to be back in my former home city. Though the island is slightly more difficult to navigate with a clunky stroller -- unless you spring for cabs, like I did -- the city remains mostly the way I remember it. I miss its restaurants, its museums, its bookshops, its cafés. I miss being able to get whatever food I want at any time of day or night. I miss being able to walk everywhere. I miss anonymity and being able to lose myself in the city for hours. There's really nothing like living in New York, and it's an experience I'm grateful to have had during my early twenties.

Over two days, I caught up with a ton of old friends, took Kiddo to several of my favorite haunts, and gave her plenty of time to run around Central Park and its playgrounds. She absolutely loved seeing so many new sights and people. I may also have spoiled her with scones for breakfast and a giant chocolate chip cookie from Alice's Tea Cup. I paid for it later when she stayed on a sugar high for hours.

I so wish we could have spent more time there but J/Daddy and England await. J left Denver on October 31st so he could start his new job. Crazy that we haven't seen him in three weeks -- I don't think we've ever been apart for such a long time since we got married. Kiddo keeps saying, "Daddy on plane." We miss him and are excited to see him as soon as we get off the boat in a few hours.