We decided to go explore Chinatown. We got up, ate breakfast, did chores, packed snacks, then were on our way! We had to make 2 different subway transfers to get there, but both of those stations, along with our ending station at Canal St. were handicapped stations so we had access to elevators. I MUCH prefer using elevators to carrying my large stroller up and down the stairs!
We walked several blocks down Canal street after exiting the subway station. Maybe 1 store in 10 was a souvenir-type shop...the other 9 were jewelry stores. It was all gold and diamond-type stuff too...I wonder who is buying all that right now?
We finally turned off on a side street. We were in search of a restaurant for lunch, but first stopped to explore some markets. This one had all sorts of interesting dried things in bins out front...dried fish, eels, shrimp, many varieties of mushrooms, and things so different from our usual grocery items that we couldn't even figure out what they were. Of course, the signs weren't much help to us!
Here the boys check out some dried fish, shrimp, etc.
I asked Jordan if he would eat some if I bought it. He declined.
Here is another market with cooked chickens, still complete with heads and legs, hanging in the window.
Tanks of crabs, shrimp, and lobster visible from the sidewalk. The boys loved these!
Jordan and Joey wanted to ride these 2 rides in front of a newsstand...
After reading many menus (they're often posted in the windows) containing predominantly items like cow stomach and pig intestines, we finally found a restaurant with a more palatable-sounding menu and stopped to eat. And no, it wasn't McDonald's, although we did walk past one and at least some of the boys wanted to eat there. I told them that we weren't going to spend the day exploring Chinatown and not eat Chinese food!
Jonathan pouring himself a cup of hot tea...
Joey perusing the menu. After all, he knows Chinese at least as well as I do.
Joshua playing with his new knock-off Rubik's Cube while we wait for lunch. Jon spotted these at a little store of trinkets and has wanted one for a while. At 2 for $3, I decided to indulge them.
Jordan sampling the soup that came with our lunch. He liked it. The boys are all pretty adventurous eaters.
Joshua and Jonathan also liked the soup...Joey not so much! We ordered some crab and pork "juicy buns" that were basically steamed dumplings. They were supposedly a specialty of this restaurant, and were very tasty. We also ordered a curry dish, a beef with mushrooms dish, and our standby sesame chicken, just in case the boys didn't like the others. Oh, and of course rice. It ended up being a TON of food, and was very reasonably priced at $5 or so each entree, which also included soup and rice. We ended up taking home enough food for several of us to have it for dinner as well.
Joey loves sesame chicken!
After eating, we wandered a bit more until we found a playground. The boys made friends quickly and played on the slides.
Joey climbing on the playscape...
Jon and Josh on the slides...
Josiah got to swing for the very first time. I love his smug expression here.
He looks so tiny tucked into the swing!
Big grins! Mommy, this is sooooo fun!
Getting a push from big brother Jonathan...
Joey watching the "big kids" playing basketball on the courts next to the playscape. I think he wanted to play, too.
The older 2 got tired of playing and sat down to work on their cubes.
Jeremy was near the area and called us to see if we wanted a ride home. He picked us up shortly thereafter and we headed towards home, or so we thought! We still don't have the directions down around here, and downtown doesn't follow the same grid system as midtown/uptown, so we ended up accidently crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn instead of heading back west. One of these days we'll get our bearings!
I took pictures from the passenger seat while Jeremy drove. Here is a shot towards midtown from the Manhattan Bridge.
I thought all this tagging was interesting. Jeremy and I wonder exactly how folks get up that high to paint all that.
I'm assuming this says "Popeyes" in Chinese. Just in case you wanted to know.
This is a major street in downtown NYC, and made me feel somehow connected back with my Texas roots, until we learned that it is actually pronounced HOW-ston Street. Sorry, but that's just wrong. Maybe I'll just continue to call it HYOO-ston Street anyway. Just to be contrary. I'm like that sometimes.
We finally made it back home, and Joshua, Jonathan, and I headed out again. One of the boys' friends from church was having a cello recital, and we were invited to attend. It was a nice evening! Jeremy took the younger 3 for some special daddy time. We all had a very busy, but very enjoyable day!
6 comments:
I miss the parks in NYC. They were always such a good place to bide time. Now we can't walk anywhere.
My favorite restaurant in Chinatown is a Viet. restaurant. Mmm...I can taste that yummy pork now...
Fun and interesting looking field trip! I'm not sure I could get my boys to eat chicken again if they saw hanging in that state. I DO NOT have adventurous eaters. Funny about all that dried fish stuff, what do you do with that? Petrified tuna melts maybe?? It looks pretty darn cold there by the looks of the boys' coats!
Looks like everyone enjoyed eating Chinese food. It is so good to have kiddos who will eat anything, especially since their Mom likes such a variety. I guess you are officially into cooler weather. It is still in the high eighties. Wish we were there to enjoy the temp.
Looks like you guys had a blast!
We've visited Chinatown, but not that far in. The smell got us! Glad the boys enjoyed it. We miss you and really appreciate all the pics.
I can't even believe how much I LOVE your blog. You are TOO hilarious Jenny. All your commenting: "After all, he knows Chinese at least as well as I do." and "I'm like that sometimes." I wish we had been able to hang out more when you were down here in TX. Maybe we'll drive up to see you on one of our trips to Syracuse. We've never seen the Statue of Liberty
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