New York: Day 2

We got up Thursday morning and walked through the rain to Uniqlo, where we took a quick shopping break before heading to Bryant Park/the New York Public Library. Going to the library was really fun for me. I had never been before and if I was there without kids, I probably would have spent much longer exploring it.

By the time we finished up at the library, we were getting hungry for lunch so we grabbed some sandwiches to go and ate them on the train to Long Island City, where Yosuke and Manami live.

We had a pretty long walk from the train station to their apartment. Their apartment was packed with both sets of their parents, Manami's friend from Japan with her two children, and Yusaku and Yosuke's two cousins from Japan. Everyone was working hard to put together the favors for the wedding - homemade macarons.  We visited for a little bit and enjoyed the view (see pic below) before heading to nearby Roosevelt Island.

The history of Roosevelt Island is pretty interesting. The dilapidated building in the picture below is what remains of a smallpox hospital from the mid-1800s.

We also got to ride in this cool tram that crosses the East River when we were ready to get off the island. Pretty neat!

We also managed to squeeze in another trip to Brooklyn before the day was over. I had read about Mast Brothers Chocolate Factory and wanted to check it out. I must admit it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was much less sweet/more bitter than the chocolate I'm used to eating.  :)

We finished off the Brooklyn experience with hot dogs for dinner at Crif Dogs.