No Muppets In Manhatten

I was rudely woken at 6am local by a text from Sylvia, as I'd missed an appointment yesterday.

Sleep was broken from then until about 8am when we decided to get up. Had breakfast about 8.30am, discovered that 5th ave is only 7 blocks away!

Saw a mouse... a friend to share the apartment with.

Went outside... it was snow everywhere! And within minutes our feet were soaked from stepping in puddles that were a hell of a lot deeper than they seemed. :)

Decided we best get the bus since a 7 block walk with numerous puddles and Jia's Uggs would not be a pleasant experience.

So, hopping on the bus we discovered that 1 dollar notes were no good, we needed change or a Metro card, thankfully a nice woman who was getting on after us paid for us with her card and we gave her some notes. She then was very helpful in letting us know where to get off for our first proper day in NY - 5th Avenue!!!

Our first stop – FAO Schwarz, the biggest toy store I have ever been to! And I intend on returning before our trip is over! The ground floor is packed to the hilt with stuffed animals, a huge sweet shop, and the Make Your Own Muppet area! Something I didn't do today, but plan on doing before we leave if they get more Muppets in! Down in the basement floor are the pre-school toys, so we gave that a miss. On the maze that is the top floor lives the infamous Giant Piano, which again we didn't get around to, even though I spent 6 hours in the store, as well as a make your own Barbie and make your own doll sections. After an hour of looking around I discovered my favourite section by far - the “Make” area. We decided that Jia would go off shopping in the likes of Louis Vitton and Chanel while I got to work, and that we would meet 2 and a half hours later for lunch. Alas it was not to be, for when someone mentioned it was 4pm, I had well missed the 1.30pm deadline. :D So what kept me, well, they had a range of ceramic odds and ends, from plates, bowls and mugs, to picture frames, boxes and animals. What's so special about that? You get to paint them yourself, then have them glazed and fired and shipped on to you! I choose 6 pieces, a plate, a bowl, a mug, a duck savings box and two picture frames. Pictures will follow when they arrive sometime next week :D

Next stop for me – The Disney Store, 3 floors of the Magical Kingdom that is Disney. I spent the guts of an hour just looking around and picked up a few nice items. One shop assistant commented on how nice a bag I had, I was puzzled until I remembered it was a Tigger bag that I picked up in the Disney store in Birmingham late last year.

By then it was after 5pm, I was starving and tired, and my feet were soaking, so we headed off to the bus stop (I say headed off to, I mean wandered aimlessly for an hour before actually finding the stop), but the fun didn't end there, we got on the bus on the wrong side of the street and added an hour to our trip home!!!

But I digress, we got back in the end.

Not long after we arrived, the housekeeper came in to show some guys around the other room in our apartment, and we got to complain (but in a polite way :)) about the mouse, about the lack of internet and about the non working tv. She pointed out the computer in the room she had shown the boys and said we were welcome to use it, she would leave the door unlocked, just not to sleep in the beds. The tv in there works too, so we have pretty much all the hiccups sorted :D

And now, it is after 11pm local, after 4am at home, I am sleepy, and so I bid you a good night.