Breakfast

We started the day with leftover sandwiches from the previous evening and coffee we made using the machine in our room.

5th Avenue

On 175 5th avenue stands one of the most iconic skycrapers from NYC: the Flatiron Building. Its triangular shape makes it one of the most unique buildings in the city.

Chairman Bao

On the lower eastside you'll find a unique little dingy place called Baohaus. It is squished between nailbars and other food joints. It's most famous dish is the Chairman Bao; a savoury pork belly in an cut open Baozi.

After the Asian entree (yes in the US they call the main course entrée) we went to Chinatown and from there t o Little Italy. We had the feeling walking from the Chinese side into Little Italy that the Asian stores are already moving in on Italian property and that really from the Italian neighbourhood only the restaurants live on. While China town is bustling with a live Chinese culture from food stores, to elders relaxing in the park Little Italy is mostly full of tourists looking for famous Pizzerias. Since we are tourist we went and had some canoly from the Canoly King :)

American Museum of Natural History

On the opposite side of the central park from The Met sits the AMNH. It has a space section with a planetarium, all kinds of stuffed animals in their natural habitats, and of course dinosaurs.

One of the many entrances is located right on the subway station. Unfortunately for groups they have to use a different entrance as some experience while we were staying in line to exchange our CityPass vouchers for actual tickets. With the CityPass you also get either a planetarium show or a 3d movie for free. We decided to watch the "Dark Universe" movie in the planetarium narrated by none other than Neil deGrasse Tyson.
As with many attractions which is suitable for school children (you're not the only one to find Dinosaurs exciting) you should get there pretty early as there is much to explore.

FYI the shark mosaic that you see at the top of the post can be found in the subway station of the museum.

Xi'An Famous food

After our educational appetite was satisfied we needed to sate our more mundane stomach. As the plane was to visit the Empire State building afterwards we decided on the Xi'An Famous Food on 34th and 5th street. It offer many spicy and delicious dishes all of which are chosen from a menu that hangs on the wall when you enter. The place has two levels but on the second you have to get your food by yourself when your name is called. We settled on the 2nd floor which was quite empty as the place closed right after we finished our dishes. Beware when I say spicy I mean dragon breath spicy, at least when it is marked as hot.

Empire State Building

The night view of from the Empire state building is great but be ready to stand in line as you are not the only one with the great idea to watch New York by night from the tower that King Kong once climbed on. On the middle of the picture you see a broader king of building. That is the Top of the Rock which we were standing on a couple days earlier. It looks pretty small in comparison but is still a great place to go.