New York: Central Park

Oh, Central Park is beautiful-- I imagine that it's most beautiful now (in the spring) and in the fall. So, naturally, we spent lots of time there. Here's a few of our Central Park Highlights:

Balto Statue:

I'm not sure why a statue honoring the hero dog Balto is in Central Park and not Alaska, but nonetheless we stopped to say hi.

Belvedere Castle:

We stumbled upon this one drizzly morning on our way across the park to the Met. It is so whimsical and has several look out points where you can capture beautiful views of the park, city, and reservoir to the north. FYI- it's also a weather station, so it confirmed what we felt-- that is was windy and chilly.

Bethesda Fountain and Terrace:

This statue references the gospel of John, which describes an angel blessing the Pool of Bethesda and giving it healing powers. The water wasn't turned on yet (which seemed common through out the city), but it was still beautiful.

My sister-in-law called it the fountain from Enchanted. Can you believe I still haven't seen that movie yet?

Central Park Zoo:

I must still be a little kid at heart because I was really excited to visit the animals.

The zoo itself is small, but has some really great exhibits-- especially the sea lion one! We stopped by a few times to get up close and personal with them. The aviary is also pretty awesome. I fell in love with the Scarlet Ibis.

Lake:

We originally wanted to rent bikes and pedal around the park, but by the time we got to the rental house they were closing; so we settled for rowing around the lake.

In hind site, it was probably a better choice anyway because our legs needed a rest and rowing was super relaxing and romantic. It was definitely a high light of our trip.

Shakespeare Garden:

So charming and quaint. We found this little gem on the same morning we found Belvedere Castle. There were tulips in bloom everywhere we looked.

We would have stayed longer if we weren't in urgent need of a bathroom. lol

The park was absolutely lovely this time of year-- cherry blossoms and tulips on every corner! Sometimes we'd cut through the park just because we wanted another chance to take in it's beauty.

(PS-- Look who joined us! We miss you Brooke.)