New York City

We came to NYC to visit my aunt Helena's family, her son, and other relatives. We attempted to get to Time Square on the evening of New Year's Eve but the area was totally blocked off by several layers of barricades. With extremely cold weather (it was the coldest in 50 years in New York City) I had to borrow all kinds of clothing from my uncle, even shoes that can handle the slushy streets. The next few days Neil and I took the subway to roam around the city's sights, which I haven't been for nearly 20 years. We watched the opera Turandot by the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center, it was quite an elegant experiece. Our relatives took us to the Wave Hill gardens just down the street, this is an elegant former estate once hosted Franklin Roosevelt for a few months. Even though it was bitterly cold, we could appreciate the elegant buildings, landscaping and the wonderful views of Hudson river. On the Sunday we had a family gathering of eleven people, where we showed off our family travel book (of the Mediterranean cruise trip of 2009), and my now famous climbing DVD of North Palisade peak in California.