Cold Hump Day! Brrrrrrrr! Wow did the temps drop here on Long Island. Last night it dipped down to 25 degrees and as of this morning when I took the girls to school, it was 20 degrees! Winter is certainly making it's debut early!  New York Botanical Garden "Holiday Train Show" (courtesy mycityway.com) I'm happy to say I'm feeling better today. I took a quick run over to the doctor last night just to put my mind at ease and got a clean bill of health on my head. Now I just need to give it a few days for the pain to completely go away. Welcome to Where to Go Wednesdays! As we get closer to the start of the Christmas season, let's take a look at one annual tradition at the New York Botanical Gardens (NYBG) in the Bronx, New York...The Holiday Train Show. For the past 23 years, the Holiday Train Show has been one of the premier holiday events at the NYBG with its adorable model trains whizzing along an enchanting miniature world in the Haupt Conservatory. There are more than 150 iconic buildings as well as G-scale trains zipping past famous New York sights including the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center and the Brooklyn Bridge! This year, we will have a cousins caravan heading to the Bronx on the day before Thanksgiving so experience this celebrated New York tradition. Our group will include me and my girls, Tanya and her kiddies and my two nephews, Nolan and Julian. Planning Your Visit to the NYBG & Holiday Train Show... I strongly suggest you plan a visit this holiday season. The Holiday Train show runs from November 15 - January 19 and tickets have been going fast. 2014 will mark the 23rd year for this festive happening. There is a special Artist's Studio, which shows how artist Paul Busse and his team, create the world of miniature trains and landmarks, which gives insight into just how much goes into bringing the Holiday Train Show to life! When you plan your visit, you may be interested to know that there are two dining options at the Garden. * The Pine Tree Cafe (new) The family friendly menu includes panini, pizza and salads. * Garden Cafe Casual seasonal menu For menu options, check the website. NYBG Background... The New York Botanical Garden is a designated as a national landmark. It spans some 250 acres (100 ha) of Bronx Park. The Garden was established on April 28, 1891 on part of the grounds of the Lorillard Estate, formerly owned by the tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard and a parcel that was formerly the easternmost portion of the campus of St. John's College, which is now Fordham University (Elisa's Alma Mater!!!) The Garden contains 50 different gardens and plant collections containing oaks, American beeches, cherry birch, tulip and white ash trees - some more than two hundred years old. It is also home to the Pfizer Plant Research Laboratory. The facility offers exhibitions and flower shows throughout the year and is visited by over 900,000 visitors annually. For Your Reference... New York Botanical Garden 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY 10458 www.nybg.org Holiday Train Show Information NYBG Dining Options  Kelsey at Swim Tryouts  Tonight is Kelsey's first swim practice. She tried out and made the team on Saturday. I was so very proud of her doing lap after lap across the pool! After seeing her sister have so much fun and make some new friends, Gianna has advised me that she wants to join the swim team as well! I couldn't be happier. We have a follow up appointment with the back specialist today to read Gianna's x-rays. We'll see what she says about the timing for Gianna swimming. Here's to a great day!! See ya back here tomorrow. Don't forget to read all about Tanya's 5th day in Iceland --------->>>>>>>>>>>>>> -E  | Wrong TurnsWow, how time flies when you're having fun! Here I am sitting at Cafe Babalu, located right down the street from Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavik. We're enjoying a lovely find of Vegan Carrot Cake at this quaint and quirky little eatery.  Vegan Carrot Cake from Cafe Babalu, Reykjavik, Iceland Then all of a sudden I realized what time it is and that I have to get my daily posted! Next comes a quick text to Elisa for her assistance! I'll email her and she'll insert my text and the one picture. Whew! So today we had a late start on the day (read more about this below). I decided that we'd skip going to the Grotto Lighthouse, and only go to the National Museum of Iceland, along with getting some shopping out of the way. Ahhh such a tough decision! LOL  We strolled up and down the Main Street in the City Center, bopping in and out of stores, while making our way to the museum. When it so happened that I led us to the wrong museum! Ugh. Why didn't I look at the map??? So instead we postponed it to Saturday, and went for Bretzels, which Cosette was looking very forward to having..  Munching on Bretzels! I'll tell ya, they were just okay. They definitely didn't even come within range of the Best Bretzel I've ever had - which was from Honfleur, France! I seriously dream of that Bretzel!!!! Then back to shopping, and eventually finding our way here.  To update you on our Northern Lights experience...we were out last night from 7:30p until just before 2am and couldn't find them :( I'll be writing a full blog about this experience for you to get the full scoop! Stay tuned. Anyhow, it was quite exhausting (hence the late start today) and we're gonna try it again tomorrow night and I really hope to catch a glimpse of this Natural Wonder! Tomorrow will be a rather full day of fun! We're kicking off the day with a lovely morning Viking Horseback Ride! Then we'll go back into Old Town, head back to the Lake, feed the birds, and save some room and time for a yummy Cafe Latte and Dessert for C is for Cookie (which I will feature on Foodie Friday). Finally we'll head out on a second try to see these darn Northern Lights! Cross your fingers and toes!!!  Well, that'll do it for today, more tomorrow! We're having a wonderful vacation and just so you know I've added additional pictures to this post after our email had gone out for the day! Tootles from Iceland, -T |
