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NYC - Day 1

We arrived in Manhattan this afternoon and could not wait to walk around - the weather was gorgeous, albeit a bit chilly. Our hotel is right on the corner of Chinatown and Little Italy, so we started there. 
The Chinese markets were fascinating, although Will and Madison did not appreciate the smells emanating from the fish and mushrooms...
As we turned the corner, the cafés - and even the fire hydrants - let us know we had left Chinatown. Little Italy was like, well, a little piece of Italy right here in the US.

Little Italy was certainly in the Holiday spirit - lots of Christmas decor filled the streets.
As we were leaving Little Italy, several fire trucks arrived...not sure what was going on, but even they were festive!
On our way to dinner, we saw some incredible street art...
We stumbled upon Lafayette Street - where Madison had to rap a little Guns and Ships, naturally...
We also saw an adorable pup patiently waiting for its human who was getting coffee...
And some other cool moments that caught my eye
We also happened upon Grace Church. It is a gorgeous Episcopalian Church that opened in 1846. It is apparently known for its stained glass, but it was already dark by the time we arrived, so we could not really see it that well.
We were pleasantly surprised to see a little Christmas market at Union Square. It's not Germany, but...
We finally arrived at our desired dinner destination - Eataly. The market inside Eataly (on 5th Avenue) offered some lovely photo opportunities, as well as a delicious dinner.
Before we headed back to the hotel, I snapped a few pics of NYC at night.
Tomorrow we experience the reason we came here - the Hamilton walking tour! I will post pictures from that adventure later!
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