We went to the top of the Empire State Building this morning. Since 9/11 access to this building has changed dramatically. There are "bank lines" that wind through two floors before you even get on one of the two elevators you need to travel to reach the 86th floor observatory. Even with today's pollution haze, the view was spectacular! 
It's amazing what you can see from up here. It's also amazing what you "can't" see - I can no longer see the Twin Towers downtown. . . there is still a gaping hole where they used to be. 
But here I see the Flatiron Building! Isn't that where Spider Man (I mean Peter Parker) works? After this tour we walked a few blocks further uptown to Bryant Park and the New York Public Library. This park is a beautiful place to have lunch, or ride the carousel. It sits in the backyard of the New York Public Library (the main branch with the lions out front). I love all the little parks around town. They provide weary workers a place to relax and recharge.
We then spent some time in the library and marveled at the intricate woodwork in the Rose Reading Room (the one you see in movies). Did you know that most of the books are housed in stacks in 7 floors below ground? Once you know what you want, you tell them and they will get it/them and send them upstairs to you in the reading room. Very cool.
Later in the evening we had dinner at Sardis, the Italian restaurant where caricatures of celebrities wallpaper the walls.
We sat in the upstairs dining room because we weren't "somebodies." It doesn't matter. The food was fabulous and it was directly across the street from the Schubert Theater where we then saw SPAMALOT. Being Monty Python fans, this was a great way to spend the evening. Times Square has changed so much for the better since Rudi Guliani ran this city.
Chip and I love it here. Our dream is to move here when our boys leave home. Who knows? Maybe it will happen. We spend a lot of time on the subway. Hopefully your browser can support a Google video...come wait on the platform with us.