We are now in Germany after spending four days in New York City and three days with my uncle and aunt in New Jersey. All in all, we had a great time.

Let me just say and NYC is a magical place at Christmas time! Our first afternoon was spent walking around Central Park; stopping to observe the ice skaters winding their way around the outdoor rink and waving at the passengers in the horsedrawn carriages rolling by of course. We had gorgeous weather that day. The sun was shining and it was relatively warm. As the sun was setting, we roamed through "the" shops--Tiffany's, FAO Schwarz, Saks Fifth Ave., Macy's etc. I oohed and aahed at the sparkling jewelry at Tiffany's, bought a colorful handmade lollipop at FAO Schwarz, tried on $250 hats at Saks and pushed buttons on the interactive window displays at Macy's. Everything was richly decorated for Christmas and music followed us wherever we went.

Later, we went to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and the lights. It was so crowded that we couldn't even get to the side where people were ice skating! It was wall to wall people and they weren't going anywhere! We had to approach the tree from the back side to get close to it, but we weren't able to see the ice skaters. We'll just have to return another time to ice skate there, I guess. The same night, we also visited the ever-bustling Times Square, went up in the Empire State Building and had dinner at the NYC Hard Rock Cafe.

Monday, we went to the Memorial at the WTC site and had a tour led by a retired fire fighter who responded to calls on 9/11 and a mother who lost her firefighter son when he was helping out during the tragedy. It was a very emotional tour and we felt a bit depresssed afterward. We spent the rest of the day inside a museum set up to commemorate that day and the people affected by it.

We saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway that night. We had amazing seats and it was an excellent show. The acting was wonderful, the singing superb and the special affects were incredible! We were sitting directly under the infamous chandelier and it seemed as if it would hit on our heads when it fell from the ceiling.

"Culture" is definitely a part of NYC and thus, it was a part of our trip too. We went to the Guggenheim and The Met as well as a showing for an auction that our friend Brook Hazelton had organized. The day ended with dinner at a French restaurant--how's that for culture!

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were also great. It was raining so it made me think of the very day the statue was unveiled in NYC in October 1886 when thousands stood in the rain to get a glimpse of Lady Liberty. The true disappointment perhaps was the fact that no one can climb to the top of her crown anymore since she is considered a terrorist target. The Ellis Island museum was truly incredible and it was amazing to read and hear the testimonies of all the people who passed through there. Wow! Olli and I both had tears in our eyes at certain moments.

For me, a highlight of our stay with my uncle and aunt in NJ was a visit to my Yiayia and Popou's old house near the coast. It brought back a flood of fond childhood memories of days spent with my family at the seaside.

Spending time with our German family has been great so far. We have a week from today to continue to enjoy their company and be at one of our "homes" before we return to Geneva. I can't believe our long trip is almost over! In the meantime, Frohe Weihnachten (Merry Christmas)!