Two things to see this weekend

It has been 14 years since New Yorkers and visitors have been able to gaze upon the whole city from a skyscraper in lower Manhattan, but Friday changes that with the opening of One World Observatory inside One World Trade Center. Besides panoramic views from one of the tallest buildings in the world, visitors will experience cutting-edge technology like gesture-recognition interactives and real-time videos of NYC in the floor.The elevator ride to the top (100th floor) takes 47 seconds.

As a bonus for NYC dwellers and visitors, Friday also is a Manhattanhenge date. The sunset will line up perfectly with Midtown Manhattan's street grid Friday and Saturday.This is how it looked last year.

Memorial Day - Birthdays - Free Cone Day

You know summer's arrived in New York when Haagen Dasz has Free Cone Day

Dateline: Baltimore

This weekend we were invited to a wedding of one of Paul's co-workers, in the state of Maryland. The venue was a farm where the bride grew up, in Montgomery County in the state's northwest. Weeks ago, before anyone ever heard of Freddy Gray, we booked train tickets and a hotel room in Baltimore, about 45 minutes drive to the east. So despite the curfew and the slight risk of getting caught up in some kind of unrest, we went ahead and stayed there. It was surreal seeing the National Guard on every corner and everything shutting down at 10 pm, but it seems like a nice city with plenty to do for tourists traveling with or without children. We stayed in a very nice Four Seasons hotel right on the Harbor.

TRIVIA QUESTION: the American flag flying on the top of this hill overlooking Baltimore Harbor (now called Federal Hill) is extremly symbolic. Why? [answer at bottom]. While we were at the wedding, Xavi was being babysat at one of the bride's relatives' farm nearby and he had a lot of fun

On Sunday, we visited The National Aquarium (in Baltimore) which was really excellent. In fact they have an Australian exhibit, which was quite realistic.

ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION: Francis Scott Key was looking on to a flag in this location from his hotel room, during a battle on Baltimore Harbor between the British and Americans, when he wrote the words to the Star Spangled Banner.