NYC ~ Part 4

Wednesday morning we were up early to get showers and finish packing.  We were downstairs in the lobby within an hour-ish.  Not too bad for 4 women, huh?  We left our luggage with the concierge and headed out to our final destinations before we had to leave the city.   Unfortunately for us, Mother Nature had decided to let a little liquid sunshine fall for the majority of the day.....

Do we look exhausted or what?

Hoods drawn and pant-legs rolled up, Kellye and I decided that we would start by taking the train to Chinatown and Little Italy.  We arrived in Chinatown and I can say that I felt very weird, very uncomfortable, very out of place.   We hadn't eatten breakfast and we were getting hungry, so we were trying to find something that would satisfy our hunger.  But walking by meat markets and fresh fish markets early in the morning is very unappetizing.  We made a turn down a different road and wah-lah...we're in Little Italy.  (I never realized that they were so close in proximity...literally just around the corner.)

Look closely at the right bottom side of this picture.  There is a pig hung upside down being flayed or whatever you do to them.  N.A.S.T.Y.  It was more than my stomach could handle at 10am. And then all the rotisserie foul hanging on display.  Gag. 

A photo to remind us where we started....

Yay Pepsi!  Matt said he would hate to have this guys route.

After wandering around Little Italy looking for a place to grab something for breakfast, we had decided that italians must not eat breakfast.  But lucky for us, at least we thought, a local asked what we were looking for and we told him breakfast.  He pointed us in the direction of Caffe Napoli, stating they had fabulous pastries.  We walked across the street and went inside.  It felt really good to be out of the cold rain.  The atmosphere and the staff were all wonderful.  However, when we received our menus, there wasn't anything breakfast or pastry on it!  So, we ordered off the lunch menu.....at 10:45am.  hahaha.  But hungry southern girls must eat regardless of what it is. 

Caffe Napoli

Our breakfast of  Chicken Parmigiana & Cheese Manicotti

After eating, we headed to the subway and took the train to Hearld Square.  I had three letters to Santa that I had to deliver to Macy's.  Before I left home, my nephew, Lucas, nieces, McKenzie & Alannah, all wrote letters to Santa.  I told them that I would take them to the big red Santa Mail box in Macy's for them.  As you all probably already know, Macy's Believe donated $1 for every letter that they received to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.  The mailbox was huge and it was filled...I literally had to shove the letters into the hole. 

Here I am with Lucas, McKenzie & Alannah's letter to Santa.

Now we were onto our next mission while inside Macy's:  Sitting on Santa's lap.  I don't care if I was 27 years old at the time, I was not going to miss my opportunity to see Santa at Macy's.  Everyone who goes to NYC during the holidays should do it.  It is a blast!  Santa's Workshop was located on like the 10th floor or something like that.  We took the escalator to the top, the ones closer to the top were the original wood escelators.  They were pretty sweet and made me wonder how many people they've carried over the years.....

Original Wood Escelators

Finally we made it like the 10th floor, if not higher, to the entrance of Santa's Workshop.  You walk through a train car into the Wonderland.  Immediately you feel as if you've stepped into the North Pole.  Inside was so awesome.  There were so many scenes to see.  Toys.  Elves.  Trains.  Snow.  Children.  As far as you could see.  Kellye and I wandered down the winding path until we came across the North Pole Village where we were greeted by a Elf who took us on a snowy path lined with snow tipped firs.  There was a little house we entered and there he was, in all of his jolliness, sitting on a big chair.  We had our photo made with Santa, and although he did not ask me what I wanted for Christmas, I told him anyway.  (I can't tell what it is, because it is our secret.)

Entrance to Santa's Wonderland

After Macy's we caught the train and went to Central Park.  We wanted to see the Gapstow Bridge and Kellye wanted to do some shopping on 5th Avenue.  We went through all the designer stores and department stores one last time.  Most of the stores were closed or were in the process of closing when we were on 5th Ave on Monday.  So it was interesting seeing everything in the day light as well.  

Gapstow Bridge.  It is so beautiful!

Harry Winston.  Umm, check out the pear-shaped diamond soliatre at the bottom.  That is exactly what I would love to have on my finger!  (ha!)  It is my dream ring, even before I saw it @ Harry's. 

Statue across from St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Angels w/ trumpets and the Tree @ The Roc.

By now, it was time to head back to the hotel to meet Debbie & Tammy.  We had to leave the city by 4pm in order to get to the airport on time.  It was almost 4:30p before we actually left.  We all piled into a Yellow Cab and were headed to LaGuardia in no time.  That was one cab ride I will never forget.  I was scared to death!  I've never been so happy to get out of that car at the airport a good hour later. 

I was at a different terminal than the other 3, so I had to get on the airport shuttle and to get to my terminal.  Then I had to check in and check my luggage and then th agent forgot to give me my boarding pass, so I had no clue what gate I was at, had to stand in line again to get my forgotten pass (that was laying beside her keyboard.) 

At this point I was on the verge of tears.  Mainly because I was so exhausted.  It had been a long day walking around in the rain and I had a headache.  All I wanted was to be sitting at home.  I would've paid anything to have just clicked my heels and been home.  haha

I had a fantastic trip with great friends.  I cannot wait to go back to NYC.  I would love to go back in the spring sometime. But for now, I am content being at home in the mountains of NC.

NYC ~ Part 3

Tuesday we were up and at'em early. We had to get downtown in time to go to the TKTS booth in Seaport before going to Arrojo Salon for hair appointments.

waiting for the train

We hoofed it down to the subway where we jumped on the southbound rail. We got off in Seaport (Pier 17) and went to a little diner for breakfast. It was a neat experience. But it was obvious that the NYC native waitress is not used to the slower pace of the southerners. I felt like I was rushed to make my breakfast selection. (When it comes to making decisions I’m horrible, just ask Matt. I change my mind way too much.) I ordered the omelet with hash browns. I believe it was a shock to Tammy and Debbie that they did not serve sweet tea. All they offered was unsweet iced tea, sugar is on the table if you want it. It was so funny to see Tammy’s face when the sweet waitress told her that it was not an option. The breakfast was absolutely delicious and the service was great as well…just a little rushed, but great nonetheless.

A "shot" of OJ comes with every meal....they literally mean a shot...

We wandered down to the TKTS booth, but they were not open yet and Kellye and Debbie really needed to get back up to midtown so that they could get to their hair appointments on time. So we hopped the train again up to Soho. Once arriving we quickly made the walk to the Arrojo Studio. If anyone watches What Not to Wear, you will be familiar with the hairstylist, Nick Arrojo, we were at his salon. After Kel & Deb were checked in, Tammy decided to get her hair cut as well, so the three of them suit up in their black robes and waited for their stylist to come get them.

Before leaving NC, I had decided that I wasn’t going to spend an ungodly amount of money on a haircut, so I did not make an appointment. I know that the experience and the chance to say you’ve had your hair cut in a celebrity salon is awesome. But I had to be realistic, Christmas was just a couple weeks away and I could use that money on a gift for someone else. To be quite honest, I was excited that I would be able to people watch….which is a favorite past time. I also was on the look out for Nick. I believe he walked past me at least 7 times during the hour or so I was waiting. And each time he passed he always smiled or winked and he even spoke to me at one point. Yeah, I’m cool. (I just know he was thinking, “this girl has serious damage to her hair, I wish I could get my hands on it.”)

Nick Arrojo....he's so dreamy.

Kellye's new cut!

An hour or so later, Kel and Tammy were finished with their new hair-dos, and we were waiting on Debbie to finish up. Debbie had decided to have color put on her hair as well, so Kellye and I chose to take advantage of this time to walk up the road a bit to The Creperie. The Creperie was featured on The Food Network’s Throw Down with Bobby Flay, and we knew we had to go check it out since we were so close. After walking a couple of blocks and with the assistance of a sweet little New Yorker, we arrived at the establishment. It was not exactly what I was imagining, size-wise that is, but we clamored on in and started studying the menu. They have a huge menu of all kinds of crepes you could possibly imagine. I finally settled on a Raspberry Puree and Banana crepe. Oh.My.Dear. It was delicious! It was the largest crepe I’ve ever seen! I’ve had crepes in my time, but they all have resembled a burrito, if you will. This crepe took up an entire paper plate, it was fancy place ya know. haha Kellye opted for a different crepe, but my memory is failing me as to what flavor it was. We got one to go for Debbie and Tammy, I believe it was an Apple Pie Crepe. We finished up and then headed back to the Arrojo Salon to wait on Debbie.

The Creperie -- They deliver until like 3am

Raspberry Puree & Banana Crepe....DELISH!

While waiting on Debbie, I proceeded to take a little siesta in the lobby. I was so exhausted. We were going nonstop and the 15 minutes of shuteye felt really good. Before I knew it, Debbie was done and we were ready to head out.

We went back down to Seaport to the TKTS booth and purchased tickets to see Hair! But since we had plenty of time to spare, we done some shopping at Pier 17. They had a pretty tree all lit up in white with red bows all over it. We had a good time wandering around. Kellye and I wandered down to the Pier and looked around. The view was beautiful! The Brooklyn Bridge was absolutely gorg all lit up against the dusky sky.

 Ship ported at the Pier.

The Brooklyn Bridge

View of Seaport from the Pier

An unexpected picture that Kellye took as I was sitting at the Pier taking it all in.

Debbie & Tammy had found a restaurant, RED, so we met them there for a quick bite to eat before heading back into the city to get ready for the show. We finished up then hit the train back uptown. We quickly changed clothes and then set out walking like beasts to get to the show on time.

When we purchased our tickets, we were told that the show started at 7:30pm. However, after we get to the Hair theater, we are told that the show started at 7:00pm. We were 30 minutes late!!!! I cannot tell you how embarrassed we were to walk in mid show. Oh my gosh, and of course our seats were in the middle of a row…so we had to disturb like everyone. Ugh. But we got settled in and enjoyed the show. Well, Kellye and I enjoyed the show. Debbie and Tammy were slightly offended and left about 15 minutes after we got there. I will say, that none of us really knew what the plot of Hair was until we got there. If you aren’t familiar with it either, its based in the 70s and it’s main thing is “Make Peace Not War” – who would’ve thought?!?! So there was a lot of alludes to sex drugs, and being happy with yourself. Very hippy-ish. Nothing wrong with that, whatever, like it or not, it was a part of our history. But it had a fantastic ending and overall I was impressed. Probably wouldn’t go back to see it, but enjoyed the experience. At the end of the show, allt he actors came out on stage and performed a reprise of “Let The Sunshine”. Kellye and I ended up on the stage with the entire cast singing and dancing to the song. It was phenomenal and I can now say that I, too, have sang and danced on Broadway! Too much fun! (Unfortuantely, I do not have any photos of the show b/c cameras were not allowed.)

After the show, Kellye called her mom to find out where they were and what they were doing. They had gone to the Empire State Building and looked around. Kellye and I were out doing our thing, having a good time. We wandered around Times Square and were going to go do a little blackmarket purse shopping. We stopped at a little shop in Times Square and Kel had pizza and I had coffee and a piece of NY Style Cheesecake. Although it was good, it was not what I expected. So I was slightly let down. Apparently in NY, their “plain” cheesecake does not have a graham cracker crust. As I am eating it, I taste lemon. I couldn’t figure out what it was….ended up that they actually use a type of thin sponge cake for the crust and it is soaked in lemon flavoring. Boo. But I did eat and it was good, I have had better though.

NY Style Cheesecake (I don't look impressed do I?)

NY Style Ham & Pineapple Pizza

So just as we were finishing up, Kellye gets a call from her mother. Debbie and Tammy basically begged us to walk back up to the room, get their shoes, and then bring them to them down at the Empire State Building. They were still in their dress clothes they had on for the show. So they were wearing heels. (If you remember from my previous post, the Empire State Building was like a ton.of.blocks. down from where we were staying = LONG WALK) Oh boy! It took a lot of persuading, but we finally went to the room (changed clothes…I was not wearing my heels all the way down there and let my feet hurt), and headed back out to rescue those two ladies.

As we were walking through Times Square, the black market purses and wallets were screaming my name. The vendors had them set up on sheets outside store fronts and stuff. I was excited b/c I could see what I had to work with and could get in and out really quickly. But we had to take the shoes to Tam & Deb. Kellye and I finally reach the two pitiful dears….we found them sitting at a bistro table on the sidewalk. Both were so happy to see us. We kept laughing at them b/c they were so funny looking. They literally were hobbling, even after they had their tennis shoes on, they still had on their dress outfits, obviously, then their bright white socks and shoes. Hysterical! Then it got even better b/c it started raining as we were walking back up. Kellye had an umbrella so she and I were under it. Tam & Deb didn’t have anything, so they had taken their scarves and wrapped them up around their hair and heads. I looked back at one point and busted out laughing at them. They looked like two little old Italian women stepping foot onto Ellis Island way back when.

BAHAHAHA!

Since it had started raining, by the time we got to Times Square where I had mentally picked out the purses and wallets that I wanted…..the vendors had packed everything back up. BOO!!! I was so sad. I was too scared to look in their bags and pick what I wanted b/c that allowed too much time for police to catch me. So I didn’t get to purchase anything on the black market. But that’s ok….it was probably in my best interest. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try to do it again at some point if ever given the opportunity! Haha

So back to the room to change into my pjs and crash for the night. We had a rushed day ahead of us on Wednesday and knew we needed to get our rest…….

NYC ~ Part 2

Monday morning we got up and going rather early. We had a laundry list of things we needed to accomplish during our short visit and we needed to utilize every waking moment – literally!

I will make note right here – “looking cute” in NYC is pretty much impossible when you are planning on walking several miles through mazes of concrete and brick. I had packed a couple pairs of cute shoes that I had hoped to wear, but after our first day I quickly realized that tennis shoes were the only mode of appropriate transportation while in the city.

We headed out North (at least I think it was North) towards Central Park. We were planning on having breakfast at a quaint little place called Alice’s Tea Cup. It was on East 64th Street so we had a good haul ahead of us, especially since we were staying on 49th.

Waiting for Debbie & Tammy to get cash from the ATM.

Park Avenue

Some cathedral along the way.

I noticed a huge difference in the “crowd” during our walk to Alice’s Tea Cup. Compared to Sunday, the crowd was so much different. Mainly b/c a lot of the crowd we dealt with on Sunday were tourists, Monday it was more the locals who were heading to work. The pace was a fast one that’s for sure.

We finally made it!

Finally we made it to Alice’s Tea Cup and apparently at the perfect time too. We hit a slow time at the bistro. Walking in, you see all these great tea cups and saucers, fairy wings with streamers and sparkling glitters and a bakery case overflowing with fresh baked scones, muffins and cupcakes. The atmosphere was comforting and inviting. We were seated at a seasoned wooden table. Each place setting was set with a tea cup, saucer, cutlery and napkin. What I liked most about it was that the tea cups and saucers didn’t match any of the other cups & saucers but the overall look was very cohesive. Alice’s was a wonderful place with a fabulous menu that offered over 140 different tea varieties. I’m not a huge tea fan, so I opted for Alice’s Hot Chocolate which had a dash of cayenne pepper. The other girls tried the tea. They all had a different flavor and they all smelled absolutely divine! Especially Tammy’s who had a passion fruit blend. We finished up our meal, and we began to notice that the tea house was starting to pick up on business. I sort of wished that I was little girl coming into the tea house. They get to wear fairy wings and have pixie dust sprinkled in their hair! It looked like too much fun! After a deliciously divine meal of waffles, omelets, and scones we were ready to take on the upper Eastside. As we were leaving, there were people standing at the door waiting to get in.

So quaint!

Alice's Wonderful Waffles....absolutely FANTASTIC!

However, due to the ridiculous number of photos I took on Sunday, I totally forgot to charge my camera battery. Not a good idea. Debbie and Tammy went their own way looking for excitement while Kellye and I ended up walking all.the.way.back to our hotel so that we could switch out camera batteries and get the extra memory card. It was a silly move on my part, but we couldn’t go the whole day w/o photographic documentation. On our way back we spotted the infamous L.O.V.E. sculpture. We had to get a photo, several actually.

I'm in love.....literally...

Kel and I spent a little time walking around Central Park, taking photographs and wandering around. I couldn’t believe how big Central Park was and the mass amount of rock that is throughout the Park. We saw the ice skating rink and entertained the idea of skating. But I decided that after last year’s attempt to skate in TN, it was in my best interest that I not spend the rest of my trip hobbling around with massive bruises on my knees. But we enjoyed watching others skate. We hiked up to the top of a massive cluster of rocks and sat there people watching while waiting on Debbie and Tammy to meet up with us.

Skyline from the park

These are things I noticed while we were waiting:

1) Squirrels are the size of a small goat.

2) Pigeons are the size of a small chicken

3) The NYPD drive funny little car/trucks that I called “Guidos”.

4) Toddlers who can barely walk ice skate better than I do.

5) The sax player probably makes more money that I do in a year from the tips he makes playing jazzy Christmas tunes in the park – there’s just something magical about it.

When we finally met up with Debbie and Tammy, we decided it was time to have a real NYC hotdog from a hotdog stand. (Matt told me before I left that I probably wouldn’t be able to get one b/c it would be cold and they didn't sell them in the winter. I told Matt he was crazy b/c Detectives Stabler and Benson get them all the time, even in winter on Law & Order SVU.) Umm, he couldn’t have been MORE wrong – meaning I WAS RIGHT! I chose to get a hot sausage with spicy mustard. My reaction was simply “SHUT YOUR FACE DOWN” this is the best I’ve ever had! It was absolutely delicious! Wow. 

After the yummy hotdog, we decided to take a horse-drawn carriage ride around the Park. We picked out the perfect carriage, horse and driver who we thought would give us the most for our money. Let me start by saying, the carriage drivers are serious; they all want you in their carriage. It doesn't matter who you chose, they all charge the same amount. Garrett was our driver. He gave us a fantastic tour of the Park and the massive building surrounding the park. I don’t remember everything by any means, other than celebrities & well-to-do-people pay a LOT of money to have an apartment in NYC.

Kellye & Me

Debbie, Kellye, me and Tammy

Then after some window shopping, walking around, we decided to walk even further up and see if we could find Serendipity. Oh we found it! It was much smaller than I had envisioned, but whatever. I stuck my head in the door and saw the most incredible cluster of knickknacks and people lining the walls that it was quite overwhelming. I made my way to the host, who told me that our wait would be very short, that he could have us seated by 4:30. (It was about 4:15 at the time.) We looked at all the fantastic souvenirs and even met the owner/author of cookbooks. He was a very eccentric man. He signed our cookbooks and we were ready to be seated. We ordered the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate (Kel & Tam had the peanut butter, I had the original.) They were H.U.G.E. We were sitting beside the table from the movie Serendipity – that John Kusack and Kate Beckensale sat enjoying their Frrrozen Hot Chocolate for two. Yeah it was that awesome. I touched it. The atmosphere was very eclectic and vibrant. Lots of bright colors.

Yeah we are so there!

Stephen Bruce (owner & author) with Kellye

The menu was HUGE!

Frrrozen Hot Chocolate  (that is how it is spelled on the menu, its not a typo)

It was so bright and cheery inside

"The Serendpity Table"  in the background behind us.  (I touched it...)

Then we hit 5th Avenue like it was our calling in life. Bloomingdales, Barneys, The Disney Store, Tiffany & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue, Juicy Couture, Anthropologie, Lord & Taylor, so on and so forth. F.A.O. Schwarz was closed. L but I saw it…that’s all that matters!

Candy Lady at Bloomies

F.A.O. Schwarz

Saks Fifth Avenue - light show synched with the Carol of the Bells

The Roc and Tree

Grand Central Station

By now it was getting to be after 9pm and we were working our way back down town toward Times Square. We then had the genius idea to go to the Empire State Building. Don’t get me wrong, its not a bad idea, but its not great knowing that we have to go approx 20 blocks down from Times Square to get to the ESB. Ugh. Finally, after what seemed like forever, we made it! We get our tickets, wind our way around the turnstiles and enter the elevator to the 80th floor. Then we are ushered out and get into another elevator that takes us to the 86th floor where we get out and are able to go out to the observation deck. It took everything in us to make it around the four corners of the building. It was so windy and frigid at the top. I felt as if the wind could probably pick me up that’s how hard it was blowing. It was also snowing up there as well. And these were not your average cute-little-fluffy-snowflake there were hard-balls-of-ice-the-size-of-a-large-marble-snowflake. Seriously. The view was breathtaking and so many lights! When we made it back to the door we came out of…we raced back inside so that our innards could thaw out.

Welcome to the Empire State Building

Going up!  My ears are popping at this point.

Our Stop.

oh.my.heavens.  it was so very cold at the top!

But the view was SO worth it!  WOW!

(The greenish area in the lower center is Bryant Park - home of Fashion Week.)

Two very LARGE snowflakes, these were falling everywhere at the top, yet nothing down on street level.

A view of the tip top.

One quick photo together before going inside to get warm.

Ah, the site of the Macy's Day Parade.  (we passed by on the way back to the hotel.)

Finally back on the ground, we go head back to the hotel. We were froze to our cores and excited about all we had seen and accomplished that day. We no longer got into the room and we were out like a light.

Good night Monday in NYC.