A Taste of the Big Apple

times square

9/16 & 9/17

We are here in New York City celebrating our 9 year anniversary. The place we are renting is a cute 1 bedroom apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan -which is more beautiful and more large than i pictured it in my head. It is located about 1 block from Central Park. The area is beautiful and the weather has been gorgeous. We are 1 block away from ABC studios so i went down there around 9:45 to see a few hundred people throw custard pies at each other outside. It was for Regis and Kelly and maybe some Guiness World Record thing. The street was a mess, but the air smelled like Custard. Mike didn't go with me because the handyman had to stop by and fix the toilet. After the first morning flush, it wouldn't stop swirling, so it took him about an hour to put a new part on it. At least it didn't overflow. The rest of the day we walked and walked and walked taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells of NYC until we were so tired we decided to use the subway. Our tourist stops were Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, of course a slice of pizza for lunch from La Beleca and dessert later that night at the famed Magnolia Bakery.

view from boat heading toward statue of liberty and looking back at the city

Luggage from 1500's inside building at Ellis Island

9/18

A morning walk through central park, It is only 2 blocks from our apartment, led us to the Museum of Biblical Art. It was 2 rooms filled with sketches from Biblical stories and old Bibles from the 1500's. We walked to the Museum of Modern Art and found out that on Fridays from 4-8 it is free, and since we like free we decided to come back. Next, we took the tour to Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center and it was such an amazing view to see the whole city skyline. Unfortunately we never made it back to MOMA because we met an old highschool friend of Mike's at Bryant park. She works at HBO. By this time, I had a growing headache. After chatting in the park for an hour or so, we rode the subway, grabbed a bite to eat at a local Chinese/Japanese restaurant on the Upper West Side. I felt so sick i couldn't finish the meal. We left early and by 8:30 I was asleep in bed. I still feel bad about it, but i slept for 12 hours, so i guess i needed the rest.

view from Top of the Rock

9/19

Today was the trip to the World Trade Center. First we visited St. Paul's Chapel which is the church directly across the street from where the Twin Towers came down. It was a haven for many rescue workers at that time and apparently the oldest public building in Manhattan and the place that George Washington worshipped after his inauguration. Inside they have dedicated it as a memorial to the 9/11 victims and rescue workers. There is a beautiful yet tattered quilt that was handmade about the story of a mom telling her son that his father wouldn't come home after the bombings that day and she told her son that God reached down with his hands and picked up Daddy and took him to Heaven, to which the son responded, "Does God enough hands?" I could not hold back the tears.

St. Paul's Chapel

The memorial that the city is planning is amazing.

we ate lunch outside by the water and it was such a beautiful day taking in the view of the statue of liberty. Came back to the apartment to rest and pack. Took the subway down to the West Village to walk around and eat dinner. There was a really large outside market with a lot of vintage jewelry, clothing, shoes, as well as food, and scarves, and you name it. Almost bought 2 pair of cowboy boots but the man didn't know what size they were, so no cowboys in our house yet. Dinner was at the best gluten free restaurant (and only so far) that i have been to. I had risotto with asparagus and saffron and mike had pizza (what else and not gluten free). It was FANTASTIC! I am pretty sure that besides this meal and one lunch we shared every other meal that we ate. The food here is so expensive, and so delicious! It is also a good thing that we walked EVERYWHERE, we didn't take a taxi once, just the subway a few times. Our feet are tired but we saved money and burned calories. I also think that i enjoyed the city more by walking, i felt like a local in my own small town community even though we were surrounded by such huge buildings and a gazillion people. I cannot leave out our dessert tonight is was gelato from GROM and it reminded me just like the gelato in Italy that i get to put in my mouth in less than a month from now !!!

Took a final stroll through Central Park this evening and I must say it is so Pretty! Our stoll took us past Tavern on the Green which is absolutely beautiful with all the lanterns hanging from the trees.

us on Bleecker street

Overall we fell in love with the city, more with each other, and now we are ready to return to our two little ones who we miss so dearly.

Bright and early tomorrow.

9/20

up early at 3:15 am to catch our flight at 6am

it is so good to be home!

Our Restaurant choices while here in NYC and how we rated them:

1. Best Bruchetta: Cafe Fiorello (upper west side)

2. Great Asian Fusion: Spice Market (meat packing district)

3. Greatest Risotto and incredible gluten free food: Risotteria (west village)

4. Best American Gelato: GROM (west village)

5. Best NY pizza by the slice: La Beleca (near Bryant Park)

6. Best dessert: Magnolia Bakery (upper west side)