New York City

Top of The Rock!! Admiring the vast, urban landscape...

Wow! This city is not messing around, it seriously is legendary. Daniel was only here for a few days and we made the most of them. When we arrived after our Bonnaroo weekend we were beat, it was after ten, and we were really dirty even after bathing in the airport sinks - but it was Shaheen's birthday so we reunited with our bonnaroo crew plus Nicki, Sasha and Dave for drinks and appetizers at their apartment. Actually, it's a loft; a nice big open loft with tons of windows and little NY accents like brick and pipes running across the ceiling (courtesy of the fact that the building was once a factory). We love the neighborhood the girls live in, too, it is very comfortable and homey with delightful little bakeries on every corner and neighbors sitting on their front steps chatting and observing.  The subway is only a couple blocks away and their location makes it extremely easy to get around.

On Tuesday, our first whole day in NY, Shaheen took us to a little bakery called Variety (yummy choc. chip banana bread) where we got coffee and snacks. Then we took the subway downtown and walked around Ground Zero. It was eerie to see the 'footprints' of the buildings that used to be there and inspiring to witness the construction of the momentous new structures. A reporter for a New Jersey paper showed us his pictures from the 60th floor of the unfinished (not even half way done) building and you could see how close the towers were.  He has been photographing the progression of the construction by taking pictures from the same four or five points every month. After that we walked along the waterfront and through the renowned Battery Park - where we saw the statue that remained standing in front of the World Trade after 9/11 and was moved to the park as a memorial. Then we took the Staten Island Ferry which is free and takes about a half hour each way. We got to see the skyline of downtown NY and of Jersey, and the Statue of Liberty which looks huge up close but against the skyline seems to shrink immensely.  We grabbed some delicious deli sandwiches (super cheap, too) and rode the ferry back to downtown. Then we walked down Wall Street where we got to see the big gold Bull and the NY Stock Exchange, not to mention the beautiful old churches and other architecture. It was a fun-packed morning and in the afternoon, when Shaheen had to work, we went to Times Square and met up with Mason and his parents.  We spent the evening chatting and catching up, and of course Danny and Jill wine-and-dined us as usual (Thanks guys!) it was super fun.

On day two Shaheen took us to a bakery down the street called The Blue Stove that has amazing quiche and pastries and homemade chai tea. Then we took the subway to Central Park and met up with Danny and Jill for lunch, after which we hit the park. Central Park is so huge and unbelievable - we actually wandered around to the point where we saw hardly anyone else because there are so many trails! We rented boats in the lake and saw tons of turtles, ducks, geese and a huge fish jump right next to us. We also met an awesome girl in line (courtney) who had great suggestions and was very friendly. We got to see Strawberry Fields and the John Lennon memorial, and a huge fountain/popular spot where tons of movies have been filmed. After the park exhausted us, we walked to the Tangled Vine, a snazzy, adorable wine bar that Shaheen works at. We spent hours drinking fabulous wine and eating the most amazingly delicious and unique food, plus great service - thanks Shaheen!! Our next stop was McGees, the pub that Mclarens pub is based on in the show How I Met Your Mother, since the writers were regulars. It had some memorabilia and pictures/posters of the cast all over and we had a blast chatting with people and watching the Stanley Cup Finals. The only downfall to the day (and the entire trip so far) was that we "misplaced" our camera on the subway ride home, but there is a tiny chance we'll get it back from lost and found...maybe.

We got up early the next day because it was Daniel's last day and we went to Rockefeller Center. We got to see the huge Lego store (Connor would LOVE it), Radio City Music Hall, the rainbow room, NBC studios, and we went to the top of the Rock which has surreal sights of the surrounding city and especially Central Park. We spent at least an hour up there checking the 360 degree views and having photo shoots with Shaheen's camera, it was a perfect, clear, sunny day!! Before heading back so Dan could pack up, we got some hotdogs and gyros from the street vendors, so yummy and cheap! Amazingly, all the food in NY seems to be not only fantastic but relatively cheap. After cuz left we finally kicked back and relaxed for an evening to recover from our jam-packed week of fun. Jenna made us a ridiculously great dinner and a killer breakfast the next day - she can seriously cook.

Friday we hung around the loft during the day, then got lunch at a great Mexican food restaurant down the street on our way to Mason's, who lives about two and a half blocks from the center of Times Square. We went to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) which was SO awesome!!! We saw art from Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Pollock, Rivera, Warhol, Lichtenstein and so many more amazing artists, it was fantastic! We ate Thai food with Mason and stayed at his place, where we took our wine onto the roof  to check out all the views and flashing lights of Times Square. On Saturday Sean and I went to brunch in the Hell's Kitchen restaurant region (yummy) and then shopping around Times Square - H&M is awesome!! Making our way back to Brooklyn, we stopped by Whole Foods in Union Square to get some dinner stuff, which was an experience. So many people! The girl's at the loft invited a couple friends over and we were all extra pumped because our friend Elyse came from Jersey to hang out!! We chatted, laughed, ate empanadas and enchiladas and drank wine and strawberry jalapeno margaritas...it was a glorious evening. The first half of Sunday was a lazy day where we hung around the loft, cleaned, researched for Central America, stuff like that. Then we went to Little Italy for a delectable dinner and a nice walk and we tried to get into the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) comedy theatre but were about ten people away from making it (first come first serve). We might try again next Sunday because we heard Amy Poehler (co-founder of UCB) has been in town and the wait isn't bad.

That pretty much sums up the first week of New York City!! It is truly unreal that we have been doing and seeing so much we have only previously read or heard about and we feel so extremely lucky to experience this trip - especially with friends and with each other! Thank You!