Day 3, This is the life!!!

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We awoke on Thursday morning later, and packed up to check out of our first hotel. We left our luggage with the hotel, and had some breakfast at a fab deli. Pancakes and maple syrup!
We then headed along to the Waldorf Astoria to see if there was any chance of an early check-in. The Waldorf is so grand, and busy. We went to the reception, and the gentleman took our names, he said "oh, you've been upgraded to a suite, a very nice suite". We tried to play it cool, we'd already booked a suite, but only a small one! "in fact", he continued "it is 900 sq ft, $6,000.00 a night, of course you won't be paying that though!" We darent look at eachother incase we screamed with excitement!!! G had emailed them months ago, to inform them we were getting married there, and Laura would be staying the night before to get ready there, and asked for their help should she need any. So this was an amazing surprise. Unfortunately, we couldnt check in early as the room wasn't ready, but he put a rush on it and said he'd call us!

So we headed out to do some shopping, and visit Bryant Park, and Central Library. Unfortuantely the library was surrounded by scaffold, so we headed round the back to the park, where it was bustling with people. HSBC were sponsoring an outdoor library, called "reading rooms", where you can take a book and read it in the park!

We headed towards Penn Station to meet Bob & Karen who were arriving from Boston by train at 1pm. Underground, the station was very hot and stuffy, and we had no idea where they would come up from the tracks. Their train was late, and as it arrived we chose an escalator to wait by. Frantically looking round, we were amazed to find them coming up the very escalator we stood at!!! Not as shocked as them, when they told us there was around 14 escalators they could have used!!!! We took a taxi with them to their hotel, a wonderfully NY hotel on 44th St between 5th and 6th, The Mansfield. From there we went for some food. We were sitting in the window upstairs in this brilliant sandwich shop, when who should pass on the street, but Neil, Kate, Karen & Sally!!!!!! They came in and joined us for a drink.

We left them in the cafe, as Karen and Sally found an internet access point!!! We headed to The Pod to pick up our luggage and head to The Waldorf!!! Coming from The Pod, after 2 days of looking for a hairdresser, Laura found that there was a fantastic little shop next to The Pod!! we booked appointments for the following day and chatted with Hannah about what we fancied! We could barely contain our excitement as we went into the Waldorf!! having been told earlier to go to the diamond reception desk, to avoid the queues at reception, Graham picked up our room keys, and our luggage was taken from us.

We headed up in the lift and along the grand corridor!!! Our Room had its own plaque with an arrow pointing to it!!!!! Double doors and a reception hallway, with a bar area awaited us. the sittingroom/dining room was huge! we couldnt quite believe it. I ran off through into the bedroom, the massive bed was lost in that room!!!, there was a huge walk in wardrobe!! Laura noticed the last door off the bedroom and figured it was the bathroom, but no, it was a seperate dressing room with sofa and table and wardrobes and make up desk, then there were double doors into a raised full marble bathroom with seperate walk-in shower, 2 sinks and a seperate toilet cubicle!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After counting our windows and TVs! (6 and 3!!) Karen and Laura decided to hail a taxi over to Macys for some last minute shopping before we all headed out for the "night before" meal. Getting a taxi from the waldorf is great, you feel like a celeb!!!

After Shopping, Laura returned to Waldorf, and Graham and Bob were watching baseball! Graham had packed his things for staying with his dad. Champagne had arrived from the management, as well as a courtsey call to make sure the room was "ok!!" and Allan and Julie had popped past to visit!!!

Bob & Karen headed to their hotel to get dressed up for our meal, and we drank our champagne and got changed too! We got a taxi down to the World Financial Centre 2, where our restaurant, SouthWest NY was located on the harbour front, looking over to NY as the sunset.
We had a lovely meal, all together!

The size of our suite solved a question we'd had about what to do after the meal, given that Karen & Sally are under 21. Allan and Julie had gone to the liquor store and had a couple of brown bags full of alcohol, so back to the Waldorf we headed!!! Our taxi drivers raced eachother, it was hillarious, the young ones against the parents, our taxi even sent sparks flying as he bounced down the across streets at high speed!!!

Our evening concluded in the Waldorf where we had some drinks, listened to music and made final arrangements for The Big Day! Graham and Laura exchanged wedding gifts, and Graham headed off with Bob, as he was thrown out at 11:55pm!!!!

Laura and Karen chatted for too long before falling asleep, trying to guess what the final present Graham had left was, not to be opened until the morning!!!!

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Photos

Graham
Breakfast in NY

Laura
The Reading Room
Bryant Park

Laura
Champagne in our suite, Waldorf Astoria

Graham
In the Waldorf

Graham & Laura
Cheers!
Waldorf Astoria

Laura & Graham
Night before, dinner