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Published: October 3rd 2007
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Times Square
Our first night in NYC! May 15 - 21, 2007
This was my third trip back to my favorite city in the world. We met my parents at JFK airport and took a very frightening ride in rush hour traffic into our hotel in Manhattan. We stayed at the
Shelburne Murray Hill which was midtown, but on the east side. It was a nice neighborhood and our room was okay by NYC standards, but it wasn't really near anything. We walked 2-3 blocks every morning to go get Starbucks before we headed out for the day.
After we checked in we hopped in a cab to Times Square where we had dinner at
Planet Hollywood - always a fun favorite when we visit. We were all starving from not eating the entire time from being on the plane. Enjoyed some tacos and some drinks before we walked around a bit and headed back to the hotel.
Our next day there we took a cab to Ground Zero. It's been 3 years since I've been and they've since started construction and opened the subway stop. This time I felt really uncomfortable and had a really eerie feeling. I felt like sorrow and darkness had
been cast over me and there was a heavy feeling in my stomach. We didn't spend too much time there before we walked down into the financial district to see the Trinity Church and Wall Street. We hit up a small cafe before walking down to Battery Park to catch the ferry to Liberty Island. This is my second time going out to see Liberty and she still is my favorite thing in all on New York. I just love how beautiful she is and the sights from the island looking back at lower Manhattan. So awesome! The clouds started rolling in as we headed back and to Southstreet Seaport. Took pics of the Brooklyn Bridge and then sat out outside at a cafe at the seaport and had mojito's and shrimp cocktails. We were only out there for maybe a half hour when a huge storm came rolling in and pushed us inside. We did more shopping down near the seaport before heading back to the hotel.
That night we got a recommendation for an Italian restaurant near our hotel from one of my sales reps in the area. The name of the place escapes me now but
it was some of THE best Italian food I have ever had! Had my first Neapolitan too - sooo tasty! The place was quaint and cute - very European by fashion and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. It was nice to get out of the rain!
The next day was Jeff's birthday and the storm had temporarily passed. We went to Central Park and saw Strawberry Fields and Belvedere Castle. Jeff and I hiked up to the top of the castle for some breathtaking views of Central Park and the city. We found our way back out onto 5th ave and headed towards
Serendipity where I enjoyed a yummy burger and Jeff and I shared a frozen hot chocolate for lunch. Yum! Then we were off for some fabulous shopping at
Tiffany's and the flagship
Disney Store with a quick stop to see Trump Tower. Our next adventure was down to Canal Street to go purse shopping. I bought too much as usual!
Dinner that evening was at
Bubba Gump's in Times Square. Had an excellent spinach and artichoke dip with crab in it for an appetizer. Drinks were good, but dinner was ok. Most of the stuff there
is fried which is a no-no for me, even on vacation. Afterwards we shopped a bit for sweatshirts in Times Square before heading back to the hotel to relax for the remainder of the evening.
The next day the weather was cold and cloudy again. We met Jeanine at the Empire State Building and made our way to the top. It was so windy and so cold we probably stayed outside on the deck for maybe 10 minutes at the most. Afterwards we went to the flagship
Macy's and used the bathrooms! We decided to then go up to the Central Park area to go to the Natural History Museum since it was most likely going to rain. We had classic New York style pizza for lunch (yummmmmmmmm!) and then went to the museum. A great museum with lots of dinosaur bones which are my favorite. Jeanine and I said our goodbye's and we headed back to our hotel to make plans for dinner that evening. We decided on a place in Times Square - I can't remember the name off-hand - but the food was ok. We did more shopping (M&M World, Gap!) and just strolled around the
city until probably almost midnight.
The next day was my mom's birthday and the weather was still rainy and cloudy so we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Grand Central Station. I was not too impressed with MMOA after seeing the Louvre only several months before. I felt like the setup was horrible and we couldn't find our way around. I'm sure part of this can be attributed to the construction, but it was just ridiculous. Enjoyed seeing Tiffany Lighting and the few Monet's that they had.
Dinner that night was at
Les Halles which is Anthony Bourdain's (travel channel) French bistro. Excellent food and a great atmosphere. Made me feel like I was back in Paris! Had a fabulous steak and some great wine before heading (in rush hour traffic) up to Broadway to see
Hairspray. We only made it 5 minutes before the curtain came up! Ashley Parker Angel was in it so it was cool seeing someone that I at least "know." Met most of the cast after the show (in the rain) and got autographs. A great play, we really enjoyed it!
Our last day we met Ryan and Cambria at
Serendipity
Frozen hot chocolate Rockefeller Center and then walked to Carnegie Deli for lunch. Fantastic! I've never seen so much meat in my life! Then we headed down to Times Square to walk around before they had to go catch their flight. We then went over to Chelsea Pier to look at the food and sights. Stopped at the Flatiron Building for some pics and a quick break before heading back to the hotel to pack.
Our final dinner was at a BBQ place called
Blue Smoke not far from our hotel. It was voted best BBQ in Manhattan! It was SOOO yummy! You got a 3-course meal and we ordered their famous mac 'n' cheese for an appetizer. Amazing food and a great atmosphere! Good drinks too!
We left the next morning to head back to L.A. Another fabulous trip to the best city in the world!!
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