New York City: Part One

We just returned from thee BEST vacation of my life.  This trip will go down in the books as one of the greats.  It was much needed and oh so amazing.  It primarily revolved around food and walking and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  I didn't really know what to expect seeing as the last time I went was over ten years ago.  At that time, I was young and unappreciative.  This time was incredibly different.   I experienced New York in a entirely different way.  I took in every second.  It helped that we had our fabulous friends Aaron and Angelica to show us the ropes.  They knew all of the restaurants, stores and attractions to hit.  

We left Saturday evening and took the red eye to the Big Apple.  We arrived in New York City bright and early.  We had orignally planned on heading straight to our hotel and catching up on some sleep, but the second we stepped foot into the city, we knew that was not going to happen.  There was too much to see and the weather was impecable.  

Aaron and Angelica met us right off of the subway and gretted us with fresh choclate croissiants.  This was only the beginning to our week long food fest.  The pastries were out of this world.  We walked around the West Village all morning long.  The buildings and apartments were right out of the movies.  The streets were lined with gorgeous trees and all of the brick and cobblestone did my heart well.  Aaron and Angelica pointed out some of the stars homes, Sara Jessica Parker's, being on of my favorites.  Her house was so charming.  I wouldn't expect anything less than that, of course.

After walking around for a bit we headed to brunch at Tartine.  It was scrumptios and would totally recomend it to anyone.   I had the best eggs benedict I have ever had and Tyson enjoyed his french toast.

Aaron then took us to the high line and we enjoyed an impressive view of the city.

They had benches lined throughout where people could cozy up and read a book, all while taking in the breathtaking view.   We sat for a moment, so we could rest our feet.

We then walked around Chelsea Market and went in and out of all different fun shops.  Aaron picked us up some Fat Witch brownies, which were divine.  The richest, chewiest, luscious brownie ever.  That was only the first dessert of the day.  We came upon The Magnolia Bakery.  I had heard everyone rave over their banana pudding.  I couldn't pass up my opportunity to taste it.  It really was all that it was cracked up to be.  It was sweet, but not too sweet and it was oh so creamy with just the right amount of wafer cookie.

It was Angelica's best friends Birthday.  They were kind enough to let us tag along.  Her apartment was beautiful.  It was clean, crisp, and modern.  They had delcious appetizers for all, ranging from cheese, bruschetta, olives, meatballs to chocolate covered strawberries and smore's cookies.  These people know how to throw a party.

They took us up to her rooftop.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  It was beautiful, New York City in all of its glory.  I was struck at what I was seeing. What a view to have! 

We stayed up their a bit and took in the moment.

That evening we walked around SOHO.  The shopping was unreal.  It is a good thing we don't live in NY.  I would have a major spending problem.  After walking through some stores we went to dinner at Mario Batali's restaurnt called Otto.  This was my first time experiencing true Italian.  We dipped our bread and breadsticks into the most flavorful olive oil.  We shared a pizza and pasta, topped off with a delicious ice cream sundae.

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Monday morning we started out the day right.  My friend Jen had told me about her favorite breakfast in the city.  It is inside of the Le Parker Meridien Hotel, called Norma's.  Let me tell you, it was well worth the price.  The french toast was 2x the size of Texas Toast, was covered in rice crispys, topped off with a carmel sauce.  The hot chocolate was like a melted candy bar and with it came a cup of frosting like whipped cream.  We had to have something salty to balance the two out, so we shared huevos rancheros.  It was unreal.

After stuffing our bellies we did some good walking and found ourselves at the Rockefeller Center.  

The Anthropolgie there was beyond gorgeous.  The design team they have working for them is incredibly talented.  I could have stayed in that store for hours.

As if breakfast wasn't enough, we had to get a little snack.  We picked up some macaroons from Bouchon Bakery.  The macaroons were enormous, so you didn't feel like you were getting cheated on with the price.  If you go, I highly suggest the pistachio.

^^^ They were enormous. ^^^^

We then waddled ourselves into Central Park.  I have always dreamed of walking through Central Park in the fall.  It truly was a dream come true.  This was my first time and it really was all that the movies portray.  I couldn't get over the size of the place.

We took a seat and rested our feat for a bit.  I knew we would be walking a lot, but we did a lot more than I had anticipated.

^^^ I have a slight obsession with my new clogs.  I finally found the perfect pair. ^^^

^^^ This building was so charming.^^^

After Central Park we started getting hungry again.  I have heard so much about Shake Shack and couldn't wait to sink my teeth into one of their burgers.  This was a major highlight of the trip.  We ate there three different times.  What I would give to have one of these here.  

The buns were beyond moist and the cheese fries, oh the cheese fries.  My mouth is salivating just thinking about them.

Their concrete was delicious.  I had something similar to rocky road, but it was even better.  The large chunks of almonds gave it the perfect crunch.

^^^ On our way to Shake Shack, Tyson told me he couldn't wait to have some of their cement.  I was dying of laughter.  I had to inform him that it was called concrete. ^^^

That evening we decided to walk past the Manhattan Temple.  We got their at the perfect time.  The sun was starting to set and it just looked perfect. 

We couldn't wait to do a session, later on in the week.

As we were sitting their admiring it, we saw people walking into it on a Monday night.  We thought it was closed on Monday's, so we decided to walk over and see what was going on.  There happened to be a missionary meeting taking place that evening.  The temple President was standing at the door waiting for his wife.  While he waited, we talked with him for a bit and he told us some neat facts about the temple here.  

We were going to head back to our hotel to get some shut eye, but happened upon a movie theater that was playing a show I had wanted to see.  We decided why not.  We didn't have the baby and the night was young.  It was a little old theater that had its own unique charm.  We enjoyed a huge bowl of popcorn and sipped on some Ginger Ale.  It was the perfect evening.
I had no idea that New York was going to get even better!
I missed Penelope terribly, but knew the second I got onto the subway, that this would have been an entirely different trip with a baby.  Thank goodness to modern technology I was able to Facetime with her every day.