17 November 2010

Central Park, Shopping, & Sigh... Utah

Well we are back in Utah. Sad! Well on Sunday, we got up (I had a sore throat, by the way), got packed, & dropped our luggage off with the front desk. They will keep your luggage for you until your plane leaves. They also arranged for a town car to take us to the airport that evening. So we went to Pax & ate breakfast. After that we decided to walk the mile to Central Park. When we got there, we meandered around for a couple of hours. It was so beautiful. Last time we were in NYC, we went to Central Park but it was February & all the trees looked dead. This time they were all red, yellow, & orange. It was so gorgeous. It was pretty crowded as well. People were taking horse drawn carriage rides around & I felt sorry for the horses. They all seemed pretty sad. A few looked pretty happy, so we decided they were new.

After Central Park, we took the subway to Canal Street to get some perfume. They have all these little shops on that street that sell really cheap brand names. I'm not sure how they do it. They probably get all the products that have defects. Haha. Well I was about out of the perfume I got last time & so was Emilie, otherwise we probably would have skipped Canal Street. It's pretty trashy & I definitely wouldn't walk around there after dark. We walked passed multiple guys that were selling Rolex's out of their jackets, which cracked me up. Anyways, we picked a random shop to go into & bought the two perfumes we wanted. They couldn't find one of them so we had to wait for a bit & the lady kept trying to sell us purses & other perfumes & colognes. Finally we got out of there, with our stuff.

After that we walked to Soho which is a neighborhood with lots of different shops that sell clothes, shoes, etc. We only went into Aldo Shoes, Burton, & Bloomingdale's then headed to the corner of Mott & Spring (see below) which is where Lombardi's is located. We had to wait for about 30 minutes before we got seated but it was worth it! This time we ordered a white pizza which has no tomato sauce. It is a combination of five cheeses, basil, & garlic sauce. It was pretty delicious. We ended up liking it better than the pizza we got last time. Yum.

After Lombardi's we caught the subway & went back to the Rockefeller Center. We went to a shop called An American Craftsman, which is an amazing little place full of all different kinds of art pieces. Glass, wood, metal. We got some gifts for the family for Christmas & a gorgeous wood box for my dad. Luckily they were able to ship it all to our house, so we didn't have to try & pack it in our already full suitcases. Then we hit the subway again & headed back to the hotel. It was time to leave. Sadness.

So we got to the hotel & gathered up our luggage & then they told us our car was here. We follow the hotel guy outside & he leads us to a white limo. Me & my mom looked at each other & were like.... Ummm... So the hotel guy explains that they are out of town cars so we get to take a limo for the same price. We could not stop laughing. We are definitely not limo people. It was another adventure though, right? Hahaha. They had champagne, music, & bright flashing lights in the back. We tried to figure out how to get the lights off but to no avail. Anyways, it took about 45 minutes to get to JFK... Mainly because our driver was clearly insane. Even from the back of the limo I could tell we nearly died multiple times.

So we got to the airport, checked in, & got a Jamba Juice. Yum. Talked until about 8pm when they started boarding the plane. This flight was much better than the last one. I listened to music, played games on my phone, & watched the Food Network. The plane landed, we got our luggage, rode the bus back to our car, & headed home. We got to our house around 1am & we both crashed. The next day my cold was worse so I vegged most of the day. Tuesday I watched Miss Lucy. I missed her like mad! She smiled when she saw me, which pretty much made my heart burst with joy. What a doll. Anyways, hooray for vacations. I had a ton of fun in NY & can't wait to go back. That's all for now!

13 November 2010

Times Square, Junior's, & Grand Central Station

Today was our last full day in NYC. Sad! Well when I got up this morning I was not feeling very well. Hhhmmm....I wonder why? Maybe because I have eaten out every meal for the last few days... Anyways, I went back to bed for a bit, & felt much better when I woke up. So then we got up & got ready for the day. We were starving so we hit the subway & went to Times Square. We wanted to eat at Junior's.

I saw Junior's on a Food Network show about a month ago & added it to my list of places to go while we were here. Apparently they make some amazing cheesecake. When we looked up their address a few days ago we discovered that it is also a restaurant. So we went there & I got a grilled cheese sandwich that was really good. My mom got a bacon burger that looked delicious (she said it was great) & onion rings (that also looked yummy). Then we got cheesecake. I got original & she got cherry. It was pretty darn good. Really thick & creamy. The crust is actually a thin slice of plain cake, so that was different.

After Junior's, we wandered around Times Square for a bit. We went in a couple of souvenir shops & I took a few pictures. We saw a guy with an 'end is near' sign (see below) & the Ferris wheel that is inside the Toys R Us store. We thought about going to a movie but figured we could watch one when we got home. So we caught the subway & got off at Grand Central Station & wandered around there for a bit. Got back on the subway & went to 59th & Lexington. Took a picture of Serendipity (I didn't get one yesterday...) & went back to Dylan's Candy Bar. We saw something when we were there yesterday & decided to go back & get it.

That's about it. Wandered around some more. It has been such a nice vacation; laid back & easy going. My favorite kind! I will be so sad to leave tomorrow! Our plane leaves at 8:30pm, so we are planning on going to Central Park & Soho. We are also going to eat at Lombardi's one last time. Then... we fly home!



12 November 2010

Top of the Rock, Shopping, & Gnocchi

Another day gone in New York. It is amazing how fast vacations go. It seems like you look forward to it forever & then it comes.... & goes! Well, we got up & walked down to Serendipity. It is the most adorable little restaurant that we went to last time we were here. I got some cheese ravioli & mom got a ham & cheese omelet. They have the most delicious frozen hot chocolate, but I was too full to get any. Sad!

After that, we went to Dylan's Candy Bar. It's a candy shop that is pretty cute. We got a couple of advent calendars to bring home. The last few years they have been hard to find & I love them. I remember how exciting it was when I was younger to open the little doors & eat the chocolate that tasted like cardboard. Perhaps this one will taste a bit better! After that we took the subway down to Times Square & walked around for a bit. We went to the Rockefeller Center & went up to the Top of the Rock. Last time we were in NYC we went to the top of the Empire State Building so this time we decided to be different. The view is so amazing! I loved it.

After that we walked around to where the Rockefeller Center puts up the giant Christmas tree each year. They had put the tree out this morning & were starting to work on it so we decided to take a look. It was a massive tree but it kind of looked like crap(see below). Haha. I figure that they know what they are doing though & it will look great by the end of the month. After that, we did some shopping & then took the subway back to the hotel.

We took a 15 minute nap & then walked around by our hotel. We weren't sure where we wanted to eat, so we figured we'd just try to find something. We ended up at a little Italian restaurant called Fresh Basil's. It was small & pretty adorable. They brought out a bread bowl with three different types of delicious bread. For dinner we each got gnocchi in a marinara/cream sauce. It was so good! We have a place back home that sells great gnocchi, but this blew that stuff away! We finished eating & our plates got cleared, & then we waited for our check. Then we waited & waited.... & waited some more. After 20 minutes we finally got our check (only because we asked by the way). Then we hurried over to Crumbs Bake Shop & got a cupcake. We also stopped by Duane Reade & grabbed a drink for the night.

Well, we are getting close to coming home! It is sad! The only good thing is that we will be that much closer to having Ang come home. She'll be back in mid-December, & I can't wait! I wish she was here with us! Next time! We'll go to the Colbert Report again!











11 November 2010

Pax, the Ferry, & Lombardi's

Well we are coming to the end of our second day in NYC. Overall it was a pretty good day. We got up, got ready, & went to Pax to eat breakfast. I loved that place. It is a small place that kind of looks like a deli, except it isn't. They cook your food right in front of you & are very nice. I got a scrambled egg on a massive roll with cream cheese. It was only $1.75 & super delicious.

After breakfast we took the subway down to Whitehall St. & got on the Staten Island Ferry. It is free to ride & was pretty crowded. It was nice to ride & gave me a chance to take a few pictures. We got to Staten Island & decided to see if there was anything to do. We walked over to the information desk & discovered there was nothing, so we just went back to the loading dock. When we got there, the ferry was just about to take off so we had to run to catch it. It was pretty entertaining.

When we got back to Manhattan, we went over to Battery Park & sat on a bench for a bit. We took the subway back over to the hotel to drop off my camera & our cell phones. We were planning on going to the Jon Stuart show later & they didn't allow any electronics inside. After that we went to Sam Flax, the most adorable little office supply store. If you know anything about me, you would know that I love office supplies. After that we went back to Pax & got a salad. They do the most amazing salads. You pick out a container of lettuce & then you add any toppings you want. After that, they send it through a big grinder thing that chops it all up. They add dressing & then... Voila! Chopped salad!

So we ate some yummy salad & then decided to catch a cab over to the Jon Stuart show. We were running a bit late & didn't have time to take the subway. After trying to get a cab for a few minutes, they guy at the hotel said he could get one. But then when we told him where we were headed, he told us we probably wouldn't get one. Apparently, most cab drivers in that area generally don't head in that direction. By the time we realized that we weren't going to be able to get a cab, it was obviously too late to get there any other way. I mean, we were already running late as it was. So.. We didn't go. I was pretty sad about it, but figured it wasn't the end of the world. I am glad I was able to go to the Colbert Report. It was a blast!

After we figured out we wouldn't be able to make it, we went up to our hotel room to figure out what to do next. We had planned on the Jon Stuart show taking up our entire night. We ended up walking around town a bit. I bought a book at Barnes & Noble & after a while we took the subway over to Little Italy. We ate pizza at a little place called Lombardi's. When we were in NY last time, we ate there & it was the best pizza I had ever eaten. We even tried to go back the night before we flew back to Utah but they were closed for there annual oven cleaning. What are the odds? Anyways, we got bread sticks & a cheese pizza. It was heaven. The pizza was better than I remembered. So good! We are going to try & go back once more before we leave.

We got back to the hotel & decided to go get a treat. So we walked down to Crumbs Bake Shop, an adorable little bakery that is like a block from our hotel. We got some cupcakes & they were delicious! There is a picture below that I took one my phone. Yum! Well, that's all for today. Enjoy!

















10 November 2010

Red-Eye, The Colbert Report, & Taxi's

Well, we are in New York. We drove my sister Angie's 4Runner to the airport and parked in the long term parking lot. From there, you take a bus to the airport. We got on a bus and were at our terminal when I realized that I left my wallet in the car. Nice. So we stayed on the bus (the driver rolled his eyes when we told him we forgot something), went back to the car, got my wallet, and then finally made it to the airport. We checked in, went through security, and then hung out until the plane boarded (see how attractive we looked above). There were two little girls on the plane with us that were wearing footie pajamas. I decided that next time I travel, I'll wear footie pajamas on the plane. I think it would be quite comfortable. Anyways, the flight was pretty awful. I was exhausted but just couldn't fall asleep. It was a vicious cycle. I would try for a while & then after I was unsuccessful, glare at everyone else that magically were able to sleep. Then I would change my music or put the TV on low... Seeing if anything made a difference. Nope. It was no bueno.

So we arrived at JFK at 6am local time (which is 4am at home...) and took a very full shuttle to our hotel. We are staying at the same Marriott we stayed at last time. It's nice because it is familiar and we know the area a little bit. We got to the hotel at about 8am and luckily they had a room ready for us. Then we went and dropped off our stuff in our room and then ate breakfast at their buffet. Hooray for Belgian waffles. And naps. Which is what we did next...

After our nap we got subway passes and took the subway to 50th street. We wandered around for a bit and then ate dinner at a little place called 'City Light Diner'. I got a grilled cheese. It was pretty good, but then again... It's hard to mess up a grilled cheese sandwich. After that we headed over to the Colbert Report. I had been trying to get tickets to the Colbert Report for over a month and was finally able to nab some a few days before we left. We got in line at about 4:45pm and waited... For a long time.


Finally around 6pm we were handed a little ticket (pictured above) and they started letting small groups of people into the building. Once inside, they searched our stuff and sent us through a metal detector. Then they crammed us all into a little room, where we waited. Once again, for a long time. While we waited though I got to take a picture with him! Well, a painting of him anyways (see below)... Around 7pm we were lead to our seats and they had a local comedian come out & entertain us. He was pretty funny. Very clever, which is always good. Then he introduced Stephen Colbert.


Colbert came out & did a Q&A session, out of character. It was interesting to hear him talk normal. Not that he doesn't talk normal but... Anyways, after some questions they started the show. It was so much fun being there in person. Martha Stewart was the guest so he cooked for her. It was hilarious. At the end of the show he went around and handed out his creation (mustard mixed with mayo, on saltine crackers). He is amazing at what he does. He would do a segment and then take a commercial break, during which, he would entertain the audience. I am so glad we were able to go! And tomorrow night... We are going to the Jon Stewart show. I am not as excited for his show, but it should still be fun.

After the show, we caught a taxi & went back to the hotel. I logged on Skype & was able to talk to Ang for a bit & tell her about our day. I sure wish she was with us! Then we went to Duane Reade, the most adorable little drug store. They have a ton of them throughout New York.

Well we are in our room for the night & will probably go to sleep pretty quick. I took all of the pictures today on my cell (hence the poor quality...) but tomorrow I'll be out & about with my camera. Goodnight everyone!

08 November 2010

Heading East

Nearly three years ago Ang, Michael, Emilie, Mom, & I went to New York for a week. It was my all time favorite vacation. I loved the buildings, taking taxis, & riding on the subway. It was also really fun to be able to travel with Michael & Emilie before they started having kids.

Tomorrow night, Mom & I are taking a red-eye back to New York for five days. I can't wait! Hopefully we will have an amazing time! I sure wish Ang was here to go with us, but we should still have fun. I'll try & keep my blog updated while I'm gone! Farewell!

02 November 2010

Lucy the Duck (or Chick)

I personally think she is a little chick, but my mother thinks she is a duck... Hence the title. Anyways, I had Emilie bring up Lucy's costume today so that if we got bored we could do pictures. I saw Lucy on Halloween but forgot my camera. I didn't get to see Cassie or Peter though because we had a few unexpected things come up and ran out of time. Anyways... Enjoy!