Farewell NYC

Time sure does fly when your having fun and it's already time for me to pack my bags and head back to TN. Sunday was my last day and we decided to sleep in and listen to a sermon from home...after all it's freezin' up here and the 7 train isn't running this weekend so it was easier to enjoy the day in. We did venture out for a little fresh air especially since Ruthann and Matt live on the waterfront and have a great view of the city across the Hudson. I had to take some last photos to remember my trip by.

Can you tell that we are freezing our butts off. The wind made it almost unbearable.
Nothing like New York City

A view of the city and the Queensboro Bridge

From the waterfront, we wandered to their local grocery store since they needed some more milk and also wanted me to see how expensive your everyday groceries were. Ridiculous, indeed but nice that they have a grocery store across the street from their building. It definitely makes me appreciate the fact that I can hop in my car and get anywhere I need to go with little hassle or effort. Once we got back in from the cold, we enjoyed a lazy afternoon and watched a movie before we had to part ways. It was a wonderful trip and I had some much fun spending quality time with Ruthann. I can't wait to visit her again, when it's warmer outside and of course I can't wait to meet Little Bean. Aunt Terah is excited to see you!!

Saturday in the city

We enjoyed another morning sleeping in and were heading to the gym but were delayed when Ruthann received the call from her parents that her grandpa had passed :( He has been battling poor health for quite some time and they knew this was right around the corner but it never seems to make the passing of a love one any easier. And because Ruthann is about to have her baby, she will not be able to travel to the funeral in OH next week. We all cried together and she shared fond memories of her times with her grampie!

We managed to get down to the gym for another workout but we didn't have too much time because Ruthann's baby shower was at 1pm in the city. I did manage to get in another 3 mile run and it was great. We all hustled and bustled around the apartment to get ready just in time. We had to take a black car into the city because the 7 train isn't running all weekend but it actually was much faster getting in to the city. It was fun to see another NY apartment layout and this one being a 4 bedroom spacious apartment on the upper east side. Ruthann told me it probably cost around $3.5 million...WHAT?!? It's so ridiculous!! Anyways, it was fun to meet Ruthann's NYC girlfriends at the shower.

We were at the shower till almost 4pm and then Ruthann and I made our trek to SoHo (downtown) which is an area I had yet to see. It's like everytime you take the Subway and pop up to another part of town, it's like being in an entirely different city. It's so fun. We went to a young designers market on Mulberry Street (between Prince and Houston) and it was very cool to walk through. I saw lots of jewelry that were one of a kind pieces that I liked but nothing that struck me as a must-have piece. From there we walked around the shops of SoHo which was fun but I have to say that weather yesterday was miserable. First off, we were dressed up from the shower so we weren't dressed very warm. The wind was so bad and it felt like 15 degrees outside and it was brutal. Ruthann did introduce me to this shop called Sabon and going in any store to get out of the cold was a great idea. I am a sucker for new and fun bath and body type shops and this one did NOT disappoint. Matt met up with us there and we walked several blocks to Little Italy where we enjoyed an authentic Italian dinner at Matt's favorite restaurant called "Il Cortile". It was delicious. We then walked up to Cafe Roma and had coffee and dessert before catching a cab back home. It was another great day in the city.

Central Park & the City

Another fun day spent in the city! We enjoyed another day of sleeping in and Matt made us pancakes this morning for breakfast....they were so delicious! I could get used to having someone make me breakfast at home :) We then got ready and headed into the city. We walked around Ruthann's old neighborhood and went to a couple fun shops. We popped into JG Melon to enjoy lunch and once again, I was not disappointed. They have the best "real" hamburgers! From there we headed decided it was time to walk off all our meals, so we headed to Central Park. The weather today was perfect to be outside and we took full advantage of it. Here are some fun pictures from the park.

The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park

Ruthann and I in Central Park

I love Central Park

From the park we headed over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was spectacular and I will have a separate post so you can see some of the variety of artwork and exhibits I was able to breeze through. This museum is totally overwhelming and there is no way to be able to see it in one visit but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Some of my favorite exhibits were the Musical Instruments, Medival Art, Arms and Armour, European Paintings, 19th and Early 20th Century Paintings and Sculptures and the European Sculpture Court. I have pictures from all of these areas that I will post later.

After spending another full day out and about in the city, we headed home for a relaxing evening at home. Matt once again was our hero when he brought home the most delicious pizza ever! Don't get me wrong, I have had some great pizza while in Chicago but this NY style is also quite enjoyable. We rented a movie called "Appaloosa" which from the previews looked like a great western but it was totally lame. We gave it a 2 (if that tells you how bad it was). After some computer time, we got ready for bed and for another full day tomorrow.

Live from New York...

Greetings from New York City! I am so thrilled to be in the city and hanging out with my friend Ruthann. The city has been everything I expected it to be beginning with the cab ride from LaGuardia Airport to Ruthann and Matt's home in Queens. We all know that I have "on-star" abilities but I am clueless when it comes to trying to navigate around this city! Thank goodness I have Ruthann who knows where she is going.

Ruthann and Matt have a great building that includes a gym so we took advantage of this first thing this morning. The view from my treadmill where I got in a 3 mile run overlooked the Hudson River right into Manhattan. I could see the Empire States Building and Chrysler Building in the skyline. After a good workout, we got ready and headed into the city via Subway. Once again, I am so glad that Ruthann knows where we are going! It was funny to have such anticipation while walking up the stairs from the Subway when we actually got into Midtown. We came out around 59th and Lexington into a great shopping area. We walked around for a little while and did a little shopping at Zara, a store Ruthann recommended and it did not disappoint.
From there we headed to Dylan's Candy Bar and it was just that...a bar that had every possible type of candy ever. It was SWEET! I bought some...you guessed it...candy and we took some pictures. Here is Ruthann and I in the staircase which you can see that candy was in the flooring. So cool!

Right down the street from there was the ever infamous Serendipity. The movie is one of my favorite NYC movies next to "You've Got Mail" and it was so fun to be able to go in and have the experience.

After a little break at Serendipity, we walked back over to the grandiose shopping areas of 5th Avenue, Park Avenue and Madison Avenue. Oooh to see all the designer stores and I mean every designer you can possibly imagine....Prada, Gucci, YSL, Dior, Escada....and the list could go on forever. Of course, I didn't go into any of these stores...my heart and wallet wouldn't be able to make it out alive! We then walked back over to Park Avenue to check out this Chocolatier called Pierre Marcolini. It did not disappoint. From there we made our way over to Times Square, via the Subway and took plenty of pics.

We hung out around Times Square and then made our walk over to 45th and 9th for dinner at Marseille. We made our reservation for 5:30 because we had tickets to see "Wicked" at 8:00 pm. I was excited to eat at a nice restaurant in NYC and also excited because Ruthann had never been to this place either. It was a new experience for the both of us and it did NOT disappoint. The ambiance of the restaurant is what I expected from NYC and the menu had great options. I enjoyed the Grilled Lamp Top Sirloin with merguez, apple and goat's cheese crepe, brussel sprouts & quince vinaigrette. Ruthann had the Cous Cous with braised Lamb with krefta and merguez with a sweet and spicy onion sauce. The presentation was superb and the food was delicious. My lamb was grilled to perfection and Ruthann's Cous Cous was probably the best cous cous I have ever had. It was a great dinner and I enjoyed getting to talk with my friend. We timed finishing dinner just right and then walked over to the Gershwin Theatre for "Wicked". Thanks to my boss who purchased our tickets (and we were in the Orchestra section, left of center stage) it was the best Broadway experience ever. You could see the faces of the actors/actresses and the music was phenomenal. It was the best way to end the first day of being in NYC!

NYC....Here I Come....

I cannot even begin to tell you how EXCITED I am to be heading to NYC this afternoon and I am excited for multiple reasons. First and foremost, I get to see my friend Ruthann and we'll get to spend lots of quality time together. Ruthann and I met as freshman back in 1993 while attending Pensacola Christian College (we agree our friendship was the only positive thing that came out of that school experience) and we've been kindred friends ever since then. We've been through 16 years of life together and she's about to be a mom for the first time and I am simply elated that I get to share in this chapter of her life...it only makes my visit that much better! And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Secondly, it's New York City. Other than a quick 3 hours spent back in the summer of 1996 while attending a wedding, I basically have never been in the city. I have a short of list of things that I want to do and see. I can't wait to walk in Central Park, go to a Broadway show, ride the subway, eat yummy food, see all the fancy stores (i sound like a country bumpkin), etc. etc.

And, Since I can't seem to maintain my blog these days and Ruthann is much more on top of things than I am, I am sure that she'll be posting pics faster than me...simply go to Ruthann's Blog.