I Heart NY

My friend Dave flew me out to New York a few weeks ago and it was AWESOME.  I have never been there before and had so much fun!  There is so much to do and could never possibly see it all in a weekend, but we had fun trying.  We went non stop and I was exhausted at the end of every day.  The best part about going to visit someone who has lived there for a while, they can show you all of the non-tourist and delicious places to eat.  We walked and walked and walked and I burned off every calorie and ounce of fat that I ate.  It was wonderful.

Day 1:

Thought I was going to die in the shuttle from the airport to his apartment.  Crazy Crazy Crazy drivers.  And after a few cab rides that weekend in which I seriously thought we were for sure going to get into an accident, I discovered that in New York, the lane divisions are more of a suggestion rather than a rule.  NO ONE stays in their lane.

We walked almost all the way across Manhattan.  Literally from the East River to Times Square.  Went to go see a comedy show that was cancelled, saw Times Square and ate a delicious shake and the best piece of raspberry cheesecake I've ever had.  Also ate real New York pizza out on the terrace right next to the East River (no dead bodies floating).

Day 2:

Shopping on Canal Street was quite the experience.  Not very glamorous and people are constantly trying to get you to buy things.  I learned if you know what you want, these vendors will take you into a back room where they have the higher end stuff.  Then, if you want even better stuff, they take you into a second back room.  Weird and scary.  Bought a Valentino purse and I'm in love with it.  Bargained with a lady for a Coach purse (for my mom) and got some $10 Dolce & Gabanna sunglasses, which I am also in love with.

Best part was BROADWAY!  I LOVED the show we saw called Promises, Promises.  I want to move to New York just so I can go to Broadway all of the time.  Love it!

Day3:

More shopping.  Walked down 5th Avenue, saw the huge Macy's store, and Times Square (again).  We walked by a Hollister store and apparently in New York they have real models instead of mannequins.  I stood on the other side of the street to take this because I was too embarrassed to stand right in front of them to take it.

Went to the Museum of Natural History and I loved it.  One of the best parts was a diorama of an ancient city in India and it had a guy on a flying carpet!  I love the little things in life.  I giggled the rest of the way through the museum thinking about it.  You can see him in the upper right hand corner.

There was also a life size Blue Whale.  HUGE!!  This picture does no justice.  I stood under it and imagined myself swimming next to it and started to have a panic attack so I had to change my thoughts.  There is a reason I do NOT go into the ocean.  I like water, just not what's in it because I have no control.  (I'm going snorkeling this next week.  We'll see how I do with that).

And of course the dinosaurs.

I like to imagine they are walking off into the sunset....

And this cool thing from Mexico....

After the museum I ate the most delicious burger I've ever had in my life.  It had a portobello mushroom stuffed with cheese and deep fried, along with all of the regular burger additions.  It was probably no less than 2,000 calories but it was SO YUMMY!

Day 4:

Bargained with some street vendors down on Wall Street for a Prada and Dolce & Gabanna purse.  I got one guy to give me the D&G purse for $20.  He was NOT happy.  Hey, he didn't have to sell it to me.  Dave was incredibly impressed and I was proud of myself.  He said he has never heard of anybody getting below $25.  Love it!  We rode the ferry to Staten Island and saw Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty (which was really quite disappointing - I thought it would be bigger.  What do you expect from the French though? :) ).  And can I say the ferry company did a fantastic job of recreating the original experience of first coming to America back in, lets say, the 1700's.  When they first opened the gates to let people on the ferry, everyone is running to get on, pushing and plowing everyone in their way.  We were jam packed on there and by the end I was like, "Just get me to America, please!".

A view of Manhattan.

More highlights - The 30 Rock building where one of my all-time favorite tv characters, Jack Donaghy, works.

This arch on NYU campus.

 Day 5: Ate the most delicious breakfast (for lunch).  That is one of my favorite things ever.  In one day I rode a cab, a bus, a train and a plane.  Over the entire weekend I rode a subway, train, plane, cab, ferry and a bus.  New York was awesome.  Here is my last favorite part.  I'll support it.