The Big Apple

So I know this is a bit late - but I FINALLY got to visit New York! I've always wanted to go so me and two of my girlfriends, Stacy & Nicole, planned a trip in January. It was nice to actually travel for pleasure instead of business. Though they had both been to NY before, they still let me squeeze in some touristy stuff. The first day we did the walked all over Central Park. It was ridiculously cold, but it was fun getting bundled up and playing in the snow. Then we walked around the city a bit. Nicole chased pigeons, I fell down the stairs at FAO Schwartz, and we got to play on the giant piano from "Big." Afterwards, we had lunch at Serendipity which I was really excited about (one of my favorite John Cusack movies). The atmosphere was really cool and the desserts were insanely good. After getting cleaned up, the three of us went to dinner at a cute Italian restaurant and then hit the town with Stacy's friend Jordan. I also found my new favorite beer, Duvel. 

The next day, we walked all over China Town and Little Italy. We followed a lot of sketchy people into back rooms hoping for deals on purses, jewelry and North Face jackets - though i ended up leaving empty handed. We had a delicious lunch in Little Italy, then on our way back Stacy insisted on an impromptu photo shoot (complete with background graffiti). Then, not surprisingly, we got lost. We wandered around China Town for a good while until we finally found our subway. It was a sufficient way to see more of the city I suppose. After finally making it back to the hotel, we got cleaned up and went to a REALLY cool show that Stacy heard about. It was nothing like I was expecting, but it was so much fun! I would highly recommend Fuerza Bruta to anyone who's looking for a good show to catch. Disclaimer - you will get soaking wet. It'll be worth it though. When we finally got dried off, we headed to oldest ale house in NY, McSorley's.

   

On our last day we did more sightseeing in Time Square and Bryant Park. I'd be curious to know how many miles we walked that weekend. Nicole and I had lunch at Carnegie deli where we split the biggest sandwich I've ever seen in my life. Then, a crazy homeless woman yelled obscenities from a table over. I felt like I truly got an authentic New York City experience.

New York is pretty incredible and I'm really glad my first time was with good friends. Can't wait to plan our next girl's trip :)