Finally- the Last Full Day in NYC

Our last full day in NYC was Saturday. We got up and found weather the 60's more chilly weather that Friday had brought. Our tickets (that we had purchased the previous day at the South Street Seaport) were for a matinee show of Million Dollar Quartet. So if we were going to do anything else, we had to get up and go. That journey ended up being to the near top of the Empire State Building. It was an incredible view but also an incredible wind so Brad was the only one of us that was brave enough to go out on the exterior observation deck. Here is an example of the view we saw.

After leaving the Empire State Building, we headed back toward the hotel. We stopped at Dean and DeLuca for a small bite to eat and then got ready to head to our show. We had the concierge take a pic of us all dressed up.

From there we headed for the Nederlander Theatre to see Million Dollar Quartet. Our seats were second row and the show was great. It followed a night in studio where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis played together. Here is a picture of the exterior of the theater when we found it the night before.

When the show concluded, we went back to the hotel to change. I had one more attraction I wanted to see. In the NY Public Library, they had the original Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals on exhibit. These are the ones that A.A. Milne's son Christopher Robin actually played with and that were featured in the opening credits of the show. I was very happy to take this in. Tigger had always been my favorite.

We wrapped up the night with dinner on Restaurant Row. We went to Bourbon Street. It was some very tasty Cajun food. Then we went back to the hotel and prepared to leave the next day via the shuttle.

Third Day in New York

So the third day temps dropped unexpectedly into dreary, windy 60's and both of us had only packed one long sleeved item - matching gray fleeces. This was the day that we headed far south and rode the subway. We navigated it well and made it down to the South Seaport where we could buy our discounted Broadway show tickets. We scored second row tickets to the musical Million Dollar Quartet. Then we walked through the South Seaport stores. There, we completed a Dillard must on a trip to anywhere - finding a Christmas ornament to commemorate the trip.

We also found a view of the Brooklyn Bridge. On a warmer day, Meredith might have been up for walking over to it for real. However, on this day, we settled for a nice picturesque view. From there we walked down the waterfront and made our way to Battery Park and the Staten Island Ferry area. When we got there, we found out that the crown of the Statue of Liberty was closed due to windy conditions. Therefore, we again opted for just a view of this tourist attraction. I had done the ferry on my previous trip.

So then we or I pondered what to do and where to go from Battery Park. This is a pic my charming husband caught of me thinking over what we should do.

We ended up walking through the downtown area on the Southside. We walked past Ground Zero and then headed to the Subway to jump on a train towards Little Italy for lunch. We ate lunch there at a coal over pizza place named Lombardi's. It was really good.

Afterwards, we rode a subway back into town. Our travels took us by some of the staples of New York tourism - Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Station, back to Toys R Us and H and M. While at Rockefeller Center, we went to the NBC store. We were hoping to schedule an NBC tour. This is the one thing we did wrong on this trip. When we got there, their tours were all booked up through Sunday AM, the day we were leaving. We probably could have done it but we wanted to make sure we got to the airport in plenty of time. There is always next time.

We wrapped up the day with beverages at Dunkin Donuts. The next day would be an early one.

Day Two in NYC

We got up and had breakfast at our hotel before heading out for another full day of NYC. Before going out, we snapped a pic of us fresh and ready for the day.

Our plan was to do the Central Park area. We had of course been up near there for Serendipidity the day before. However, on this day, we traveled via Times Square. Still, it would be a day with a lot of blocks traveled . Here are some pictures of our travels through Times Square.

Once we got to Central Park, we headed to two specific and important locations: Shake Shack and the Museum of Natural History. Shake Shack was wonderful. It is a green operated restaurant which specializes in frozen custard. They use their custard to make blizzard like dessert with candies or fruits blended into a flavor of custard. Mine was fabulous with strawberries, bananas and shortbread cookies. It was my favorite food consumed in NYC. They are bringing a restaurant like this to Centennial Park. The museum was interesting but I am not a history buff persay so it was a more Brad experience. Still, it was definitely something someone should see once.

Following our adventures in the museum, we went deeper into Central Park. I was on a mission to find the Central Park Carousel and also wanted to revisit the Belvedere Castle from Nicole and I's trip to NYC. Our legs were tired as we came back home to the hotel after long travels in the park. We came back via Times Square. We stopped by the Hershey and Mand M stores as well as Toys R Us on our way.

After a nap, we headed to a small, quaint Italian restaurant around the corner from our hotel for dinner and then went into our local Starbucks for a warm beverage. And that was Day Two.

Better Late Than Never... Day One in New York City

So we got up for our trip to Hartsfield Airport at 4:30am! Sooooooo early but we wanted to have plenty of time to park and ride to the airport and get through security. Well that happened and we had a LOT of time to kill in the airport as our flight was at 8:30. Better to be safe than sorry, but oh the missed sleep! So we looked for breakfast at the airport. In our concourse , there weren't great selections. I had a bagel and OJ. We waited patiently for our flight. The flight itself was uneventful. We landed in Newark and enjoyed a slightly long taxi ride via the Lincoln Tunnel. Upon arriving at the Hampton Inn Times Square South and depositing our luggage, we were free to travel the city. I decided we could walk this whole day. It was as warm in NYC as it was in GA. High 80's.

Let's talk about walking!!! Our hotel was at 39th street between 9th and 8th avenue...... our first destination - Serendipidity 3 was in the 60s of streets and around 2nd Avenue. Yes lots of walking. But there was frozen hot chocolate was on the other side and it was a great way to show Brad a brief run through of major,anticipated sites of New York on Day One. We walked and walked, growing hungrier. I remembered that when I was in NYC with Nicole four years prior we actually couldn't find Serendipidity on our first attempt but I knew Brad and I were close. We stepped into an Urban Outfitters where I charmed the "yankee" salesman with Southern charm and he informed me Serendipidity was right around the opposite corner. There Brad and I shared a lunch of nachos and of course, a frozen hot chocolate as featured in the movie Serendipidity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsdale.

On our way back down from Serendipidity, we traveled back towards our hotel down 5th Avenue. The strip of major shops. We saw all sorts of sights like Trump Tower and the Apple Store. One of our most fun stops was FAO Schwartz. I at once found a wayward monkey and made it my mission to find his "home". I really would have preferred to bring him home with me. We saw the traditional big keyboard, walked through Clifford the Big Red Dog's house and had a great time. Though we did walk away with no animals purchased.

As we went down 5th Avenue, we stopped at two H and M's . I love H &M but surprisingly didn't find anything. The major Dillard shopper that day was Brad. He got two shirts, maybe more. At this point our feet were killing us.... it was like 50+ blocks already. So we slowly trudged back to the Hampton Inn and took a nap in our room.

For dinner, we headed to Greenwich Village on foot. Again a far distance from our hotel but in the opposite direction. Greenwich Village is such a cute collegy area and warm...especially for NYC. We went to a restaurant called the Blue Ribbon Bakery and both ordered the whopping plate of Fried Chicken , mashed potatoes and green beans. A great southern meal in the North? It happened folks. They even served the fried chicken with honey for dipping. That was good. A yummy trick. We trudged back to the hotel , two tired travelers ready for the next day of fun.