New York Vacation - Day 5

It was kindly brought to my attention that I haven't gotten around to posting the last day of our trip. (Which means I have at least one reader! :)  )
We didn't have much time for any major sight seeing before our flight out of NY, so we split up for breakfast and a little exploring. It was nice to have the morning just me and Jesse. Vacationing with others is often more fun, but it's good to have a little time to ourselves too.  The last morning was perfect for this since there was no plans or no where to be except the airport later.  Jesse found an aquarium shop to visit, so we walked in it's direction to find breakfast first. We found a little nook in the wall place called the Fiat Cafe. I had french toast with a deliciously foamy latte and Jesse had egg's benedict with smoked salmon. 

I had said that I would include a list of our top favorite things, but to be honest everything was amazing! I'm glad we did, ate, and drank every single thing. So I made a map on Pinterest (because you can do that now) of everything we did (which has pretty much been included in these posts) is on there. View it HERE. Maybe you can use it one day to plan your own trip. New York is definitely worth seeing once in your life - if you have the chance, take it!

Catch the beginning post of this trip, starting with Day One. 

New York Vacation - Day 4

We're almost through our vacation! I'm typing this as I'm taking breaks from studying for finals, and I'm already wishing I was on another vacation. Or just still there instead of stuck at my desk or in the library. But it's fun to "re-live."

If you need to catch up:  Day 1, Day 2, Day 3.

Day 4 - our last full day!
We started the morning on a Subway ride into Brooklyn so that we could walk the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan. It was a beautiful day for this, and actually warm enough to take my hat off without freezing my ears at times. It was funny because there is a lane for pedestrians and a lane for bicyclists, but all the tourists were walking in both lanes at times, and bikers would come whizzing through ringing their bells for everyone to move out of their way. The walk was fun, and it is beautiful to see the city line along the water.

Not too far from the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge is China Town and Little Italy. China Town came up first, so we walked through there and ate lunch at a place Matt had heard of. It turned out that it had been featured with Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on the Travel Channel.

Then Heidi and I did a little shopping, and tried some bubble tea (not my favorite).

Next came Little Italy. However, the two really just run together for a bit. So you have chinese restaurants and shops mixed in with Italian places. Not exactly what I expected, but there was plenty to look at all over each area. Little Italy was already decorated for Christmas.

(of course, we ate one of these...)

And then we stopped at a well-known cheesecake place - Eileen's Special Cheesecakes and got some to-go.

We went back home to rest our feet for a while, then headed out to Central Park. We had came across it before, but it was dark and we wanted to see it in better lighting (and safety).

Next up was more pizza for dinner, and then Top of the Rock. Thankfully Bouchon Bakery had another location near the Rockafeller Center, so we were able to try more macarons! They were amazing! My favorite dessert of the trip.

The city is even more beautiful at night! We had to kind of rush to see this though, because the next stop was Broadway and we didn't want to be late for our show! We split up from here. Heidi and Matt saw the Phantom and of the Opera, and Jesse and I saw Wicked.  Both shows were exceptional! I was so glad we got to see a play while there - it was high on my list of things to do. I would highly recommend Wicked - it was entertaining and funny, and the costumes were beautiful. I also enjoyed the fact that it is it's own story, and there is no movie you could watch prior to know what to expect. It was a brand new story line to us. Our seats were in the top mezzanine, which was perfectly fine for watching the show, but we took binoculars as well to see their facial expressions and details from the costumes and stage.

It was a late night after the shows were over, so we met back up and headed home.

Only a little time left the next day, so stay tuned for Day 5 and a list of our absolute favorite things of NYC!

New York Vacation - Day Three

Start with Day 1 and Day 2 here.

Day three was an early morning. We had a tour package through Viator, and it began at the front of the line for the Empire State Building. Once we were through security, up up up we went to the Observation Deck on the 86th floor. This gave a wrap-around view of the city, which from this view point was breathtaking. It was a fairly clear morning, so we could see far into NYC and New Jersey.

(morning hot drinks became a necessity) 

(Central Park)

(Finally a group photo!)

(Big buildings that looked so tiny from up here!)

The next part of our tour was a double-decker Bus Taxi. We were among the few who braved the cold and windy ride on the top of the bus, but it was worth it. The ride wasn't very long, and stayed within the Times Square area, really only winding through the several blocks to our next stop. Our guide was good at pointing different buildings out and telling their significance.

The route ended at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. We had to meet back up with the group we started at the Empire State Building with, so we were only aloud a certain amount of time here.  We began by going through the USS Growler missile submarine.  It was interesting to walk through and see how they might have lived while on the submarine, and that although the space is tight a submarine is quite large and can have many rooms and lots of equipment on board.

(USS Growler)

We then entered the actual Intrepid Museum at this point. The Intrepid is an aircraft carrier that was built in 1943. It was used in World War II where it was damaged by kamikaze attacks and even a torpedo strike. It was also present in the Cold War and Vietnam. Now it lies in the Hudson River and is filled with fighter planes and helicopters from various wars. The guys really enjoyed this part of the trip. :)

They have added a pavilion that houses the space shuttle Enterprise onto the back side of the carrier. Now, I'm not a history buff, nor and I a space-guru, so here's my breakdown on the space shuttle for those of you that don't know. It was a prototype space shuttle. The first that NASA built, but it wasn't made to fly out of our atmosphere. It was only used for testing landings and other things within out atmosphere. But this was very important because it led the way to building "real" space shuttles that could go into outerspace.

Next we re-grouped and boarded on a ferry (or water taxi... I'm not sure what to call it).  This also had a tour guide to point out various buildings as we road along the Hudson, and she was really fun. We rode this to one of the south-most piers of Manhattan, where we got off and went to the 9/11 Memorial. This was the longest line we stood in of the whole trip, and security was high there. When we finally got to enter though, it was worth the wait. It's a sad site, but beautiful at the same time. They did such a good job making a place of recognition for the 2,983 people who lost their lives that day. There are two reflecting pools which are positioned at the site of the two original towers. The name of each person is inscribed around the edge of the pool. Families were allowed to make requests to have their loved ones name next to a select person that they knew or worked with, and all requests were met. It's almost unbelievable as you stand there. The other buildings nearby are so close, but today they are whole and, of course, have no signs of destruction. But you remember what you saw on TV that day twelve years ago - all of the chaos and debris.Today it is a serene place, not just of remembrance of those that were victims, but of beauty and hope and a newness that says we cannot be struck down. Because just north of the reflecting pools is 1 World Trade Center, the main building of the new World Trade Center Complex. In May of this year it's construction was complete and it is now the tallest building in the nation. It's spire on top makes it reach 1,776 feet into the sky, a symbolic height - the year of our Independence.

At this point we could depart from the group and go our own way. We tried to find the Original Soup Man from Seinfeld for lunch, but the location we were closest to was closed. So we walked around to find something that sounded interesting. Along the way we passed by the Trump Towers, Tiffany's, and the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street. (I don't think any of us realized we were on Wall Street until we say this.)  I'm glad we were forced to delay soup for lunch, because what we would up having was one, well two, of the most delicious things I've ever eaten - crepes.  Forget what you ever thought about crepes. I have, because I thought they were just extremely thin pancakes, but I was so wrong. Crepes du Nord cooks up these amazing crepes in a tiny kitchen right as you enter the small restaurant. If our tastebuds could talk, then you might fully understand what I'll try to confer with words here. It was like soft scrambled eggs (but like the best scrambled eggs) inside this crepe pouch. Jesse and I ordered their signature dish, named as the restaurant is. It was topped with fresh, delicious smoked salmon and a dill creme sauce, and sprinkled with fresh dill. Yum! That was the savory, then there was the sweet. This time it was just the outer thin crepe packed with a mixture of raspberry compote and nutella. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and drizzled with chocolate syrup. I know you're about to scroll down and see this, but I just wanted to emphasize each part. If you're in New York, you've got to go here! If I get the chance, I will go back. And I might order the same thing.

Wow, this is getting really long. I hope you're enjoying reading as much as I am sharing this with you!
Next, we got back on the water taxi/ferry. This time it traveled down and around the tip of Manhattan, and picked up a few more people at a pier near the Brooklyn Bridge.

Then it looped back around and drove us by the Statue of Liberty. She was beautiful, especially at sunset. You can't help but feel patriotic. Even if you are on top of a water taxi, at sundown, in NY, in the winter, while you can no longer feel your toes or nose.

Can you guess what we were off to find next? Yep, another sweet treat! While on our double decker bus earlier we passed by a Cake Boss location! We didn't realize he had expanded from New Jersey into New York. Heidi had been craving a cannoli, and this was just the place to try one. It was madness inside, so we took a number and waited to be called. I ordered a Lobster Tail (a very flaky pastry also filled with creme, this one had Bailey's infused into it as well) and everyone else had cannolis. Yum!

We were all getting tired at this point. There had been a lot of walking that day with our tour group, so we walked to another Soup Man location, which turned out to be the original store front. Literally, that's all. You just walk up, place your order, she scoops it out of the cauldron-like pot, and you're on your way with your soup. So we took all of ours back to eat in the warm and comfy of our apartment.  The soup man himself was not there, but the little interaction we had with the employee, we decided being grumpy must be part of the job application - but it was fitting. :)

(He was so happy he got his soup! And a t-shirt that says "No soup for you!")

The end of day 3 - only 1.5 more to go!