Around 8:15 a.m. our phones started ringing. We had overslept. Brandon's mom, sister and dad were ready to leave the Today Show to meet us for breakfast. So, we hustled around to get ready while they made their way back to the apartment. We then hopped on the subway and made our way over to Good Enough To Eat (Brandon and I ate at this restaurant on our last trip to NYC). I was so looking forward to the Pumpkin Bread French Toast which I regretted not ordering before, but it wasn't on the menu...sigh. It was probably a seasonal item that does not appear on the "summer" menu.
After we filled our tummies, we made our way down to Chinatown and Little Italy. After taking a short scenic route through the garment district (for all you Real Housewives of NYC fans, we happened to stumble upon Zarin Fabrics but I didn't get a pic. However, as many things often do, it looked quite different from what they show on TV.) we found our way to Chinatown and began the purse pursuit. If you have never tried to buy a purse in Chinatown, it is something everyone must do. Once. It really is an art because you have to find the right people who will then lead you through the streets to their "stores". You may have to go through a trapped door or down into a creepy basement and then you have to know what you are looking for because they don't want you to waste any time! Since I had already purchased a couple of purses on our last trip, I was simply along for the ride while Pam and Ashley looked for their purses. The first place we went to wasn't very willing to negotiate their prices so we ended up leaving, but not before the guys started to get a little worried. I will never forget the look on their faces when we surfaced from the basement! If only I would have had a camera!
We continued on the purse hunt and still couldn't find what they were looking for so we decided to just give up. However, we stumbled upon another shop and they hit the jackpot! I think they ended up getting six purses total.
By this time it was getting pretty warm so we made our way over to Little Italy for some gelato!
Ferrara Bakery and Cafe has been featured on The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Network and had the most delicious looking pastries, but we were there for one thing. Gelato! Like I mentioned, it was getting pretty hot and a few people from our group had only gotten two hours of sleep the night before, so we were all ready for a cool treat! I took the opportunity to go to a local Italian market across the street to purchase a bottle of olive oil. The little market is another reason I think it would be so fun to live in NYC. Everything in there looked amazing!
After we finished our gelatos, we headed back to the apartment to regroup. The "early risers" wanted to take a nap and rest up for the evening so Brandon and I took the opportunity to browse Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue, which is something we didn't do much of on our last trip. One of the places I most wanted to visit was the iconic Tiffany and Co. I had saved up some money from Christmas and other random things and wanted to purchase a piece of jewelry. We were definitely intimidated as we entered the store - picture Sweet Home Alabama when Patrick Dempsey takes Reese Witherspoon to Tiffany and Co. and all the jewelry cases are illuminated with sparklers and he tells her to pick whatever she wants - yeah, that is what we were dealing with! However here is a little insiders tidbit, the engagement ring section is actually on the third or fourth floor, not the first floor! So, if that movie was real, she would have taken an elevator, but that wouldn't had the "wow" factor. I digress. So we entered the doors and browsed around the first floor, noticing that the items I was looking for (sterling silver) were nowhere to be found. Thankfully, Brandon noticed a little sign by the elevator door that said the sterling silver section was on another floor. We quickly hopped on the elevator and went to the appropriate floor, which much to our delight was filled with tourists! I browsed around for a while and found a couple of pieces I wanted to try on. A kind and funny salesman was helping us and I was being all awkward not knowing how to let him put the necklaces on me, etc. etc. when I finally decided on the perfect necklace. I watched as he carefully pulled out the Tiffany and Co. box and wrapped it up with the white satin ribbon. As I mentioned I had saved money, so I was planning to pay in cash. When the salesman gave me the total, I carefully counted out my money, but kept trying to give him an extra $10. Brandon was quietly standing by as the salesman was being patient and finally Brandon had had enough and totally busted me on not being able to count. I was so embarrassed and the kind man told me had Brandon not stepped in he would have just taken the extra cash and given it back to me with my receipt, but no, Brandon just had to make light of my mindlessness! And that is not the end of it. After I got my cute little bag with my cute little box, we headed down the elevator when Brandon noticed I had something in my teeth the WHOLE time!! Talk about embarrassing!!! I was so mad at him, but realized it turned out to be a good story. All in all, I got what I went in for and now I can say I've actually purchased a piece of jewelry at Tiffanys.
Here is a picture of the necklace I purchased. I wanted something unique that could be worn with everyday items or dressed up. I think I found the perfect necklace!
I was quite possibly the oldest person on the piano, but I didn't care. It was fun to play around for a bit! After we went to FAO Schwarz, we made our way up Madison Avenue and back up down on the west side of Central Park before heading back to get ready for Wicked!
One of the highlights of our last trip was seeing Wicked on Broadway and since we enjoyed it so much, Brandon's family knew that was the show they wanted to see on this trip. And of course, it didn't disappoint!
Saturday morning, we slept in a little bit and then headed to our last "planned" activity of the trip - a movie tour through Central Park. While it might have been a little hokey, it was a great way to see the park and not get lost! The weather was a little dreary, but the rain held off for our tour! We saw everything on the south side of the park including the Mall, the Dairy, Bethesda Fountain, Sheep Meadow, Bow Bridge, Loeb Boathouse, Naumburg Bandshell, Strawberry Fields, and Wollman Rink. The park really is breathtaking and was quite possibly my favorite part of the trip!
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| {Yoko owns the entire top floor of this building! And she's the only one who lives there!} |
Click on the Central Park link above to see more in-depth descriptions of everything mentioned and pictured. It was take an entire blog to describe these things in detail so I'll spare you!
After we finished our tour, it was beginning to drizzle a little bit harder, but we were hungry and were determined to make it to Carnegie Deli before the trip was over. You might remember this from our last trip...
...well, we went back for more! We didn't take any pictures because I was a little preoccupied with a missing stone from a ring Brandon bought me for our anniversary. It must have fallen out while we were in Central Park and I didn't notice it until we sat down for lunch. However, I was soon distracted by the amazing cheesecake that we ordered to finish off our lunch (Oh man, just talking about the cheesecake makes me drool! I am desperately trying to lose my last 5 pounds so I can reward myself with a Carnegie Deli cheesecake on my birthday and yes, the do ship their cheesecakes!). We were barely able to roll ourselves out of the deli in order to head back to the apartment. By this time, it was raining pretty good and had gotten a little bit chilly so we were happy to get back and rest a bit before heading to St. Patrick's Cathedral. Brandon's parents wanted to attend the service that evening so we all went and walked around prior to the service. It really is a beautiful church and reminds me so much of the cathedrals in Europe. While his parents attended the service, we, along with Justin and Ashley, walked around window shopping once again. We then went to Dylan's Candy Bar (which has also been featured on Dinner Impossible on Food Network) to stock up on some chocolate. While I was a bit disappointed in the actual store, the candy bars we purchased were really good! After church was over, we met up with Brandon's parents and headed back down to Little Italy for our final dinner.
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| {Photo courtesy of Google Images} |
We got up early the next morning and headed to the airport. We were bumped to a flight an hour later but we still made it home without any disruptions and we all dreaded getting back to our normal routines the following day. We are always so thankful for time away and we are especially thankful to Brandon's parents for their generosity!
