At long (long, long) last, here is all the details you ever wanted to know (and then some) about my weekend in the Big Apple!!
Wendy and I headed out of DC early Friday afternoon with 50 of our (new) closest friends on the Bolt Bus! [Side note: If you are considered any travel between big East Coast cities (i.e. DC, NYC, Baltimore, Boston, etc.) the Bolt Bus is the way to go! Super cheap tickets + Wifi + not paying for gas and parking = well worth it.]
We arrived Friday night and quickly decided that going to sleep was just not an option. Instead, we traveled to Little Italy in search of a true slice of New York pizza and found it at Lombardi's. After enjoying our (entire) pizza, we navigated the subway system and found our way (via three different trains...) to the Staten Island Ferry! A free trip there and back gave us gorgeous views of the nighttime Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty, up close and personal. Once we were back in Manhattan it was time to head back to our hotel and rest up for a full day in the city!
Saturday morning began with a delicious breakfast at Ess-a-Bagel - the perfect place for a true New York bagel and excellent Saturday morning people watching. The next stop was Grand Central Station...
...followed by a quick view of the Chrysler Building and a power walk to Rockefeller Center...
...and another power walk to Bryant Park and the New York City Public Library.
[ceiling in the library. SO cool!]
Next, we hopped back on the subway to head to Greenwich Village and the Magnolia Bakery for an early afternoon cupcake. We strolled around the neighborhood, saw a farmer's market, did some more people watching, and even found a few green patches to sit and rest. It was so neat to get a taste of where the "locals" live - we couldn't believe we were still in the middle of Manhattan!
Next stop: Central Park. Hands down my favorite place in NYC! Along with our signature hot pretzels, we found the Belvedere Castle (and saw a proposal there!), Bethesda Fountain, Alice in Wonderland and Hans Christian Anderson statues. It was a gorgeous day to be outside and enjoying the park!
From there we headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art - a very close second for my favorite Big Apple destination! Although we didn't have nearly enough time to see even half of the exhibits, we loved taking in the period rooms and musical instruments. After a quick tour, we headed to the Balcony Bar and enjoyed a Saturday evening happy hour with a string quartet accompaniment. [so classy I could hardly stand it!].
From the Met it was just a quick walk (jog) over to Two Little Red Hens, where we devoured some incredible New York cheesecake. [If you're starting to think that we ate our way through the trip... you'd be right.] Next stop...
Times Square! All lit up and as crazy as ever. We just got a quick look because we wouldn't dream of being late for...
...the Lion King!! These tickets were the original inspiration for a weekend in the city, and the show did not disappoint! If you ever have a chance to go, I would definitely recommend it - the visual effects are just unreal. It is absolutely amazing how they bring these animals to life on stage! We had a great time.
And then, totally exhausted, we went back to the hotel and crashed, right? Wrong. Of course not. We had more food to eat! Our last item on the to-do list was burgers at the Burger Joint - a place so mysterious I can't even give you a link. First, you have to find the hotel.. make your way through the very fancy lobby.. then through the very fancy happy hour.. through a curtain in the back.. and into the definition of a "hole-in-the-wall" burger joint. The burgers hit the spot after a long day! Then - finally - we crashed. Sunday morning we caught the bus back to DC and bid farewell to a whirlwind two days in the city that never sleeps.
More updates on life in DC coming soon!
Much love to all,
Lauren
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