Monday, May 24, 2010

NYC: Day Two

We woke up on Saturday, got dressed, and found a place to get breakfast nearby to our hotel. We had decided to venture into China Town and Little Italy and to cross the Brooklyn Bridge! Lots to do, lots to do.

Our first step: Acquiring tickets for the subway.

We went with an option where you pay for a weeklong pass that gives you all the rides you can take in that time period. We LOVED the subway, although it took us a bit to get familiar with it. We had ONE little mishap where we went the wrong direction, but seriously, Jonathan was a wiz with the subway system.


Here she comes!

Trying to be discreet about taking pictures of the inside of the subway.

Amazing tile work displaying the name of the street above.



This was me during a lot of the trip. Jonathan called me his little butterfly because he said I was busy fluttering around taking pictures. All of a sudden he would look back and I'd be half a block behind him stopped and snapping away. This was like photo heaven!


First we headed to Chinatown and Little Italy. Actually, we got off the subway in Chinatown without really realizing where we were and we walked through until we made our way to Little Italy. Like I said in an earlier post, Chinatown just wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe I didn't go to the right "spot" to see a bunch of good merchandise or something, but to be honest, I just don't go wild and crazy over big fancy purses. Just not my thing. We loved walking through Little Italy, however, and just took our time browsing the area and taking lots of pictures.

We decided to head to Brooklyn around lunch time to try out a great pizza place we heard of called Grimaldi's. We got off of the subway on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge. Once we found where Gremaldi's was, we soon had to come to terms with the fact that we would NOT be eating there. Seriously, they must have some crazy-good pizza because the line outside the building was about 1/2 mile long. I love pizza. But, I don't love pizza that much, especially when there is so much to see and do. (And don't worry, on our last night in NYC, I got to eat some phenomenal pizza).





Instead of getting lunch, we wandered around the waterline, stopping for some delicious butter pecan ice cream from a precious ice cream shop nearby. I knew that we were in my sister's town, so I was itching to go see her. She was working that day at the Italian-Mexican restaurant where she waits tables, so we looked up the location and decided to walk there.

Insert crazy, scary music.

We walked there.

Over two miles.

We walked.

There.

In Brooklyn, where we have no idea where we are.

We FINALLY made it to her restaurant and surprised her by walking in the front door! We were so hot and so tired, so we settled down at a cafe table outside while she fixed us some drinks and some fresh guacamole and chips. I loved seeing my sister in her element. She's been in NYC for the past three years, and I have only been able to imagine her life there. We were finally able to put a place and a mental picture together as to what life is like in New York for Emily. Her restaurant is adorable, she is so friendly and kind to the people she works with, and she definitely works HARD.

Jonathan at my sister's restaurant.  She was too busy for us to get a picture with her.

After visiting with her for a while, we decided to TAKE A CAB (we got smart, quick.) back to the base of the Brooklyn Bridge so that we could walk from the Brooklyn side over into Manhattan. THAT WAS AWESOME. Jonathan and I both agree that it was probably one of our top five things of the trip. If you go, please do it. So neat. The bridge structure is AMAZING! BREATH-TAKING! And don't even get me started on the view.











We crossed the bridge and made it back to our hotel, where we decided to take a breather and rest before getting some dinner before our first Broadway show: West Side Story. While resting, Jonathan got on the phone and got us some last minute reservations to Bobby Flay's restaurant called Bar Americain! I was so excited! Before we left for our trip, we had talked about the possibility of going to one of his restaurants because we both love to watch him on the Food Network, and I love his style of food.

So, let me just say: IT WAS GREAT! Jonathan got the duck and I got the red snapper! YUM!!!!! I literally could have licked my plate. At the end, after everything was gone, I took the leftover bread and seriously wiped it clean. Wonderful!

Finally, we went to see West Side Story, which has always been a favorite movie/musical of mine. I was not disappointed! It was wonderful, and since I was familiar with a lot of the music, I was dancing in my seat and bopping my head. Ugh....the dancing, the drama, the music, the beat! Such a good show. And, at the end, I was sobbing like a baby. Literally, couldn't breathe, sobbing. I think Jonathan enjoyed it, but clearly not as much as me.

Well, that's day two. Even more jam-packed than the first day. And we've got several more days to go people. Are you tired yet?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Not tired...just very, VERY jealous!

Unknown said...

OH my goodness...the pizza at Grimaldi's is AWESOME!!! I can't remember if we went early or late but we were there with no line. My parents got some ice cream at the little shop too but I waited for gelato in Little Italy. Mmmm!