NYC - Canadian Thanksgiving/Columbus Day
Ryan and I finally went to NYC together to celebrate our 5 year anniversary (of dating). Everyone says that the dating part doesn't count, but I think it does. In all our years dating, we never once got to NYC together. I love that city.
Friday
I was amazed at how smooth the roads were. The drive was very scenic since we drove during the day. We found parking on Manhattan near our budget hotel (West End Studios). We dropped off our stuff at the hideously small and grubby looking (but cheap!) room and took a walk around the Upper West Side, SoHo and Greenwich Village. Did a bit of shopping too. :)
We tried to get into Pastis which had a hideously long line. Some girl in the line recommended Trattoria del Sole, which had great Italian food. I had fresh porcini mushrooms for the first time in my life. For about 1 hour after, I could still taste it. Incredible.
Saturday
Had breakfast at Picnic on Broadway, which was a great little French-style cafe. Creme Brulee for breakfast was a great decadent treat. We took off to the Natural History Museum, which was great. Made a wrong choice by deciding to see the underwater IMAX movie, which sucked. After seeing Blue Planet, your standards are impossibly (and rightly!) high. Checked out the dinos, which were great! Lots of pics of Ryan and I near the T. Rex & Triceratops! Had lunch in the insanely busy museum cafeteria. Then, armed with my Lucky Shopping Guide to NYC, we hit the shops in the pouring rain. We stopped by a really nice Mexican cafe/resto on the way and shopped at Kenneth Cole, Scharffen Burger, and a myriad of other recommended shops. We stopped by the hotel to freshen up.
We decided to take a taxi to our romantic dinner of the weekend at "One if by Land, Two if by Sea". That turned out to be a disaster. It was pouring cold rain, the taxi was stuck in traffic and we ended up leaving our taxi for the speedy subway. We ended up an hour later at the resto (thank God I called) and had a wonderfully romantic meal in this 'townhouse'-style resto. We each had the tasting menu. Ryan had Steak Wellington (the steak in the puff pastry) and I had some fish dish. The food was excellent, but not incredible. The service and ambience were top notch.
Sunday
We woke up, had breakfast at Picnic again (this time for the cheesecake, which they were out of). Then we left for the Bronx Zoo! What a great place. We checked out the nocturnal animal pavilion, the tigers, the predatory birds, the monkeys, the polar bears, the gorilla forest, the giraffes, the peacocks (who were strutting all over), the emus and ostriches. It's surrounded by a park, which makes it even nicer. We had a small lunch there and kept exploring until 5pm, when they closed.
We left for Chinatown to have a cheap dinner at Great NY Noodletown, which was excellent. I had the congee, Ryan had the noodle soup and we split some soft-shell crab. All for under $20! We were so thrilled. Did some shopping at a food store, picked up some chinese tea and tea caddies. Then we had a massage near Greenwich Village and went to the Comedy Cellar's 11PM show. They packed us in there like crazy and we had a great time. The comedians were excellent.
Monday
Checked out of the hotel at 10AM and had our last breakfast at a crazy greasy spoon around the corner. Then we went to SoHo for my shopping fix. I had to leave The Apple Store before I bought something. The Swiss Army store had a nice shirt but didn't suit my figure. Laila Rowe had some nice jewellry so I picked up a gift and some earrings. The Jack Spade store was a must for me and I bought a bag. We wandered around a bit more, and then decided to get hot dogs at the famous hot dog stand which sells smoothies and very cheap hot dogs (can't remember the name). This place was okay, but I'm not one for hot dogs.
We took the train to Central Park and Ryan proposed! What a surprise for me. Still getting used to the idea and starting to get excited/scared about the planning side of things. Wedding won't be for a while, but I'm still freaked out. Just an example of how life goes on - we had to go home after that, and we drove home, with silly grinning and feelings of excitement and fear in us.... Ah, existence! The log is the one Ryan proposed to me on.
Friday
I was amazed at how smooth the roads were. The drive was very scenic since we drove during the day. We found parking on Manhattan near our budget hotel (West End Studios). We dropped off our stuff at the hideously small and grubby looking (but cheap!) room and took a walk around the Upper West Side, SoHo and Greenwich Village. Did a bit of shopping too. :)
We tried to get into Pastis which had a hideously long line. Some girl in the line recommended Trattoria del Sole, which had great Italian food. I had fresh porcini mushrooms for the first time in my life. For about 1 hour after, I could still taste it. Incredible.
Saturday
Had breakfast at Picnic on Broadway, which was a great little French-style cafe. Creme Brulee for breakfast was a great decadent treat. We took off to the Natural History Museum, which was great. Made a wrong choice by deciding to see the underwater IMAX movie, which sucked. After seeing Blue Planet, your standards are impossibly (and rightly!) high. Checked out the dinos, which were great! Lots of pics of Ryan and I near the T. Rex & Triceratops! Had lunch in the insanely busy museum cafeteria. Then, armed with my Lucky Shopping Guide to NYC, we hit the shops in the pouring rain. We stopped by a really nice Mexican cafe/resto on the way and shopped at Kenneth Cole, Scharffen Burger, and a myriad of other recommended shops. We stopped by the hotel to freshen up.
We decided to take a taxi to our romantic dinner of the weekend at "One if by Land, Two if by Sea". That turned out to be a disaster. It was pouring cold rain, the taxi was stuck in traffic and we ended up leaving our taxi for the speedy subway. We ended up an hour later at the resto (thank God I called) and had a wonderfully romantic meal in this 'townhouse'-style resto. We each had the tasting menu. Ryan had Steak Wellington (the steak in the puff pastry) and I had some fish dish. The food was excellent, but not incredible. The service and ambience were top notch.
Sunday
We woke up, had breakfast at Picnic again (this time for the cheesecake, which they were out of). Then we left for the Bronx Zoo! What a great place. We checked out the nocturnal animal pavilion, the tigers, the predatory birds, the monkeys, the polar bears, the gorilla forest, the giraffes, the peacocks (who were strutting all over), the emus and ostriches. It's surrounded by a park, which makes it even nicer. We had a small lunch there and kept exploring until 5pm, when they closed.
We left for Chinatown to have a cheap dinner at Great NY Noodletown, which was excellent. I had the congee, Ryan had the noodle soup and we split some soft-shell crab. All for under $20! We were so thrilled. Did some shopping at a food store, picked up some chinese tea and tea caddies. Then we had a massage near Greenwich Village and went to the Comedy Cellar's 11PM show. They packed us in there like crazy and we had a great time. The comedians were excellent.
Monday
Checked out of the hotel at 10AM and had our last breakfast at a crazy greasy spoon around the corner. Then we went to SoHo for my shopping fix. I had to leave The Apple Store before I bought something. The Swiss Army store had a nice shirt but didn't suit my figure. Laila Rowe had some nice jewellry so I picked up a gift and some earrings. The Jack Spade store was a must for me and I bought a bag. We wandered around a bit more, and then decided to get hot dogs at the famous hot dog stand which sells smoothies and very cheap hot dogs (can't remember the name). This place was okay, but I'm not one for hot dogs.
We took the train to Central Park and Ryan proposed! What a surprise for me. Still getting used to the idea and starting to get excited/scared about the planning side of things. Wedding won't be for a while, but I'm still freaked out. Just an example of how life goes on - we had to go home after that, and we drove home, with silly grinning and feelings of excitement and fear in us.... Ah, existence! The log is the one Ryan proposed to me on.
posted by serpah at 3:58 p.m.
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