NYC - Part 2

After a full day of sight-seeing, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up. Next on the schedule: dinner before going to see our Broadway show. Eric met us back at our hotel and we walked just down the street to "Rino Trattoria" - a great little Italian restaurant.

We were seated at one of the tables straight in from the door. We were told to ask for Frankie or Tony (of course, what other names would they have, it's an Italian restaurant!). Frankie and Tony were indeed there and we enjoyed an Italian cuisine dinner a la New York. This place was fun, the food was delicious, and the bread was amazing! I had Lemon Chicken that was out of this world! In typical NY fashion, the door was propped open and the windows along the front were all open too.
At 7:30, we walked a couple of blocks to the Gershwin Theater to get seated for the 8:00 showing of "Wicked." Chelsea has seen this show more than once, so we decided it was the one to see. It was really great! We loved it! I would see it again too!


The show got out at 10:45pm and in New York, the night is still young....time for dessert! So we hailed a cab and headed to a little restaurant that Chelsea had discovered when she was in New York with her high school group called Serendipity.


It is known for its 'over-the-top' desserts, like its Frozen Hot Chocolate, which Natalie ordered. You know it's going to be interesting when there is an $8.00 minimum per person for dessert! I can't remember the names of what we ordered, only that they were HUGE and very yummy. Here, see for yourself:




As you can kind of see, it had very eclectic decor--a little bit of everything, you might say!

This picture gives you a little perspective as to how big the ice creams and "frozen hot chocolate" really were!
Needless to say, it was a great way to end our experience in NYC, and we managed to get cab rides back to the hotels before the sugar comas set in!


Up next: The Wedding......

Our Day in New York City- Part 1

We are back on the West Coast after a wonderful whirlwind trip to NYC, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Before heading off to New Jersey for my niece's wedding, we scheduled a day in NYC. We were chauffeured by limo (yes, Dad splurged and surprised the girls!) from JFK Airport into the city to our hotel in the theater district near Times Square. (That ride was probably the most wild part of our visit!)


Of course, arriving there at 10 pm, the city was alive and bustling. It truly is the city that never sleeps. We checked in and then, since we were still on West Coast time, went for a brief walk to see the Ed Sullivan Theater. It's where the Late Night with David Letterman show is taped -not our favorite these days, but hey, the Beatles played there for Ed Sullivan in the 60's, so it's a somewhat historical place according to Chris.

Our original plan had us meeting up with Eric and Chelsea the next morning, but Chelsea couldn't make the trip. So, we met up with Eric and jumped on one of those double-decker bus tours to see the city. (It was so great to see him--the only thing that would have made the trip better is if Chelsea could have come...we missed her!)


The profusion of people, billboards, traffic, and buildings is definitely sensory overload - but the sheer contrast in lifestyle is very interesting to experience. We saw the New Year's Eve "ball" sitting where it landed as of 12:00AM January 1, 2010 after dropping. We also saw David Wilkerson's Times Square Church - it is in the heart of the city and in a building that was probably a theater at one time.



We got off the bus at Ground Zero and walked through St. Paul's Chapel, which is only a block away from where the World Trade Center Towers once stood. Opened in 1766, St. Paul's Chapel is Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use - a place where George Washington worshiped (we saw his personal pew)and 9/11 recovery workers received round-the-clock care. Even after nine years, being there is still a very emotional experience.


Just down the street was FDNY Engine Co. 10's station. Their doors open directly toward Ground Zero and they were one of the first responders to the Towers after the planes hit.

There is a beautiful Memorial Wall along the side of their building.



We walked from there down to Battery Park where we had a great view of the Statue of Liberty - it was a gorgeous day to be touring around NY City. Eric had taken the Staten Island Ferry the day before to get a closer look at Lady Liberty. As you can see from the one picture, the harbor patrol is well-armed.






We also walked around the one end of Central Park. As a group of us waited to cross the street over to the park, we noticed that walking with us was Comedian George Lopez! He and a woman matter of factly made the crossing with the rest of us and then got into one of the horse drawn carriages that take you around the park. Pretty neat!

-To be continued in Part 2 coming soon-