New York, New York!!!

Just got back from NYC early this morning! So I'll do a quick recap while it's still fresh on my mind.
Last Wednesday evening we headed out to NYC and got to friend's apartment sometime after 1 am. She graciously let all 8 of us stay in her one room apt. It was actually a lot bigger than I was expecting and we fit in there quite nicely....very cozy! She lives a mile from Central Park and only4 blocks from a subway station so it was ideal! We mostly took the subway and then walked everywhere else...my little feet were so sore every night but it was a good workout! The weather couldn't have been better, a little cold but not much more than it is here.

Thursday: We got up and went to the Metropolitan Museum and walked around the neighborhood. Then we got on the subway and headed over to Times Square...where we ate, got tickets for a show, window shopped, ate dinner at Papaya Dog (the place Matthew Perry loves in the movie Fools Rush In), saw Rockefellar Plaza/huge Christmas tree, and went in some more stores. We passed this "Charmin" public restroom and let me tell you that was an experience. You go up an escalator and there are T.V.'s everywhere playing this "Charmin" song with the bears and people doing the "Charmin Dance". When you get to the top one side of the room is lined with stalls, each with their own personal sink and two different kinds of toilet paper. The workers clean the stall after each person and randomly announce funny things about the people using the restroom. Then they have a stage you could sing/dance on, sleds with bears you can take pics on, and a gift store. It was hilarious! And you can also vote for your favorite type of "Charmin" toilet paper.

Friday: We got up at 5 am and went to the Good Morning, America set and watched from outside. They only film part of it downstairs and a few short snippets outside. We saw Ryan Seacrest on his way into the studio for a segment on New Year's Eve since he's the host. I didn't really know the GMA people but it was still cool. One of our friends definitely made it on tv when the crowd was filmed outside. After we headed over to Wall Street, did the Ground Zero tour and walked around the area. It's amazing that since I was there 6 yrs ago it looks a lot the same and it is still fresh when you are there. We were going to do the whole Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island thing but the line was FOREVER long...so instead we went back to Times Square and headed down to the Empire State Building...again the line was sooooo long! A few of us had all ready been up there and decided to walk around the area. We went to the New York Library, window shopped, saw the Chrysler building, ate yogurt at Tasty De-lite, and then ended up at Starbucks where we all met back up. We headed over to Junior's for dinner and their infamous cheesecake---FABULOUS!!! We were exhausted and headed home early!

Saturday: First, we went to Radio City Music Hall to see the Christmas Rockettes' show, which was fun and really good. Then we walked up and down 5th avenue window shopping and got some yummy pizza. Then we went to see "Phantom of the Opera" for our Broadway fix and it was really good. We walked around the area after but it was soooo crowded so we got coffee and sat at Bryan Park for a little while as we decided what to do for the evening. We ended up going to Grand Central Station and headed down to Little Italy/Chinatown where our friend we stayed with met up with us. We ate at an Italian restaurant and I had an amazing dish of baked eggplant. A few of us got gelato and went home after, and a few stayed in Chinatown for some blackmarket bargaining.

Sunday: We got up early and went to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, which was very informative and I love riding the ferry over there. (I would have liked it better though if the sun had been out!) Then a few people went to the Natural History museum while the rest of us headed over to Brooklyn. We walked down by the bridge and took pictures and then got in the longest line for some famous pizza at Grimaldi's-it's been given lots of awards and voted #1. It was soooo good and a fun atmosphere. Since that took awhile we had to head straight back to the apartment and start getting ready for our dinner at Tavern on the Green. We took taxis there and had a good time--although I would have liked it better if we could have eaten outside on the patio. The inside was gorgeously decorated for Christmas though! The food was pretty good and I had some pumpkin cheesecake for dessert...almost as good as Cheesecake Factory's! :)

Monday: Some of us girls got up early and went to Cafe Lalo's to eat breakfast. (It's the place where Meg Ryan meets her online man, Tom Hanks, in the movie "You've Got Mail" ) It was the cutest place and so good! I had frozen yogurt with fresh fruit and a yummy blueberry muffin! Everything on the menu sounded so good and I would want to go back just to eat dessert there! We made our way back to the apt by cutting through Central Park so we could see the Castle. Then we packed up and headed to the airport. My flight was direct but wasn't until late so I hung out at the airport window shopping and reading.

I'll have to post pictures later...

We had a fabulous time and beautiful weather! I am glad to be back home though! One can only sleep on a loveseat for so long! :) I am looking forward to a new year in 2008--crazy--and I can't wait to get started with my personal training! It's going to be a great year! Happy New Year!