Better Late Than Never: NYC Edition

Yes I was there a month ago, but I don't want to forget what we did!   More current events will resume later this week.  In the meantime I have created a Cliffs Notes version of my travels if only so a year from now I have an inkling of what occurred.


THURSDAY

Arrived at Penn Station after a brief train ride from Newark.   Noticed a flower vendor so I got some flowers for Al and her roommate for hosting me.   They both commented that their BFs never got them flowers, so a sister would have to do.   I am happy to accommodate!  The three of us ate at a wine bar / tapas restaurant and enjoyed catching up

FRIDAY
Off to Chelsea!   First stop Loehmann's so I could find a dress for Marissa's wedding.  No luck.   Al was a Loehmann's rookie and found an entire bag full of stuff.   Typical!  But she was pleased to have found a new store, and we had lots of fun trying on clothes and making comments.   We also stopped in a very fancy pants consignment shop where there were tons of designer duds- tags still on- way marked down.  Nothing I was looking for, but quite the experience being in Chelsea.

Time for me to have a first- going to Brooklyn!  Can you believe I had never been there?   Al and I met up with Sally and walked back to the city via the Brooklyn Bridge.  

We had to rest up before our night at the Barclay's Center to see Pearl Jam in a luxury box.

SATURDAY
Eleven miler in Central Park.   It was gorgeous running weather - 60ish and cloudy.   The leaves were changing and the park was stunning.  [I did not have my phone since I was focused primarily on running but gosh I wish I could have taken photos]  We even got free pretzels and hummus near the exit!  This type of thing does not happen in my Florida neighborhood.  We took the train downtown to get TKTS tickets to see Newsies and a strange woman told us not to eat hummus because it's fattening.   Thanks, lady.   I am sweating and wearing running clothes.  I think I got this one.

One bad thing about running a long distance in NYC and then going somewhere else is that you don't have a change of clothes and are bound to be a bit chilly.   But this is why you treat yourself to a CAB when you're done buying tickets.

Dinner did not disappoint- gourmet grilled cheese and craft beer before heading to midtown for the show.  It's a good thing the lady from the train did not know how much fat I would consume that day.  The hummus was the least of our worries!

I was not impressed with Jack Kelly's singing, sorry to say.   Luckily the dancing more than made up for it and it was a terrific show.   The leg room, however, left something to be desired.

Energized from the fantastic music, we had to go to 16 handles for frozen yogurt.

SUNDAY
Back to Chelsea to enjoy brunch with Tony and Carmen [who live there] and Marissa and Howie [who were in the city for the day].   We had yummy food and good visiting before heading to Chelsea Market.    Al and I even met up with Marissa and Howie later for a drink after exploring High Line.

Dinner included Shake Shack with Sal, and a tour of his new apartment.  Talk about a good food day - holy cow.

MONDAY
Went to the gym like good little 1/2 marathon trainers.  Then we headed to the Upper East Side to explore the Metropolitan Museum of Art and grab lunch.  

For my last night in the city, the tenement museum in the East Village did not disappoint.  The hardest part was selecting a tour - we went with Sweatshop Workers and had an enthusiastic young woman tell us all about life at the turn of the 20th century.   Al and Melissa's apartment is above a pizza place and I FINALLY ate there with Al for dinner.  We topped off the evening with a stop at Momufuku Milk Bar and Al practiced doing my hair for the upcoming 1/2 Marathon… Full House Style

TUESDAY
Got in a cab in the East Village and clearly say 31st and 7th please.  Aka PENN STATION but on the NJT side.   Cabbie heard 34th and 7th.   I got to walk a little extra to the train station.   Once inside, I must have looked like I had it together because someone asked me how to buy a NJT ticket and how to get to the trains.  Um ok.   I dashed down a flight of stairs, hopped on my train, and made it to Newark in plenty of time.