Big Apple Recap!

I'm back from NYC and we had a fantastic time! It was a whirlwind couple of days and I started writing this on Sunday night but even though I couldn't wait to fill you all in on the exciting weekend I had, I needed to sleep (literally falling asleep at my computer), so it's going up on Monday morning. And by the way, Happy Memorial Day everyone! What are your plans for today?

We left early on Thursday morning. I had an Oikos with cereal and coffee because I had only gotten three hours of sleep. In the car my boyfriend had brought delicious pastries (a raspberry filled danish and a bear claw) which we ate over the next three hours. We stopped driving for lunch and I had a slice of supreme sBarro Pizza. (Nutrition facts on-line say 631 calories. Sounds about right and in addition to being really good, it kept me full for a long time!)


On the drive there, we saw a truck with pigs in it! They were trying to stick their snouts outs! So cute! :)


I also took a picture of the MASSIVE bridge you have to cross in order to get into the city. I don't know its name. Anyone know what it's called?


We got in late and after checking into the hotel went into Manhattan and walked around for about three hours until 1am. First though we had to figure out how to use the PT. (= public transportation). It's really not THAT hard if you know how to read maps and pay close attention to details. Here's the trusty MetroCard.


We got dinner at a great place simply called "Pasta Lovers". I can't find much information about it on-line, but it was cheap ($12 for a dinner plate!), DELICIOUS and had EXCELLENT service! I'd highly recommend it! I got the grilled chicken with veggies and it came with spaghetti on the side. I really, REALLY enjoyed it!


Fountains by the Chase Bank:


Times Square Church. What a GREAT slogan and design! :)


And Times Square itself. Yes, it is full of flashing lights!


On Friday morning we got up around 7:30, to take a shower and get to the free breakfast provided to us at the hotel. I made a breakfast sandwich from two slices of bread, a pork sausage and a small 'omelet', mostly eggs. It was greasy, but really good! I also had coffee, an apple and a cinnamon pastry thing.

Then we went into the city to explore. We got to Manhattan around 11am and walked almost non-stop until 4pm. (= 5 hours of exercise! And in the evening, which I'm getting to, we walked for another 5 hours straight. Leaving one hour for standing/map reading/bathroom usage still means we were walking for about 9 hours straight. I'm going to estimate 300 calories an hour. This means we burned 2700 calories during the day, not including the normal calories our bodies need. Some hours would have been closer to 400 calories. So anyway, the point is, that it was an excellent workout and my legs are STILL a little bit sore! :) We were exhausted in the afternoon, so we took a two hour nap at Washington Square Plaza. But let me start at the beginning of our day.

We walked around Central Park. Isn't it beautiful?!?


Right outside of Central Park we saw the Hardy Boys (not sure of the spelling and I don't think this is right! I wanted to give you all the link, but I can't find them on-line since I didn't think to be brilliant and ask them how they spell their name!), a (VERY GOOD!) bluegrass band from Nashville, TN, another one of my favorite cities!

We walked south toward and through the Theatre District and passed the very unassuming, humble building that is Carnegie Hall.



The street right outside Carnegie Hall is named after a violinist, Isaac Stern. I know this (and care!) because I am a humongous geek. ;-)

We stopped for coffee mid-morning and I just had black coffee, but they had adorable cupcakes. I would have loved one, bu I really wasn't hungry. But I took a picture anyway for you all. I mean seriously, there's a Cookie Monster one and he has a piece of cookie in his mouth! How cute!

We walked to the Empire State Building and we wanted to climb it, but I didn't realize it costs $20 just to go up it! So we decided against it. It is, however, a VERY tall building!




I got hungry around 3pm (had had breakfast at 9am and a small piece of bagel at 11:30am) so I stopped at Pret A Manger for a sandwich. This is my new favorite place to eat!! Seriously, it's AMAZING! It's actually a small chain in England and New York and all their prepared sandwiches use fresh and organic ingredients. I had the balsamic chicken and avocado sandwich (500 calories--nice thing about New York is that calorie counts are on every item!) and it was one of the most delicious sandwiches I've ever eaten.

We were exhausted so we took a nap in Washington Square Plaza. Lots of other people had our same idea. The weather was gorgeous for our entire trip! About 80 and sunny! Although I did end up with a decent sunburn on my shoulders since I was wearing a tank top. :)

We left there and walked through Greenwich Village, stopping at Cafe Reggio for some excellent Italian Espresso where I had a skim latte.

Then we walked all the way to the Southern part of Manhattan where we crossed the Brooklyn Bridge on foot--twice. (There and back). It's pretty gigantic! I was expecting something a lot smaller!


Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge.

Statue of Liberty from the Brooklyn Bridge.


Around this time (9pm) my legs were getting VERY sore. But I'm stubborn, so even though my boyfriend asked if I wanted to take the subway, I said I'd rather walk. Here's Times Square in daylight.


We got back up to Times Square and purchased tickets for the Broadway Comedy Club. It was a multi-comedian night and pretty fun. The show didn't even start until midnight and we ended up getting back to the hotel room around 4am.

I figured an apartment in this complex was a little out of my price range. (I can't remember if it was near Central Park or Times Square, but either way, probably not something I can afford....)

Anyway, we woke up early enough on Saturday morning for a free breakfast (I just had cereal + milk, an apple, coffee and another cinnamon danish because they were really delicious!) and fell back asleep until almost checkout at 12 noon! We started driving home but got a flat tire on the road! It took a little while to call for help and get it replaced, but not too bad overall. Then we stopped by some friends' place for dinner which was lasagna, salad, and brownies and ice cream for dessert. We had to get one more hotel because we were exhausted. On Sunday morning I got a suprisingly good Cobb salad from a gas station (no dressing, diet coke to drink). I also ate a bunch of chocolate covered edamame from TJs and a bunch of chocolate covered chili spiced dired mango. Sounds weird, but it's actually very good! :) After driving all afternoon my boyfriend and I went to Subway where I got a footlong ham and cheddar on wheat, all the veggies and honey mustard sauce and I ate all of it. Sunday night I went to a rock band competition where my friends were playing and I had a Yuengling beer. Then we went out for one more beer and onion rings. Hah, so not so healthy, but I'll workout today and I don't feel bad about it. I'd like to run outside, as it's beautiful out and I have my amazing new iPod! :) I can't wait!

I read all your comments on my last post--it sounds like a lot of you are Mac users! Woohoo! I do love my Mac and won't ever switch over!

OK, this has turned into another super long post! I hope you enjoyed reading the re-cap! As always, I would love to get your feedback, comments, and/or questions.

I hope everyone is having an excellent holiday weekend!