As aforementioned, our trip was unbelievably fantastic. We packed so many things in our 2.5 days with a couple things added on the list for our next voyage to the Big Apple.

This trip was extremely spontaneous & planned in 7 days. Why so quickly? Well, remember that presentation contest that Husband rocked the socks off of? Well, we didn’t think there was a prize involved until we had a large, lump sum of cash deposited into our account; cue the Cramer Travel Agent…moi.

We did a ton of walking, subway riding, eating, laughing, picture taking and everlasting memory making. Please allow the recapitulation of our trip to flow over your eyes:

SATURDAY

*very chilly and slightly windy but we had a beautiful, blue sky

We arrived in The City at 8:30 am and hit the ground running. Literally. Husband was a champ navigating our way through the city (with the help of goog411) until we met up with the Wheelers.

• Rode the Staten Island Ferry: great views of the skyline, Statue of Liberty & Brooklyn Bridge

• Perused Wall Street, NYSE & visited the Bronzed Bull

• Trinity Church

• Ground Zero

• Met up with the Wheelers at Lombardi’s for the most delicious NY pizza…my mouth’s watering thinking about a pepperoni, ricotta and garlic spinach pizza

• Little Italy

• Walked half-way across the Brooklyn Bridge

• Rode the subway & watched underground street performers

• Max Brenner THE Chocolate Man for yummy hot coco

• Macy’s Department Store : we rode a WOODEN escalator

• Empire State Building

• Bryant Park: I was channeling the energy of Project Runway

• NY Public Library: beautiful architecture, it reminded me a lot of the Library of Congress on the inside

• Grand Central Station: whispered secret messages in the Whispering Wall

• Chrysler Building

• Times Square at night: I can’t even fathom how many watts are used on this bad boy

• Juniors: my favorite cake (carrot cake) + creamiest cheesecake ever = MAJOR party in the mouth

• Amy Ruths: late night Chicken ‘n Waffle run in Harlem; sounds like an odd combination but it’s pure gluttonous goodness

SUNDAY

*awoke to a blanket of fresh snow with more gently falling down…a dream come true for this NYC obsessed Gal

We were on our own today, discovering more of the city.

• Went to the M&Ms store in Times Square to enter Shrek the Musical lottery and we WON!

The Mother Ship

“My favorite local pizza joint in NYC” -Michael from The Office

• LDS Temple (we were planning on going to church but the times of the lottery screwed us up…we took extra pictures of the temple to semi-makeup for it): I love that you come out of the subway station, look up and the temple is BAM right there

• Serendipity: the restaurant wasn’t open yet but the lady inside let me pop in to buy some of the famous Frozen Hot Coco mix. Husband & I will make the homemade version and reminisce on our adventures.

• Dylan’s Candy Bar: we didn’t buy any of the overpriced sweetness but the decor is so fun and gave me inspiration for Kick A kids parties

• Central Park: we sat on a snowy bench and just chatted while taking in the city

• Levain Bakery: snacked on delish Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter & Chocolate Walnut cookies
• Sat FRONT ROW for $25 at Shrek the Musical. LOVED IT. Loved the music. Loved the witty humor. Must see.

• After we got out of Shrek, we went directly to the TKTS booth and bought 50% off tickets for Mary Poppins. We enjoyed it as well; a classic Broadway. Back-to-back Broadways…not too shabby
• Took the “scenic route” AKA wrong subway stop and walked in the falling snow to Shake Shack for a fresh burger and scrumptious fries. Yes, it lives up to all of the hype.
• Back to the Wheeler’s pad in Harlem for more laughs until the wee hours of the morning

MONDAY

* pleasant weather in the morning with more glorious snowfall in the afternoon

Back with Tan & J, we finished up our last minute to-do’s

• An attempt to eat at Doughnut Planet (come to find out they’re closed on Mondays) ended in a good mistake because we grabbed some yummy breakfast pastries at a corner deli
• Radio City Music Hall

• Rockefeller Plaza: we had “bom bom ba da da da da, ba da da da da da” (30 Rock Theme Song) stuck in our heads

• Shot of NBC Studios because we have the Today Show on every morning. The actual show was filming in DC for the inauguration.

• Strolled up 5th Avenue

• Lucky for us, it was NYC Restaurant Week so we had reservations at Porter House New York in Columbus Circle. It’s a schwanky steak house that overlooks the city and Central Park. The boys scored big on their entrees.
• Sauntered through  magical Central Park for views of Poet’s Alley (where most movies are shot), Bethesda Fountain, the Boat House, Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir and Strawberry Fields (memorial for John Lennon). I can see how the park is addicting for the locals. The peace and serenity the park offers in the middle of the booming metropolis is mind boggling. Some of my favorite moments of the trip were walking through the fresh snow covered park.

• MAC Store

• Final stop at FAO Shwartz to play on the Big Piano

I could go on and on describing the time we had, but to describe it plain & simple in one word: EPIC

Thank you Husband for using your prize money to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine.

More pictures for your eyeball’s enjoyment!