As I mentioned, Joe and I recently went to New York. We went as a vacation, anniversary, birthday trip, but got to visit friends along the way. Andy and Emily York have been in NY for several months now with Andy's work (he is one of Joe's fellow accountants at E&Y). They were so gracious to let us stay with them! We were able to experience the city as "locals", bypassing a lot of the tourist sites and seeing a lot of the city we had never seen before!
We flew into White Plains, NY and took a 30 min train ride into Grand Central Station. It was an adventure, experiencing every kind of NY transportation (bus, train, taxi, subway). We woke up Friday morning to SNOW! I know it looks like rain, but trust me...there were huge, quarter-sized snowflakes falling. It was truly amazing considering we don't see snow like that in Alabama!
We saw where several movies have been filmed throughout various areas of the city: Central Park, Central Village, Grenwich Village, and the Lower East Side. We also ate at some fabulous restaurants that we would have never discovered on our own. My favorite was
The Stanton Social. It is a tapas restaurant (you order a ton of appetizers) and had amazing selections. Joe enjoyed
The Little Owl, which is the restaurant at the bottom of the "Friends" building. We also had wonderful dessert at Cafe Lalo, where a scene from "You've Got Mail" was filmed. I can honestly say I liked everything I ate!
We also spent a day to walk down 5th Avenue, Wall Street, and Times Square. We saw Mary Poppins one night too, which was an amazing show. I felt like a kid again as I hummed along to "Just a Spoonful of Sugar". Mary Poppins was always a very classy lady to me and she has continued to live up to her reputation through this great show!
On our last two days in NY we spent time in Central Park and made it a point to make it on the Today Show! Central Park was quite an experience as there are many people sharing their "talents" with the community. We saw roller skaters (yes...on 4 wheels), musicians, street dancers (like on American's Best Dance Crew), and those people who spin those stick thingies. It was very entertaining. For those of you who know me well, I was in my element, getting to sit back and people watch!
As for the Today Show, IT WAS FREEZING! We got there at 6:45 and had a great spot. I quickly realized I was not going outlast the cold. When they raised the "blinds" in Sudio 1A, we quickly found our spot and were on our way to our 3 seconds of fame! Yes, we were seen for a split second during the weather segment. :) I was thrilled! At that point we left and went across the way to Dean & Deluca and enjoyed a nice hot cup of coffee while watching the stronger of the spectators endure the wind on the Plaza.
You can't tell, but Meredith was waving at me!!
And I love Natalie Morales and her great sense of fashion. :)
So that was the end of our trip! We walked around before getting back on our train to White Plains. Joe and I had an amazing time together and with Andy and Emily. You know, "busy season" for accountants can be pretty draining (as it can for their wives) and I know this little vacation was just what we needed!!
