New York

Well, we have returned from NYC! I have never been so exhausted, or excited. New York was everything I imagined and sooooo much more! It was 19* with the wind blowing at about 30 mph the entire time we were there. For all of you Floridians, that is mighty cold!!!! We were well bundled, but if we waited too long at a crosswalk, we began to freeze. (Literally!!)


The first day there, we ate at the world famous Carmines Italian Restaurante. It was the most delicious food! I loved the atmosphere, I felt as if Tony Soprano would be walking in at anytime.

Later that evening we walked to Macy's...then to back to Times Square. When we got to the middle of Times Square with the HUGE jumbo-trons on either side of us, I really felt as though we were at the very center of the universe. From there we had just a short walk back to our hotel which was in the Theatre District.




The next day we walked from our hotel to Bloomingdales, twice, with stops at Tiffany's, Cartier, Yves St. Lauren, Chanel, Coach, FAO Schwartz (twice) and then walked to Tavern on the Green---for another FABULOUS meal!!! I was telling someone in the elevator about all the walking we had done that day and some man in there with us said "Girl, you can have some dessert today, after all that walking!" But there was no time for dessert, Jami (my step-daughter) and I had to rush to meet Tyler (my son) and his class for MY FIRST EVER BROADWAY SHOW......Wicked. It was the bomb! When the music began, tears streamed from my face--- I could not believe that I was in NYC at a real Broadway show. It was awesome. If you have not already seen it, and you have the opportunity you really need to go---you will not be disappointed. I was sorry the Shelby (my daughter) and Celene (our friend) didn't join us. They had taken off for the Empire State Building instead.

Saturday morning we headed for Chinatown and cheap purses!!! What a unique experience that was!

From there we took a cab to Ground Zero. A very somber time. Out of the four of us, no one spoke the whole time we were there. The museum was even more sad. To look at the wall with all of those family pictures of the people who were lost. It was overwhelming.

After crying every bit of my make up off, we headed back to the hotel.

After MORE WALKING, eating at the California Pizza Kitchen, shopping at Dylan's Candy Bar, Jami and Tyler ate hotdogs from a side-of-the-road vendor, we headed back to the hotel for rest, and to get ready for dinner at Jeckyll and Hyde. Shelby was convinced we had to eat there. I was skeptical --- I do not like to be scared ---and certainly NOT while I am eating. As it turned out, J&H was much fun, and the food was great too.

Sunday we left Tyler and his class, and headed to the airport. Our wild trip was coming to an end....but what fun we had. We are already planning our next trip for Christmas time, and also again in February '08 with the drama class....

Til next time, have a very blessed day!

Laura