New York City, May 29th-31st 2013

If you have followed my blog, you likely realize I have recently made the transition from living in Boston for about a year to returning to Kentucky. The entire time I lived in Boston, New York City felt so close but yet so far away. Although it was only about a four hour train ride, I had never made the trip by myself; in part due tot he expense of going it alone. Knowing that it would be a shame not to take advantage of the close proximity of the Big Apple before heading back to the Bluegrass, my mom and I decided to make a girl’s trip to NYC for our trip home! We had an amazing time and tried to squeeze in as much as possible in our brieft three day adventure.

Our first day started early in Boston before sunrise, taking a cab to South Station in the pouring rain. While on the four hour train ride, we prepared by further planning our trip and to trying to rest for our exhausting day. We departed the train first at Penn Station and hopped on the subway for a few short stops headed for our hotel. We stayed near Time Square off Broadway, so we could easily walk to several of the attractions on our to-do list. When we got off the subway and stepped out on the street, I was a bit overwhelmed. I was used to the busy city streets of Boston, but quickly realized, Boston is tiny compared!

The weather cleared in perfect time for our city adventure to commence. We decided our next stop was to be for food! We happened upon Guy’s American Kitchen. We are both fans of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and of Guy Fieri, so we had to pay tribute! We then meandered through Time Square to check out the Museum of Modern Art; next we stopped to explore the gigantic Rockefeller Center.

Our evening was filled with our first Broadway play, Phantom of the Opera, celebrating it’s 25th year on Broadway. While leaving our play, we joined the crowd to see Tom Hanks exiting his hit Broadway play, Lucky Guy. Not bad for day one! By the end of the day, I couldn’t believe I had begun the day in Boston and ended it fatigued in NYC.

On day two, we headed straight to lower Manhattan to see the Statue of Liberty, the Charging Bull near Wall Street, and the 911 Memorial. For lunch, we had to make a stop at the famous Katz Delicatessen. If you have ever seen When Harry Met Sally, you may be familiar with this deli. It is where the arousing scene in the movie takes place that ends with, “I’ll have what she’s having.” They were celebrating 125 years the week we were there! After lunch we hopped on the subway again and headed back uptown to Time Square for a bit of a rest before heading to Central Park. Being a huge Friends fan, I had to see the replica of the Friends Fountain, and Mom made sure we stopped by Strawberry Fields. Dinner was another movie/tv show tribute we have always wanted to try, the Recession Special at Gray’s Papaya, $4.95 two hot dogs and a drink (we recommend their famed papaya juice)! Mom and I each had a hot dog and split the drink, can’t beat that price in NYC. Gray’s Papaya was established in 1973 and is featured in many television shows and movies. Matthew Perry‘s character in Fools Rush In sold me when I was a youngster, and I have wanted to try one ever since.

On Our last day, we packed and tried to do our final goodbye’s to such an awesome city, picked up a few souvenirs, and tried to squeeze in two last great restaurants for lunch and an afternoon snack before the airport. Our lunch was enjoyed in a place I had seen on Food Network, Shake Shack. Mom consumed a mushroom burger that was filled with cheese; I wish I had a photo. Our last day was particularly hot; by the time we had shopped for souvenirs, we had almost decided to just head on to the airport when I asked mom if she was up for one more adventure. I had one last restaurant on my list and couldn’t bring myself to leave New York without going. We headed back to the East Side to Serendipity 3. Where John Cusack‘s and Kate Beckinsale‘s characters went when they first met in the movie, Serendipity. Serendipity’s  famous Frozen Hot Chocolate was the perfect way to end our trip, The atmosphere was extremely quirky and fun with colorful paints and exquisite Tiffany lamps hanging everywhere. We saved the best for last, dessert!

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