NYC: Days Three to Six

{it seems that i took a vacation from blogging as well! so i will do my best to wrap up our journey.}

day three: Angie walked over to our hotel, then she, Dad, Mom and i went to our hotel's cafe, named the Cosmopolitan Cafe, for breakfast. Then, we split up, Todd and Ang going on their way, Mom, Dad and i heading uptown to the MOMA.

i was a little disappointed in the MOMA, partly because of the millions of people, partly because of the sheer number of people who were moving from piece to piece of the brilliant art, not looking at them with their actual eyes, but photographing each work, then moving on to photograph the next. how could you be in the presence of art, and not actually look at it!? i'm still trying to move beyond it...

after the MOMA, we walked over to the Rockefeller Center, had lunch in the lower concourse, then while Mom walked around below, Dad and i took the elevator up to the Top of the Rock, which was pretty darn awesome. great views of the Central Park, the city skyline, and, of course, the Empire State Building. when we got our feet back on solid ground, we walked around a bit, Mom bought a cool bag, then we went outside, where we saw the Dean and Deluca that is shown every morning then the Today Show's cameras pan the crowds outside. walking around the area, we got photos of the Prometheus statue, as well as Atlas, which is right across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral. there was a service going on in the cathedral, so we couldn't see much, but what we did see was beautiful.

next door was a Saks Fifth Avenue which was being outwardly renovated. since we were there, we went in, and while i am not sure if i have ever been in a Saks before, had i seen the ridiculous prices, i am sure i would have remembered! apparently this is not a place for people like me to shop!

after we picked our jaws up off the floor, we walked over to Times Square, where Mom walked around with her camera, and Dad and i sat at a table in the square enjoying the day turning into night. very, very cool. we stopped at Bubby's for dinner again on our way back to the hotel, then turned in for the night.

day four: today was the day we decided to go to the Cloisters, a part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where they have built a castle that houses art and treasures from monasteries and other ancient buildings from Europe, many from France. Dad, Mom, Ang, Todd and i took a subway all the way up to 190th Street, then walked through a beautiful park to get there. the place was amazing, from the building itself, to the part i was most looking forward to, the unicorn tapestries.

we were super hungry at this point, so we got back on the subway to go back to a restaurant we saw the night before in Times Square, and as we walked to the Brooklyn Diner, my mother's 'star-dar' went off, and suddenly we found ourselves off to the side looking at Michael Weatherly {Tony DiNozzo from NCIS and Mario Lopez} be interviewed in the middle of the square. Todd has photos of Mom, starting at the outer area of the group surrounding the stars, and slowly moving in, until she was right next to the guy holding the microphone.

after that episode, Mom was, to say the least, extremely giddy. we finally ate lunch, but her eyes were on the window all the time, hoping to catch another glimpse of her favorite NCIS star. but alas, that glimpse never arrived. so what better thing to do then to hop on a subway to go to the restaurant namesake of one of the best John Cusak movies, Serendipity, for frozen hot chocolate. {yes, we ate two day's worth of calories in an hour and a half!}

once we rolled out of the restaurant, it was time for Todd and Ang to head on their way to their evening's activities, while Mom, Dad and i headed back to the Times Square area to see West Side Story. so eternally cool, is all i have to say about that. the perfect ending to a super day.

day five: our last full day started with Dad and i going up the Empire State Building. Mom stayed again firmly planted on the ground in shopping mode as we went up the iconic skyscraper. funnily enough, Ang and i had gotten our signals crossed, and i thought that they were headed back home, but we ran into them in the lobby of the ESB. they were just coming down as we were going up. crazy!

we went from the sky to the sea... well sort of. after the ESB, we headed over to pier 82 or 83 {stupid numbers} and caught the Circle Line Cruise, where for two hours we stood on the side of a boat and saw the city from a completely different perspective. and we finally go to see the Statue of Liberty closer. one of the best part for me, was going under the Brooklyn Bridge, which we walked on just a few days earlier.

once the cruise was done, given the incredible pain our feet were all in, we did some shopping, went over the Washington Square Park to sit there for a bit, took a quick jaunt to Kate's Paperie, and then headed back over to the hotel to pack our suitcases and rest our feet.

around 9pm, we decided we were hungry, so we went to the Whole Foods Market, and put a picnic together for our last NYC dinner.

day six: our last morning. after breakfast, we walked over to Barnes & Nobles, got coffee {oh, did i mention that my mother is now addicted to Starbucks Cafe Mochas?!}, and waited until my shuttle arrived to take me to the airport. so i said goodbye to my favorite parents, and our journeys home all began shortly after that.

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so that was our absolutely wonderful adventure in NYC. even now, days later, i still wish i was there with Mom, Dad, Ang and Todd.

until the next time...