I Want To Be a Part Of It -

New York, New York! Now sing it like Frankie...

Last weekend Cheryl, Vonda and I went to The Big Apple. As you know from a previous post, our trip was delayed. Well, we couldn't have asked for a better weekend and as things always do, it worked out well.

If you want to skip the (not so) boring details, by all means, skip right on down to the pictures. I'll understand.

Friday, May 8th: Walked along the Hudson, around Battery Park, Wall Street and Ground Zero. We stopped for drinks at the Blarney Stone, Moran's and O'Hara's. We really didn't mean for it to turn into an Irish theme but alas, that's what happened. Question: What happens when your friend (who shall remain nameless) drinks too much? Answer: She snores so loud you are forced to switch beds. We stayed at the Marriott Downtown and I would highly recommend it. It was a very nice hotel and in a great location (3 blocks from the Hudson, a block from a subway station (although we never did embark on that journey), and a couple of blocks from Century 21 (more on this later)).

May 9th: We slept in longer than planned (some strange noise kept waking us up) so by the time we got going we decided to skip breakfast and head to Little Italy for some pizza. We had to walk by Century 21 on the way. Why do I keep mentioning Century 21 you ask. Well, on Friday Cheryl kept saying she wanted to go to Century 21. Since she is a realtor on the side, Vonda and I kept thinking of the real estate company and we couldn't figure out why she wanted to go there so bad. So on our way to Little Italy, we went by Century 21, the store. They sell designer items (i.e.: Badgley Mischka handbags) at a huge discount. Granted, I may have gotten last year's way cute green handbag but I don't care. It's way cute! After spending too little time in C21 we finally made our way to Little Italy. We went to Lombardi's for yummy pizza. Then we walked through the north part of Chinatown to get to Zarin Fabrics (Vonda's pick of the weekend). Zarin's as in Jill Zarin from The Real Housewives of NYC (if you watch that kind of stuff, which I don't, really, I had to look up the name of the show just now). Let's take a step back to Chinatown. It is a literal transformation as to when you cross the line from non-Chinatown into Chinatown. It really is like being in China (or so I imagine)...the streets are packed with little China people (I felt like a giant) and hard to walk down. There are stores that sell fresh fish (and when I say fresh, they go ahead and gut the fish right there on the sidewalk/street in the mornings - or so I'm told). Anyways, after seeing an image that I really wish I'd never seen (thanks to Cheryl), we had to make a pit stop at Ferrara's for dessert. Mmm, mmm, cannoli!

We went back to the hotel for a cat-nap. Cheryl and I went to the water while Vonda continued to snooze. Great people watching I tell ya. Then Cheryl and I (Vonda continued to snooze...she really needed a vacation!) went to Rockefeller Center/Times Square. One warning I will give you: watch out for those nasty grates. They jump up and grab your heel and stop you in your tracks. The good news is that at least there was a bus full of people that saw this happen to me. Hopefully someone got a picture of it. Hopefully it gets posted on the internet. We got our fix of gnocchi at a great little Italian restaurant and then went to the Marriott Marquis (Cheryl's pick of the weekend) for drinks. Question: What happens when your other friend (who shall remain nameless as well) has allergies? Answer: She keeps you up all night long. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep this weekend. Good thing I had fun!

May 10th: We took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (my pick of the weekend). We didn't get off at the Statue of Liberty but I got some great pics. We really didn't have much time at Ellis Island but I'm really glad we went. It's amazing what those people went through to get to the good 'ole U.S. of A.

Along the Hudson

Keep dreaming kid.

Nothing like taking in the contrast of mother nature and the city skyline with the smell of pot wafting by. Not that I know what pot smells like, just a guess.

How I feel some days:

(That's the bull on Wall Street)


NYSE

Trinity Church (I think)

If you've ever been to a wedding and Vonda was there, you'll recognize what she is doing. For the rest of you: air fiddle to The Devil Went Down to Georgia (at the Blarney Stone).

In case you're scratching your head wondering why I had this picture taken...read the sign and it will make more sense, but not really, but it might, but not really.

Trinity Church - other side (I'm pretty sure)

This memorial was on the side of the fire station right across the street from the Twin Towers. They lost so many heros that sad, sad day.

I came prepared for swine flu. The funny thing was we did actually see tourists wearing these.

'nough said

The view from, well, The View. It is a rotating restaurant on the 48th floor of the Marriott Marquis near Times Square.

My peeps in matching sweatshirts.

Dramamine number 5 (which was the magic number).

Lady Liberty

Inside the main building on Ellis Island. I found my great-grandfather's name, C. Trembeth, in the registry. While he didn't pass directly through Ellis Island, he did go through the Port of New York (from England) in 1923 and those people's names were in the registry as well.

One of my favorite things of the weekend were the people. I feel like NYC has such a bad rep for being a city full of rude people. Not only did I find that not to be true but quite the opposite. We had several great conversations with locals. They were all nice and had a great sense of humor. I heart NY and I enjoyed "being a part of it", if only for a short weekend.