Hell the Opera in New York City to see my best friend from high school in May . He was the conductor for this production and it was his first paying gig as such. Yeah, Jonathan! When I asked him what it was all about, he couldn't explain it to me either. I guess I'm just to obtuse to get it.
...and back. That's actually a true statement. I went to
That's not all I did in New York City...although I was only there for 24 hours. I didn't do a ton of damage. That's a lie...I did a lot of damage to my waistline and wallet.
We drove down to NYC and stayed at the W New York on 50th & Lexington in Midtown. Parking in Manhattan is EXPENSIVE, but it sort of evened out since two bus tickets would have cost just as much as gas and parking combined. Plus there was the added convience of leaving NYC whenever we wanted to without dealing with the crowds at Port Authority and also the ability able to stop at White Castle on the way back to Boston. The hotel was way trendy and beautifully appointed with modern furniture, but the room that we were given was the size of a postage stamp. There was enough room for a full bed and barely enough room to squeeze by on either side. I'm a small person and it was even a little cramped for me. Luckily, there are plenty of other things to do and see in Manhattan, so we didn't spend a ton of time in the hotel. The room featured Bliss Spa products, robes and a small, but oh so comfortable bed. The staff was definately a bit pretentious, but so were a lot of New Yorkers.
After the opera, we went for a late dinner in Koreatown. J had been dreaming about it all week. I do have to say that it was excellent! Beef bulgolgi on a Korean BBQ freshly cooked right in front of you. Plus there were lots of little side dishes to nosh on with dinner. YUM! Things are open so late in New York. That is one advantage.
We went for a walk after dinner and ended up at Serendipity 3. I had one of their famous Frrrrrozen Hot Chocolates. Can you say brain freeze? It was delicious, but so gigantic that I couldn't finish it. J had gooey Outrageous Banana Split.
J had to hang out with some family on Saturday afternoon, so I was free to wander Manhattan on my own. He dropped me in SoHo, but before he left me on my own in the city, we stopped in at Milk & Cookies to grab something to bring to his family. He bought a tin on freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. They were an absolute hit. Of course, I couldn't resist the urge to indulge in one myself, so I Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookie. YUM! Oh so good and gooey. Dessert is my weakness.
There were two LYS in the area that I wanted to visit. The first was The Point NYC. Yes, that's a picture from the car. It was POURING rain outside. There were plenty of things to covet and pet. I restrained myself and bought only six skeins of GGH Mystik in 83 Brick. The next stop was Purl Soho. This LYS is so beautiful! The staff was very friendly and helpful. There were huge swatches of some of the yarns they had available as you walked into the door. The yarns were well organized on both sides of the store with a community table in the middle to sit and browse at patterns or knit. I purchased a couple of skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton in 81 Sand. The friendly salesperson even took the time to explain to me that this yarn is naturally colored. So neat! I this yarn to make a Baby Bobbi Bear for a new addition to the world.
Since it was such a rainy day, there were not many people out and about shopping. I got a great tip from the same salesperson at Purl Soho was Sullivan St Bakery a few blocks away. I had a slice of Pizza Funghi for a quick snack. YUM! I'm a sucker for mushrooms.
I met J after getting soaked at Chelsea Market, home of the Food Network and wonderful gourmet food boutiques. We shared a turkey sandwich from Amy's Bread and Wild Mushroom Barley soup from Hale and Hearty Soups. J and I even indulged ourselves in some yummy brownies from Fat Witch to take a bit of New York home with us.
Before heading home, we headed decided to poke around SoHo some more. We stopped in at Dean & Deluca for some coffee, browsing at wonderful gourmet foods and kitchen accessories. Balthazar Bakery for a little nosh. The we stopped at Rice to Riches for some delicious rice pudding. I had caramel rice pudding with a graham cracker topping.
I plan on going down to NYC again sometime this summer. There is just so much to see and so little time.
I have been away from this blog for a long time because I've concentrating on schoolwork. Now that classes are over for the summer, I'm starting to re-evaluate my professional and personal goals. So hopefully I'll be around more often. There have been a couple of things that I have to post about including some thanks to some thoughtful people.
