New York

After a short night we got up early (thank you Stellan) and got ready to head out to New York City. We were rushing around quite a bit since we didn't have a chance to pack the night before (extra Pictionary game....). We wanted to catch the express train into Penn Station so we didn't have to stop a dozen times on the way there. We missed the 9:45 so we decided to catch any train that we could at that point. That was before the parking. We drove around looking for a parking space. What a joke! I asked one of the cabbies that was camped out at the station where we could find parking. He said that they fill up by 7:30. What?!?! There is a several year waiting list for the pass spots. That's insane!! He suggested going to the Chinese restaurant at the corner to see if they would rent us a spot for the day. We ended up finding a place where we paid double what we would have in the regular lot. Oh well, at least we got a spot.

By the time we parked, walked back to the station and bought our tickets we caught the 10:45 express. Not too bad.

Uneventful but relaxing train ride. Got into Penn Station about an hour later.

Followed James around because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or where I was going. Hopped on the subway and headed toward Time Square.

Got off and headed back above ground. Oh my goodness. What a crazy city! It is unbelievable how big everything is in the city. You look up and all you see are buildings. Really tall buildings.

We walked toward the hotel which was only a few blocks away from Times Square. We had to haul our luggage through throngs of people but we managed just fine. We checked into our tiny hotel. Cute but tiny. After a quick freshening up we headed out for some exploring.

Our first stop was to get some street meat. So yummy. I had lamb on a pita and it was absolutely delicious!! Go figure, great food from a street vendor.

We took the subway to Battery Park in order to catch the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The line to catch the ferry was an hour. It was at that point that we decided that we couldn't make our dinner reservations so we rescheduled them for after the Broadway show. The boat ride was a bit cool, OK, downright cold, but so beautiful. It was an absolutely clear day so we had a great view.

We saw the Statue of Liberty but decided not to get off so we could have more time at Ellis Island. She was gorgeous. Huge.

We got off the ferry at Ellis Island and headed inside. It was so amazing to read about all the history and the lives that were changed right in that same building. I don't have any family that came into Ellis Island but it was still touching.

We headed back to mainland where we took the subway to Ground Zero. There is a ton of construction in the area and we didn't have a lot of time but we were still able to see where the two towers once stood. How sad. :(

Back on the Subway and back to our hotel. We grabbed a quick snack and then got ready for our Broadway show. Thankfully we were only a few blocks away because my high heeled boots look good but are definitely not too comfortable.

"Legally Blonde" is definitey geared to the female crowd but there were still quite a few guys. Kudos to James for so willingly going with me. This was all based on a recommendation by a friend who knows Broadway and has even done some acting (off Broadway but still in NY). I have to say, it was hilarious!!! It takes a lot to get me to laugh out loud and this show definitely made me laugh many times. I really enjoyed it. During intermission James and I headed into the lobbby for a bottle of water. I think it is a secret ploy to make the air really dry so people get extremely thirsty. Then they charge you $4 for a bottle of water. No, that's not a typo. Crazy.

After the show, a great first experience, we headed to DB Bistro for dinner. A little surprising when you head out of the theatre, knowing it's about 10 o'clock, and yet it is still bright as day. Good 'ole Broadway. What a lovely waste of energy.

Thankfully the restaurant was only a few blocks from the theatre (good planning James!). What a great little French restaurant. I have to say it was one of the best meals I have ever eaten. I had bacon wrapped salmon served with figs, raspberry butter sauce and two veggies that I'm not exactly sure of their identities but they were still delicious. A small bite of dessert and a pricey bill (or check as they say in the US) later and we were on our way. Midnight, not too bad.

We headed back to the tiny room and got ready for bed. When I laid down on the bed I noticed that the head of the bed definitely slanted downward. I felt the blood rushing to my head and my sinuses getting congested. I was tempted to call front desk but it was already 12:30 and I was in my pj's. We took off the covers and moved to the other end of the bed. Oh well, it still worked. A bit irritating though.

The next morning when we checked out I asked to speak to a manager. I told him about our mattress situation the night before. He explained that I should have called front desk. I replied that it was late and I was already in my pj's. He apologized and then proceeded to check us out. I then asked, "How are you going to make this up to us?". He explained that he couldn't reduce our rate for the night but he did offer a free night's stay at another time. Not bad. :)

We headed out for a quick breakfast (yummy omelet) and then walked down 5th Ave. We did a lot of window shopping but not much buying. I wanted to go into Sax Fifth Avenue and have a look around. I wasn't expecting such a grandiose store. It was huge!! We looked around on many of the floors but didn't do any real splurges.

We also went into Tiffany's. We didn't go to all 6 floors but I did look around a bit. I have never seen so much sparkle in my life. Just for fun I picked out a ring that I wanted to try on. The salesman came over and I pointed out which one I was interested in. He explained that they have a store policy that prohibits them from showing anything over $500, 000 on the counter. If we were interested we would have to book a special viewing room. No problem, I understand. (He was very friendly, not at all condescending.) He looked at the tag for the particular ring that I was interested in. Since it was tagged at a million dollars (gasp) he couldn't bring it out but he did lift it up higher for us to get a better look. The other one that I found quite attractive was worth 2.5 million. (double gasp) I finally found one for only $350, 000 and was able to try it on. Beautiful but totally not worth it.

We also went to Rockerfeller Centre where we met some cranberry farmers who were there for an Oceanspray display. Quite interesting, especially after seeing the two guys on tv. Watched the skaters and saw where the tree will soon be errected.

Went to Central Park. So beautiful. Amazing how there is such a huge and beautiful park in the middle of the concrete jungle. We walked around for quite some time before heading back to the subway/train. It was quite a task to manoeuvre through the busy city streets while carrying our luggage. We got where we needed to be just fine and headed home. The train was packed, standing room only, but we managed to get seats. What a long and exhausting day. We made it back in time to see the kids, have them sing happy birthday, eat a cupcake (thanks Allison) and put the kids to bed.

What a terrific way to spend my 30th birthday. Time for a new decade....

Games

My dear Allison came to Princeton to stay with the boys so James and I could go to New York City for my 30th birthday. How wonderful is that!!!
I picked her up at the train station on Thursday morning. The boys were ecstatic!! Their favourite place in the world. Well, they didn't really know that because they had never been but I know it was their favourite place. We headed home for a quick bit and a much needed nap (for all of us).
We had James' co-workers over for another games night. The guys were quite excited to have a rematch. They thought for sure that they would be able to beat us. What were they thinking?!?! We played a Dutch card game first. Easy to play and quite fun. Marije won. That's one for the girls. I don't have to win, just have to have a fellow gal pal win. :) Then we pulled out the Pictionary game. It was a bit more fair now, 3 on 3. The girls won the first game, by quite a landslide. The guys faces were somewhat crestfallen but they were determined to try again. It was late but not too late to prevent them from presenting another challenge. We were totally up to it. Olivier was shooting daggers at me from across the table but I could handle it. We played another game of Pictionary and the girls swept the board again. That's yet again. I wonder if they will ever learn....we're tough to beat. If anyone is up for the challenge, let me know!!
We were in bed by 1:00. Not too bad. :)

I'm back.....

I'm back, just for a bit tonight.
It has been very busy around here so I haven't been able to keep up with my blog. My mother in law was here for a long weekend and then Allison was here for a week. Lots to do, lots of fun.

Hmmm...I guess I have a lot to catch up on.....where to begin?