The Lights Will Inspire You*

After a big trip to Ireland last year, Eric and I decided to take a smaller trip this year.  Our friend Rosemary is living in Manhattan these days and offered us her place for the weekend. Best friend meets tour guide plus free place to stay? Yes, please! (Thanks Connie and Pat for helping out too!)

We'd had this trip planned since shortly after Christmas. It proved to be perfect timing, just a few days after the miscarriage. It was nice to get away to something that was already planned, and that we were SO looking forward to.

With a short 4 day trip, we decided to leave Evie at home with the grandparents. Neither of us had been to New York City and we wanted to maximize our time.

The weather was absolutely PERFECT.  It was 65, sunny, with a light breeze.  

Day 1

Landing a few minutes after 9am, we hit the ground running. Rosemary worked from home so she could help us navigate the city. 

We grabbed breakfast with her before Eric and I left for a few tours. After a long architectural tour of Grand Central, Chanin, Pan Am, and Chrysler, we decided, why not? And went to the top of the Empire State Building.  

We had a food truck lunch and walked through the NY Public Library holding hands. 

We had Ditch Plains take out (only in NYC does a chicken and bacon Caesar salad cost $31) and watched about three hours of Food Network.

It was a day that Rom-Coms are made of.

Our sites:

Bagel Talk

Grand Central

Chrysler Building

NY Public Library

Empire State Building

Ditch Plains

Day 2

With such perfect weather, we wanted to maximize out time outside.  With it being Saturday, Rosemary jumped in the fun with us for the whole day. First stop was the Highline, an old elevated train track turned into walking trails. People of all sorts were out enjoying the day.

We had lunch an The Biergarden. Delicious German-meets-trendy-American plates, beers, and giant soft pretzels.

I had seen these FABULOUS pictures of the inside of Macy's.  I desperately wanted to stop and check it out. Um, either I am making up what I thought it looked like or we never found the awesome parts, but it was overwhelmingly crowded and modern. I was SO disappointed.

After a light lunch and a bust of a shopping trip, it was time for a snack.  Using the powers of Foursquare and the Internet we found Melt. A gourmet cookie+ice cream shop. Literally it was a kitchen and a guy on a barstool with an iPad. Our ice cream sandwiches were to die for. And we almost did. Thanks to some GPS errors we ended up walking through a super sketchy extra mile of the city to find this place.

With a big night of feasting ahead, we thought it fitting to start with the Heavenly Feast at Saint Joseph's for Sunday Vigil Mass.

Next stop: Murry's Cheese Shop. The cheese shop was full of dreams come true. I wanted to take the whole store home. I just settled for this shirt that says, "Let's Grow Mold Together" (bahaha).

Next door at Murry's Cheese Bar we had a night cap of gourmet grilled cheese, buffalo fried cheese curds (maybe THIS was heaven on earth?), mac&blue cheese, and some excellent wines and beers paired just for us.

Last, but not least, we took a pit stop through Times Square.  Not because either of us really cared, but because everyone insisted that it's more impressive that you'd think.  Having been to Piccadilly Circus we felt like, meh, we've seen it. But it was worth it, just as everyone promised.

Our Sites

Highline
The Biergarden
Macy's
Melt
St. Josephs
Murray's Cheese Shop
The Blind Tiger
Murray's Cheese Bar

Days 3 and 4 coming soon :)

*Empire State of Mind, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys