good things come to an end

 the last day in nyc did a bit of shopping. our cab was coming around 12 to bring us to the airport so we didn't have much time. we went to nbc studios although we didn't get a chance to do the tour and walked around 5th and 6th. packing was sad.

 i had to take a picture of the giant poster of daniel radcliffe

obviously we had to stop in the hershey store.

that was my trip. i loved every minute, rain or not.

sundays in new york city

sunday deserves a good breakfast. i was totally up for grabbing a scone and a coffee at starbucks but apparently everyone else was looking for more of a sit down sunday breakfast. we ended up going to a place right on 5th across from central park. this was not my kind of restaurant, basically the menu was any kind of eggs possible or $20 pancakes/french toast. oh there was also a baby bear porridge. if you know me at all you probably know what i got. after breakfast we walked around central park for a few hours. 

central park

i took dozens of pictures 

after walking through central park we walked around 5th avenue and did a bit of shopping. we walked around union square and on broadway around 12th and 13th there was the massive strand book store i mentioned. i loved it.. it was a pretty amazing bookstore, book shelves up to the ceiling. i bought three books, the scarlett letter, the virgin suicides and paint it black.. lol now im excited to finish water for elephants so i can start reading one.

then we walked along soho, noho, greenwich and along canal street, insane change in atmosphere there.

so around 4:30 we figured we should get something to eat.. ohh i forgot to mention we had bought tickets to see rock of ages at 7:30 pm. subway back to times square, we asked the concierge what restaurants she recommends. ended up going to a little italian family owner restaurants called ecetera, ecetera. very good food. then off to broadway!

rock of ages wasn't my first choice but it ended up being pretty good. 

i thoroughly enjoyed walking the city.

and i love bookstores

and im pretty sure coffee was part of our everyday - it made me happy.

new york.. new york..

i want to wake up in the city that doesn't sleep ♪  

oh that new york new york song by frank sinatra played all the time and now its in my head. 
saturday called for rain, but luckily for us it turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day. we walked to grand central station, got subway passes, hopped on the subway and went to battery park.

grand central station is pretty cool. like it has coffee shops and bakeries down below, tiled floors, huge chandeliers and thousands of people.

once we got to battery park we went to get tickets to get on the ferry to see the statue of liberty and ellis island. we pretty much waited in line for an hour and a half to then go through security and then finally get on the ferry. it was extremely hot even though it was only 10 am. i got a sunburn on half my forehead lol.. since my bangs only cover half. oh and not only did i get a sunburn, my camera died while waiting in line! lucky my sister brought my dads camera with us, she let me use it for the rest of the day..

 the building with the crane - its about where the twin towers were.

from the ferry.. the water really isn't so attractive lol

after getting back to battery park we were insanely hungry, it was around 2pm. we decided to walk along the brooklyn bridge and walk around brooklyn. i had asked one of my friends before i went to ny, what is a must-eat-at restaurant when in nyc - his answer, gramaldi's pizzaria. i trusted his answer (for one: he goes to nyc religiously, two: i had also read about it somewhere). it was in brooklyn anyways so we decided to go for a late lunch. ohh ps: the line to get a table was about an hour wait, but if you like pizza id say its worth it. it ended up being an early dinner.

then we hopped on the subway again, went back to the hotel and went to the rockefeller centre. we figured top of the rock would be best when it was dark. and of course the city looked gorgeous, even though it had gotten a bit foggy by then! after that we went to magnolia bakery to get some cupcakes. umm they were good cupcakes, but for a bakery known for their cupcakes i was extremely disappointed with their flavour selection. what the eff kind of bakery doesn't have red velvet cupcakes. i wasn't going to eat an entire cake by my self!!!

alright so after seeing the city from the top of the rockefeller centre, and easting cupcakes we went back to the hotel. my aunt and i decided to change and go for some drinks. it was only 10:30 and it is the city that never sleeps right!? lol i wanted to try a manhattan, everyone warned me i wouldn't like it, but i got one anyways.. i am stubborn sometimes. 

i dont even know what is in it.. but i know it wasn't very good.. 

im pretty sure its rye, vermouth and some kind of cherry

i love this city..

by 'this' city.. i mean new york city. its a perfect city and i can't wait to go back. i took tons of pictures, which will do most of the talking, but i still want to mention many of the highlights of the trip. so friday we got to jfk airport around 11:30 am.. the flight was only about 50 minutes and the time flew by since i got to watch an episode of criminal minds! 

arrival at jfk!

we got to our hotel around quarter to 1 dropped our bags at the hotel and started walking around the city. oh get this, our hotel was on 44th between 8th ave and 9th ave. times square is on 7th ave, running from about 42nd st to 49th st. incredibly close! anyways it was a bit frustrating at first because we didn't really know where anything was and adding to that it was pouring rain! we initially planned seeing the statue of liberty that day - that definitely was not going to happen with all the rain. we decided instead to go to the guggenheim museum and the met. both are art museums which i actually love!
i much preferred the guggenheim museum, its more abstract art, less portraits. it was a pretty interesting  looking museum. the metropolitan museum was huge! you could have spent an entire day in there and you probably wouldn't have gotten through the entire museum. but there was some interesting art in there..

front of MET - staircase from gossip girl? its kinda looks like

after the two museums we walked around the city, went to planet hollywood for dinner (my aunt really wanted to go) and then we walked through times square. 

times square looks much better at night than during the day i've realized

city that never sleeps.. 

it was an insanely busy day and even with the rain i enjoyed it. i definitely wouldn't recommend planet hollywood for dinner but with the new york pass each person saved $10 off their meal. saving money is always a good thing. 

nyc here i come..

ive packed. i have outfits planned, im bringing only clothes compatible with weather over 15/20 degrees, heres hoping. my camera is charged. i have a book, im reading water for elephants. my ipod is charged. make up, brush, sunglasses, birks all packed. passport ready. im waking up in less than 8 hours. my alarm is set for 4am -  check. actually every alarm in the house may be set for 4 am lol. we are flying from buffalo, much cheaper.
im excited. i'll be taking lots of pictures and eating a lot of food.
have a nice long weekend! i hope the weather is nice here in hamilton for everyone going to see the fireworks..