The City So Nice.....

Jeffy and I got back from a long visit in New York, New York a few weeks ago. I've been to New York a few times before, but there is always stuff I haven't seen. I enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city, but it was more of an adjustment for Jeffy - it was his first time there. He was amazed at how many people there really are and how big it really is!

When we first got there, we met our friend Kyle in the East Village, and had some donut-flavored ice cream at Momofuku Milk Bar. Then, we met up with our friend Matt, and we all went to a taping of The Colbert Report. We waited so long while they were doing edits and stuff, that they gave us all red Wrist-Strong bracelets. Also, the warm-up comedian really liked Jeffy's hair, so he got to go down to the set and touch Stephen's desk!

The next morning, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but we only selected a few galleries there to visit, since the museum is so HUGE! Then, we walked to Papaya King and got hotdogs and smoothies, and ate them in Central Park. After that, we walked to the Guggenheim, but just decided to check out the lobby and giftshop.

Later that afternoon, we went down to the financial district and took a ferry ride to Ikea in Red Hook. It was mostly just to see the sights. The boat goes between Governor's Island and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty cool view. Then, we met up with our Kyle and Matt, and my old college friend, Terri and her boyfriend, Chris, who are both architects in the city. We went to this Mexican place in Hell's Kitchen, and then went on to see Animal Collective at Terminal Five - which was totally awesome!

The next morning, it was cold and rainy, but we met our friends Lara and John, at the MOMA. We did a pretty thorough inspection of the whole place. We had lunch there, and after the MOMA, we walked over to Rockefeller Plaza and had drinks at the ice rink. From there, we took the tram to Roosevelt Island. The view from there is pretty good. Later on, we had dinner and then parted ways. We headed back to Matt's house in Brooklyn and met up with him at Soda bar. By the end of the day, our backs and feet were aching and we were ready to crash on our air mattress in Matt's living room and have some quality time with his kitty, Soup Towel.

Friday morning, it was warm and sunny again! We got up and made our way to the Donut Plant. What a tiny storefront with such amazingly beautiful round and square donuts. We each chose two: I got Varhona Chocolate and Creme Brulee; Jeffy got Strawberry Jam & Vanilla Bean Glaze and Vanilla Bean. With our bags of gooey deliciousness in hand, we headed to Joe, the Art of Coffee. We read that this place had some of New York's best coffee, and we just had to try it for ourselves. We took our drinks and doughnuts and headed to Union Square Park to enjoy it all. Mmm...mmm...good! After that, we walked down Broadway to the Flatiron Building, stopping in at ABC Carpet & Home - good thing I had a small suitcase, I could have brought a lot of stuff home from there! In front of the store, we ran in to our friend Corey, who invite us to a party at his house the next day.

From there, we made our way to the American Museum of Natural History. I knew Jeffy would like it there. I think his favorite part were the dioramas. They are definitely my favorite part of the museum, too. After the museum, we went to Soho to do some shopping. But...we got lost! We were looking for Uniqlo, but got all turned around. Finally, we found it! Yeah! We also checked out Jonathan Adler (duh) and a bunch of other places that they don't have in KC.

We went back to Brooklyn, and drank beers on Matt's lovely patio, with Kyle and Will, who just drove in from Lititz, PA, to visit us all. After a few beers, we walked to Flatbush Farm for dinner and shenanigans. A little pricey, but my meal was excellent.

Saturday morning, took the train to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, and then we met Will in DUMBO, and had a couple of slices of pizza. We decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a nice day to walk it - not too cold and not too hot. When we got to the bottom of the bridge, we decided to do some more looking around the downtown area, and then we mailed some postcards to my nephews and my grandma.

After that, we went to Grand Central Terminal and the New York Public Library. We were seeing lots, but honestly, at that point, we were getting really tired of sightseeing. We met up with Matt, Kyle and Will in Chinatown, and we all placed bets on horses in the Preakness Stakes. We watched the race at Toad Hall in Soho. It was a lot of fun to watch, but none of us made any money from the race. The filly won - Rachel Alexandra. I didn't expect it, but Kyle did. Should have listened to him!

Sunday, we met my friend Elizabeth for brunch in Brooklyn, and then we all visited the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. It's so nice that there is this oasis of beautiful landscaping and flowers in the middle of this crazy borough! One of my favorite things there were all of the bonsai trees. I'd really like to try growing one sometime, even though I know then need a lot of attention. They are just petite pretties. I love it. The bluebells were blooming - a field full of bluebells. I almost forgot I was in the city!

And then, it was time for us to say goodbye to all of our friends in the city. We made our way back to the airport, and then back home! It was a great trip, and I miss the city already!