The BIG Apple

A couple of weeks ago, Jason celebrated our 8th Anniversary and my birthday by going to New York City for a long weekend. We celebrated our 1st Anniversary in the big city (in Dec so we could see it all decorated for Christmas). We had no real agenda once we got there which was kind of nice - just a time to get away together. We flew out real early on Thursday morning and we headed straight to our hotel a block away from Times Square to unload. The weather was pretty cold which we were somewhat prepared for. It actually snowed Friday morning on us - it didn't stick though.

Rockefeller Center Friday morning

Our hotel room with all of our packages. Quite a chore to try and pack all of them to take home - thank goodness we packed empty bags so we could fill them on the way home.

The M&M store - a pregnant girl's dream.

Here are few pictures from FAO Schwartz - the BIG toy store. We spent probably 1-2 hours in this store - even without Brody :)

We did some - a lot - of shopping and even more walking. We don't take taxi's around the city because we love to "experience" the true New York by taking the subway so of course it was a lot of walking. Since it was in the middle of March madness, we ate dinner the first night at ESPN Zone right in the heart of Times Square. Quite an experience - it was PACKED!!!

Our transportation for the weekend.

Dinner at ESPN Zone.

On Friday, I got up early to try and get tickets for the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. I got us 2 stand by tickets #71 & #76. You then had to come back at 3:45 and see if there was enough room for you to get in. We didn't think we would make it so when we were still at Macy's at 3:30 we didn't rush back since we didn't think our odds were that good. We did so much walking on this day - Statue of Liberty, Battery Park, stand in line at the TKTS booth for Broadway tickets, World Trade Center site, SHOPPING and more SHOPPING. That night the Broadway play we saw was The 39 Steps by Alfred Hitchcock. It was quite funny - 4 actors played over 150 roles.

On Saturday, we did more shopping and walking. I was on a mission to try and find some maternity stores. We travelled across town to Gap where the maternity clothes were and then headed downtown to a few children's boutiques which were WAY to expensive. I just wanted to say that I went in a few. The weather was beautiful on Saturday - still a little chilly but sunny. We found a Farmer's market at Union's Square that was so neat - they had all their products out for sale - apples, fresh milk, meat, flowers, and fresh baked goods. There were people everywhere with their kids and dogs. It was so cool and I could see myself shopping in one of those. We got fresh apples and I had some HOT apple cider.

The Famer's Market in Union Square.

We then kept walking towards Greenwich Village and found a Street Fair. They had everything out there - clothes, jewelry, and of course FOOD. I of course had to feed the baby a funnel cake and buy some fresh popcorn for later. We then headed towards Canal Street to go in the "back" rooms for some great bargains on purses. This street was PACKED. Thank goodness we were asked by several people if we liked Coach, Louie and of course I said yes so off we followed to their back room. This was Jason's first experience with this but I had warned him. They have some purses out in the front of their store but the ones in the "back" room people say are better but are probably illegal or something but it is quite an experience. I found a couple of great purses which I was very excited about.

The street fair in Greenwich Village - me buying popcorn.

One thing we had never done before that I did want to do on this trip was to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. This was such an experience - walking across the traffic below and seeing the Manhattan skyline behind us. It was such a nice leisurely day and we ended it with a WONDERFUL well deserved meal in Little Italy. I could eat there every night - but of course I would be way to fat.

On Sunday, we leisurely took our time through Central Park. We started at the South end and walked about half way through it. It was so nice and relaxing.

One of my favorite spots in Central Park - The Mall. This is a very famous spot where lots of movies are made - Maid in Manhattan for one.

This was such a wonderful trip and it felt so good to get away and spend quality time together with no specific agendas. I can't wait to go back!!