September 4th, 2009 - Farmers Market, shopping, old friends and TAO!

It was our last full day in New York City... I really wanted to get to the farmers market in Union Square so that was our first stop. The farmers market operates Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday every week all year long! I really wanted to find a local wine for my wine social, but everything we tasted pretty much tasted like crap... oh well. It was very interesting to walk around and sample things. It would be great to be able to shop here every week. I wonder what they sell in the winter? Here are some gorgeous displays of veggies...

After the farmers market we were off to Macys to do some more shopping. NO, we didn't get tired of shopping. At all! :o) One picture I wanted to show were the original escalators in part of the store. They are so interesting. They are entirely of wood and so cool. You haven't really experienced Macys until you have been to the one in Manhattan.

After much shopping we had to return to the hotel and get ready for our last night out on the town. I had connected with an old friend on Facebook and we were meeting up for drinks and dinner. I had pre planned drinks at a place called Salon de Nang. It was a roof top bar that was supposed to be very cool. It was... but boy was it expensive! Not that it stopped us from ordering drinks. A regular Corona was $12 a bottle!!! The sunset view was gorgeous though as was the bar itself. We met Jennifer here for drinks and then it was off to dinner at Tao!

After drinks we were off to Tao. I had reserved us dinner at this place more than a month in advance. A must if you want to dine on Friday or Saturday. It was such a great place. CRAZY but great. This restaurant has been in several different movies, and Sex and the City... the one you may know the most is the speed-dating scene in the movie Hitch. It is like a wild night club but yet a restaurant. I got some type of dish that I didn't realize that I would have to cook when it arrived at the table. It was very good, but after many glasses of wine, this was a challenging thing to do. So... out comes this big block thing with a fire in the middle... and then a big caldron type thing sits on top.

Cindy and Jennifer showing off with their chop-sticks.

There is a huge Buddha inside the restaurant... two stories high.

This was such a great night. It was sad to see our time come to an end. I can't believe how fast a week goes by in this city. We ate so much great food. I can't wait to visit some of these places next time!

September 3rd, 2009 - Ground Zero, a French favorite, and MAMMA MIA!!!

We woke up this morning to TONS of fire trucks and all sorts of emergency vehicle noises. This is nothing new in NYC so we just lazed around in bed and then got ready... we walked out of our hotel and saw what all the commotion was about. Apparently a cab burned to the ground. It was way worse than these photos show. Wild! There were news crews all over the place. Interesting to say the least... this happened right in front of my favorite drink stop... La Maison.

After taking pictures of the burnt cab we were off to find breakfast. I knew a place in the neighborhood where I had been before. Route 66 Cafe. It is a great spot for breakfast with sidewalk seating (my favorite thing).

After breakfast it was a trip downtown to do some shopping, see how Ground Zero was coming along, and take a walk along the Hudson River. I have been by Ground Zero since the beginning and I find it fascinating the progress that has gone on there. You can only get photos through a few look-out points. This is one of the walkways above the site. There is so much going on but you can't really tell just what. This entire area is where both towers of the World Trade Center stood. It doesn't look that big until you get right there.

After some shopping and a walk around Ground Zero, we walked along the Hudson river. It is a gorgeous walk and we do it every time we go. It was such a nice day.

I had arranged for us to have a pre-theatre dinner at a place that was supposed to be "like" my favorite place in Paris. L'Entrecote. It was quite similar, but just not the same. It was very good but you need to try the REAL thing in Paris. The place serves the same way. It is JUST steak and fries (Steak Frites) Everyone has the same thing for dinner. There is no menu. You sit down and the waitress comes and asks how you would like your steak. The meal begins with a salad and bread... then the steak and fries come with this great sauce... then they come back with the second half of your steak after you finish the first half... and more fries. It really is so delish!

After dinner, it was time for our last show... Mamma Mia! Cindy and I had seen this on our last trip to New York, and I saw it on my last trip to New York with my mother... and even for my 3rd time seeing this show, it was still so much fun! I highly recommend seeing this on Broadway. There's nothing like it!

The stage of Mamma Mia.

Another perfect perfect day with my bestest friend in my favorite city in the USA.

September 2nd, 2009 - Union Square, more Budda, and Burn the Floor!

Well, our morning started out with shopping around Union Square. We first stopped for breakfast at a place called "Coffee Shop". It was a perfect place for breakfast and better priced than anything up by our hotel. Definitely a dive breakfast place, but good... and in the perfect spot for post breakfast shopping!

After a BIG day of shopping it was time for drinks at my favorite 7th Avenue spot, La Maison. This place is open 24/7 and is thee best sidewalk drink place in the area. This place is right next to our hotel, so it makes a nice drink spot. While sitting here thinking about our wonderful dinner at Buddakan on Sunday night, we decided to call and see if we could get in for a pre-show dinner. YAY!!! It was SO early that it was doable... We had to get downtown, eat at Buddakan... and then back up to the theatre district for our "Burn the Floor" show.

Since it was in the daylight this time, I was able to get a picture of the front of Buddakan. You would walk right by it if you didn't know what you were looking for.

It was so funny... I didn't take pictures of the food the first night we were here so I got my camera out and ready... well the food came and we immediately started eating and I forgot again!!! SO.. this is a picture of the end of the meal... The Crab Fried Rice is the best rice I have ever eaten EVER! Our other dishes are in the background... the Filet Mignon and the Ribeye.

We jumped back on the subway and back to the theatre district for our FRONT ROW seats at the special engagement of Burn the Floor!! This was my favorite show of the trip. It was all dancing and super fun. I ordered tickets the day the tickets were first released and got us front and center aisle. It was WOW! We were sitting in the fog and we actually had to move our feet for the dancers to get around us. So awesome! The show came about after a performance for Elton John's birthday party. There were dancers in the show that are part of the show "Dancing with the Stars". From the time the curtain went up it was all dancing.

Today was a perfect day spent with my very best friend... eating... shopping... drinking... eating... and the best show! I would definitely file this under "My Personal Groundhog Days". (Have you seen the movie Groundhog Day? Where the same day keeps repeating? I have a list of those days that I would like to be "Groundhog Days")

September 1st, 2009 - Shopping, KILLER wine bar, and Billy Elliot!

Our day started out with breakfast at Cafe Lalo... made famous by the movie "You've Got Mail". This is the restaurant where Tom Hanks meets Meg Ryan for the first time. It's a great spot for breakfast on the Upper West Side. I love this neighborhood. There is great shopping and eating and far removed from all the tourists. LOVE IT! The place is adorable and if the weather is good, it's nice to get right by the open windows.

The desserts here are amazing! I suggest this place for breakfast or night time desserts! Great selection and top quality!

After much shopping we stopped at place that I had pre-planned... The CLO bar. This has been seen on the Travel Channel. Something I did not know until getting there. This bar is COOL! There are 100 wines by the glass in machines all around the bar. It is located on the 4th floor of the Time Warner Building in Columbus Circle. You sit at this long white table and the wine menu is projected on the table at each place sitting. Somehow the projectors above can track your hand movement. As you run your hand over the table then wine menu runs back and forth with the movement. The wine you are looking at gets large and the next bottles in line are smaller... when you see one you like, you can pull up all sorts of information on the wine. You can find what region it comes from... the special notes of the wine... and where it is located in the machines around the room. At this point you take a card and a glass and you put the card in almost like a debit card... you push the button and out comes the wine. It appeared to be a popular local stop for happy hour after work. FUN FUN bar!

Here in the background you can see what I mean by the machines.

This was my favorite wine I found from the Alsace region of France. It is a Pinot Auxerrois. It was amazing and now I'm on a mission to find it here.

After drinks it was time for our first Broadway show of the trip... Billy Elliot! This was a great show. I can see why it has remained so popular. It was a great night!

After the show I had reservations at a place called Bourbon Street. This was a cajun place on Restaurant Row in the theatre district. This is an extremely popular area for eating on the local scene. There are many many good choices and far better than what you'll find in Times Square. Our dinner was excellent. I couldn't get a good photo from the front, but it looked just like something in the French Quarter in New Orleans. See photos of this cute place here: http://bourbonny.com/media/bourbonstreet.html

I had reserved Cindy and I a spot on their balcony, overlooking the cute street where all the restaurants are. This is a huge area for the theatre crowd.

August 31st, 2009 - Biking the Big Apple with a Big Hangover!

We booked a bike tour months in advance with Bike the Big Apple http://bikethebigapple.com/tourss.html They only have a few tours that operate on Mondays so we were off... with a GIANT hangover from our super fun night at Buddakan the night before. It was touch and go. I didn't know if I would make the tour as we walked over to the Upper East Side. I am so glad I made it. It was a highlight of the trip. The tour was called "Go West". We went through Central Park and over to the Upper West Side... biking past the Dakota Apartments, where John Lennon lived (and died). Named the Dakota Apartments because when first built they were far removed from the rest of the city of New York and people said that it looked like the building may as well be in the Dakotas. We biked up Riverside Park to Grant's Tomb and then through Columbia University... then down through Harlem with a stop at the famous Apollo Theatre... and then back through Central Park. The tour was great! I especially loved the bike path along the Hudson River. The bike trail goes the entire length of the island of the Manhattan. I really would like to bike the whole trail next time I am here.

Grant's Tomb, dedicated April 1897. Over 90,000 people donated to the building of Grant's Tomb. At the time, this was the largest public fundraising effort. Also, at the time, this was the most visited monument in the USA, and still remains the largest mausoleum.

The tombs of Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia.

The library at Columbia University. Awesome campus!

These are the benches around Grant's Tomb. Very Gaudi'esque.

And a stop by the famous Apollo Theatre. I really would like to tour the inside of this next time. The history at this place is just amazing!