August 30th, 2009 - DAY 1 Barney's Sample Sale, The Accomplice, and Buddakan!

Well, we started out our day with a subway ride to Les Halles. This used to be Anthony Bourdain's restaurant. He doesn't work there anymore, but was excited to try it.

This is the inside of Les Halles. It's very cute and very French.... two of my favorite things!

Yum... Eggs, good bacon and French bread... and cafe au lait! Life is good!

Nest stop - Barneys Sample Sale! This is mostly close-outs of top designers. The prices are all marked down by at least half, and then everything is an additional 40% off. You have to really look through everything, but there are some incredible deals to be had for the patient ones. It is CRAZY!!! There is no dressing room... you strip down and try things on. It's a weird experience for a couple girls from Utah :o) But... guess what? We did it. Whatever... hopefully it doesn't end up on YouTube.

I love Barneys slogan... very funny. This sign is everywhere.

SO... the next thing on the agenda today was the Accomplice New York tour. I am not going to post much about this, because it would really ruin the surprise for anyone doing this in the future. And for those that want to visit New York City, you really should do this tour/show. It is an absolute BLAST!!! Check it out here: http://www.accomplicetheshow.com/details-ny.php

You pay the money and you don't know anything about the tour. They tell you that you'll get a phone call the day before your tour with more instructions... and to follow them closely. It's all very secretive. Well... I heard about this tour... thought it sounded like a blast, and bought Cindy a ticket for her birthday. It was a surprise for her, for both of us really, since NO one knows what it's about, and those that do, aren't talking! Which leaves me in that position now. All I can say is GO!!! It is so fun. Without giving too much away, we got our cryptic phone call giving us specific information on where to meet our 'contact'. It was very specific and super funny.

Here is Cindy standing out where we needed to meet our 'contact'.

This is a super rare shot of the two of us together without one of us holding the camera. We had 8 others on our Accomplice tour and we were all working together. I was chosen to wear this super sexy blue hat so that actors around the city could spot someone on the tour. Lucky me... (Brooklyn Bridge in the background by the way... awesome sight!)

Ok... that's all I have to say about the Accomplice. They will harm my family if I tell you more.

Next up is BUDDAKAN!!! I was so super excited to surprise Cindy with this restaurant. We are both BIG huge fans of Sex and the City and this restaurant was the scene of Carrie and Big's rehearsal dinner. It was UNREAL! Everything about this place is 1st class. The food was absolutely some of the best I have ever eaten! We started out the evening with a couple of their signature cocktails. Cindy was drinking "Fate" and I was drinking "Charm". Let's just say we had too many Charms and Fates!

For anyone that has seen the movie... We were seated at THE TABLE!!! The big table in the movie. It was so super fun!!!

Here is the scene of the crime... mine are the ones with berries floating in them... Cindy's looks like a martini type drink. These were so incredibly good. TOO GOOD!

I am so bummed that this is the only food picture that I got. These are the little dumplings of goodness! The rest of the food was so good that I totally forgot to photograph it. I guess I should go back and do a "do over".

It's really hard to get a good shot of this restaurant because it is so dark inside. There are huge chandeliers in the main dining room. They have a great ambiance going on there. The service was flawless... and the food is something I will remember for a long long time.

Here is a shot from the big staircase, looking down on the big table. These photos do NOT do this place justice.

Well, that is it for us for day one. It was a full full day with TOO many drinks. It will have proved to be a bad idea in the morning... and for our day TWO bike tour that we had planned. More on that tomorrow.

August 29th, 2009 - The Big Apple!

Well, we made it! We are finally starting our girls trip. The weather is great. It's a bit humid, but it's only in the 70s, so at least its not a sauna. Our plane actually landed a bit early, so we grabbed our suitcases and headed for the New Jersey Transit to take the train into Penn station. It was very easy... we were in the city in no time.

Cindy and I stay at the Sheraton on 7th Ave. almost always. It's a great hotel in a fantastic location. The fun was about to begin.

A view into Times Square from out hotel.

Cindy and my "love" nest! hee hee... just teasing. 2 beds for us!

First night I made reservations at Simply Pasta. This is a GREAT, affordable restaurant in the Times Square area. They are short on really good restaurants in that area, so after being referred by a local, this is always a stop of ours. We both ordered the Beef Medallions with a mushroom risotto. It was DELISH!!!

August 7, 2009 - The Rusted Sun

Well... I decided to take off a night cooking and try a place that we have read about for a long time, but had not tried. All I can say is YUM! The Rusted Sun Pizzeria is just off 21st South and on State St.

There are only a few booths and it was packed when we were there. They only sell beer and Pepsi products (their only downfall as far as I was concerned).


We will be back!

June 4th, 2009 - Pompeii & The Amalfi Coast

Well... it was the last port on our cruise, and it was my favorite one. I guess it's good to end on a great note. Our last port was Naples and I had prearranged a private tour months ago. Again, I booked with RomeinLimo. \http://www.romeinlimo.com/ our driver was waiting for us outside the ship and his name was Raffaelo. He was the most adorable driver/guide we have had in all the years we have done private tours. He has lived in Sorrento all his life, so he knew everything there was to know about the area. I had been to Naples twice before, so I arranged a day mostly for my mother and the kids to see things that I thought would be important to them.

Our first stop of the day was Pompeii. Alex has been learning about Pompeii since she was VERY little. She was going to be a Volcanologist until she hit high school. She knew everything there was to know about Mt. Vesuvius and the city of Pompeii since the 3rd grade.

Pompeii was founded in the 6th century B.C. and was a very important trading city in Italy. Mt Vesuvius erupted in August 79 A.D. The eruption covered the entire city of Pompeii in 60 feet of ash and pumice. The entire city was lost until the 1700s... which is incredible if you think about it. An entire civilization was found by accident. The site of Pompeii is so incredibly interesting. Almost everything but the roofs of buildings are still in tact... paintings are still on the walls of homes and business... tile mosaics are amost perfect in the flooring. The plaster molds of people who died in the eruption are so moving to see.

The Forum area of Pompeii
Some of the amazing finds in Pompeii... the vases with the pointed ends were actually wine jugs.

Another view of the Forum.

This is one of the only buildings that completely survived the eruption. This is an old Roman bath and is very interesting to walk through. The paintings on the walls are so much better in person, and unbelievable to think how old they really are.

Here is a great photo of Mt. Vesuvius behind the forum area. They say if you draw an imaginary line from each side of the mountain, you will see just how much of the mountain blew up in the eruption. It was HUGE!!!

A gorgeous area inside the site of Pompeii.

Another great look at just how big this mountain used to be...

After Pompeii, we were on our way to Sorrento. My favorite town on the Amalfi Coast. The road through the Amalfi area is famous and is not something for the weak at heart. It is a crazy drive, made crazier by Italian drivers. Luckily we had Raffaelo and he was perfect.

This is the view just before you get into Sorrento. It is amazing!!! And the town is adorable.

Here is our group... we had everyone else in another van.

A fruit stand along the way...

This is the size of lemons in Sorrento... Sorrento is a FAMOUS place for lemoncello.

I had arranged a lunch for about 16 of us, high on the cliffs above Positano. I had read about the place and we had dined somewhere similar years ago. I thought everyone would love the view and also the style in which lunch is served. The mother and her two sons who own the restaurant make a bunch of food every morning, and that is what you eat. They just keep bringing food to the table. I wouldn't say it's the best food, but you can't beat the experience, the personal service it involves or the view!

Ristorante La Tagliata

Here are some of our peeps enjoying the local wine and dishes prepared just for our lunch group.

Here is my mom and I with "mamma". Her and her two sons do this almost every day!

Alex outside the restaurant in front of the cutest Fiat! It makes her look so tall!

This is the walkway down into Positano... another favorite town of mine that I would love to spend more time in some day.

Just a cool photo of a restaurant...

Down at the bottom... in the town of Positano.

June 1st, 2009 - Athens, Greece

The Parthenon

Alex mailing postcards home from Athens

My mom at the Acropolis

The Acropolis

Everyone taking a break after our Acropolis tour.

Alex and Dan in front of the Temple of Zeus - Built around 470 BC

The Ancient Agora

The plaka... cool place for shopping and eating and drinking

We walked into this awesome bar in the plaka and who do we find... should have known we would both think it's adorable.

This is a cool bar in the plaka. They make all these liquors themselves.