Somewhere between the airport and the ferry during the bumpy, windy taxi ride on our way to St. John, my Aunt Liz was telling me about an upcoming business conference she would be attending in New York City. As she so often graciously does, she extended the travel opportunity to the family - she would be arriving in the Big Apple a couple of days in advance and invited us to join her and experience New York. Rufus [grandma], and my Mom were on board and having never been ourselves, Ben and I immediately took her up on the offer. To prepare for this journey, Ben and I made several trips to downtown Columbus during rush hour [note: it did not help].
We drove East to New Jersey (and listened to Empire State of Mind, oh, every 60 miles), and then took the train into the city. And yes, Ben was a little embarrassed when I told him to stand by the track so I could get his picture, several business men and women onlooking. Let the tourism begin.
And so we arrived. We stayed uptown with my friend from high school, Emily, who went to college in New York and now lives there with her sister, Katie who teaches in Brooklyn. Emily is a beautiful, super talented woman -- she and the city were made for each other!
Let us begin with our New York culinary experience. Don't you worry, we had street food and we had NY pizza, but we also had this:
Right to left: chilled vegetable soup, crap wrapped in zucchini leaf, a chocolate brooklyn bridge standing over a river of chocolate mousse, dish post the pasta that looked so appetizing I forgot to get a photo of it pre-devour, and a plate of petite fours.
Aunt Liz and Ben are alike in that they are always prepared. No place is visited unless first researched. This means that the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants people like me and mom have the most delightful time, somewhat deliriously following along like this just all fell into place... Regardless, the restaurants to which Aunt Liz so graciously introduced us were the best I have ever experienced. Course after course of melt-in-your-mouth goodness and we were treated like royalty. My purse, yes my purse even got a stool so it didn't have to sit on the ground (which I'm sure was more immaculate than my kitchen counters).
Every morning we took the subway to 52nd Street and enjoyed a breakfast of chocolate croissant goodness at the
Cafe' Cognac.
And in the evenings, we treated ourselves to a little night cap. Thus - morning and evening beverages:
We spent one day with Lady Liberty and at Ellis Island. Piece of advice: if you go to the Statue of Liberty, the audio tour is a must. It was so informative and very well done; it made the experience so meaningful. Also, if you can take your grandmother along, do! Rufus was also full of information about our Irish ancestors who made the long journey to Ellis Island.
Got Benny? I do!
Aunt Liz, Rufus and Mom
Now for the night-life portion of the blog. During Ben's preparations for our NYC experience the
United Citizen's Brigade was recommended to him.
This is a must for anyone traveling to NYC! [no photos allowed during the performance]. Several improv comedy groups make their home here and include lots of people that you'd recognize - we saw Bobby Moynihan (SNL), Zach Woods (The Office), and people from Madmen and Accidentally on Purpose. The first show we saw there was free. The second was $5/person. It's worth it to get to the theater a bit early and stand in line for a good seat - we sat front row both nights. Such a fun experience! Be sure to visit the site for more details.
Aunt Liz, Mom and Rufus stayed in The Novatel on Broadway. There was a fantastic balcony bar that overlooked Times Square so naturally we enjoyed some libations while taking in the city lights.
It was so much fun exploring the city!
Post cards were written in Central Park
followed by a trip to the MOMA (one of these busts is not like the others...),
where we encountered Marina Abramovic - performance artist - for the first time, and in person. The experience was quite unique. Not for children or the faint of heart, that's for darn sure.
The five of us enjoyed a trip to Broadway, delighting in the fabulous costumes of the Lion King. The entire show was so visually stunning!
A trip across the Brooklyn Bridge
A second helping of chocolate croissants awaited us on the other side of the bridge. Brunch consumed, we each took to our respective traits: mom and I snapping photos, and Ben and Aunt Liz planning making sure we didn't get lost.
Our last nights meal was my favorite venue. The restaurant was located in Brooklyn and overlooked the bridge. We enjoyed our dinner just as the sun was setting.
It was such a wonderful experience and with wonderful people. I'm sure we'll be back. This husband of mine left a part of his poet soul there, I think. The city will always be on his mind. We feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to go!
