MIA in NYC

I'll try not to bore you with a really long post about my trip to NYC with the fam, but I am going to point out one or two highlights from each day we were there. ... and then some pics. All in all, it was a great time and I can't wait to go back again!

Friday:
Us girls flew in and met up with my Dad at our hotel Friday afternoon. We took some time to walk around and checked out Central Park, which was only 3 blocks from out hotel.

We planned to meet up with my cousin and her husband down in the Financial District (where they live) for appetizers and drinks. I can't remember the restaurant or the street it was on, but in the evenings, this street is full of tables and people for after work drinks. It was very neat. It was nice to catch up with them, and the flatbread pizza and martini's were great!

Saturday:

We started the day off with a run through Central Park. This was something that I was really looking forward to doing. Central Park is huge, and full of people everywhere. Unfortunately, we waited until late morning to get out there and run and it was really hot and humid.

As for the rest of the day, we did a lot of walking around and shopping (I didn't really buy anything, however). The NBA Store was probably one of my favs, go figure.

We had a great dinner at an Irish Pub and Restaurant called Oldcastle, which was only a few blocks from out hotel. Once again the food and drinks were great. The martini's were excellent and not too pricey. I highly recommend this place.

We took in Times Square this evening and boy were there people everwhere. I even saw Jason Castro while in Times Square one of the nights! (The ONE time I didn't have my camera attached to my wrist!

Sunday:

We went to church at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The architecture was amazing. The new archbishop was present for mass, along with 3 priests. One of the priests present, Fr. James Shea (age 33), has been a priest in ND for a while and just took on the role of the President at University of Mary in Bismarck. Small world, huh?

This afternoon we took in a Broadway Show, Wicked. I highly recommend it! It was slow going at the beginning, but the storyline is great and I actually want to read the book now!

Monday:

We were up pretty early this morning to take in the Today Show. Actually, we were there about 30 minutes before the show started and ended up standing near the entrance to the building where the anchors come out! Meredith, Ann, and Al were all out on assignment, but we did snag a few pics of Matt Lauer, and got to meet Hoda Kotb and Kathy Lee Gifford (they have really soft hands, lol), as well as Natalie Morales!

We took the Subway down to the Financial District again and walked the Brooklyn Bridge. This is a MUST do in NYC. The view is awesome and the bridge is amazing. We walked around the Financial District for a while and checked out Wall Street.

Later this evening we had a great meal at Nocello. An employee at our hotel had recommended it to us, and we were impressed. The italian-style food was delish, and at a very reasonable price. The service was the best we had in NYC.

Tuesday:

Today we ventured down to Greenwich Village. This was a nice break from the fast pace of Times Square. We did a lot of walking, going through Washington Square Park, and doing a little shopping along the way.

We also took in tour via boat this evening. It was a 90-minute city lights cruise and was probably one of my favorite things we did on this entire trip. It was so fun to learn about the city and watch it light up right before our eyes as the sun set. If you ever get a chance to do it, you MUST!

Wednesday:

We left NYC this morning. It was a jam-packed 5 day trip and I know there were things that we would have liked to have done if we just had more time. (ie. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Strawberry Fields, more shopping, etc.) But, it was a great 5 days with the family!