New York City: Day 3 - April 23

Before any of the stores opened, my mom and I took a walk in Central Park. The paths were still a little wet from the rain the previous night but at least it wasn't raining anymore. It was a nice stroll but I'd still like to go back to Central Park one day when it's warm out and the lawns aren't blocked off.

Walking down Literary Walk. It's so pretty in person!

Pretending to be a model in Central Park

After walking a big U at the park, we checked out the Apple Store on 5th Avenue. I have no idea why but I always wanted to walk into that glass cube. Next door was FAO Schwartz. We browsed through all the toys and checked out the "Big Piano". I got super dorky when we were in the book section and I saw a bunch of old children's books I used to read. They've also got a big candy section called FAO Schweetz. They have the best gummy bear selection I've ever seen. I bought some mango, pineapple, peach, and green apple gummy bears. Yum!

LEGO Statue of Liberty in FAO Schwartz

Scooping up some mango gummy bears

We continued our walk down 5th Avenue stopping at Uniqlo (yes, we bought more clothes), Joe Fresh (it looked so upscale in comparison to being in a Loblaws!), Saks 5th Avenue (where I fell in love with clothes I could never afford), and Urban Outfitters (almost bought a pair of Toms for $48, no tax!). Lunch time rolled around and we were in the Rockefeller area so we stopped there for lunch at Cucina & Co. where my mom and I shared pasta and some veggies from the salad bar (stay tuned for another visit to Rockefeller...). Once our bellies were filled, we continued our walk to the New York Public Library and Grand Central Terminal.

Outside the New York Public Library.
The lions are nicknamed Patience and Fortitude. How cute! :)

Grand Central Terminal with the Chrysler Building in the back

Inside the Main Concourse at Grand Central

Because our feet weren't tired enough yet, we headed down to the Soho and Chinatown area to check out other neighbourhoods in New York. I found the Topshop in Soho but sadly couldn't find anything to buy. The Chinatown in New York was surprisingly cleaner than I expected. I read that the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory had some of the best ice cream in the city so I made it a mission to find it.

So many choices! They even have a Linsanity flavour!

They had a big selection of flavours including common Asian flavours like Red Bean, Taro, Ginger, and Black Sesame but I decided to go with their Lychee Sorbet. Pat on the back for picking a good flavour, haha. The lychee flavour was delicious and there were bits of lychee in it too. Yum! I was going to find the Georgetown Cupcakes store (made famous on TLC) but by this point, we were too full to eat more.

After a break at the hotel to rest our feet and get hungry again, we headed down to West Village for dinner. We couldn't decide on one place so we decided to get take out from two places: A Salt & Battery and Benny's Burritos! In hindsight, we should've ate the fish fresh instead of bringing it back to the hotel but it was still pretty tasty.

Fried haddock fish.
They've got great homemade tartar sauce!

Chicken burrito from Benny's Burrito. Jealous, Nicole? :)
P.S. I think their tacos are better, haha.

Sidenote: I know it looks like I'm on this trip alone but my mom didn't want to be in the pictures!

New York City: Day 2 - April 22

It poured on Sunday. In the morning it was just a light drizzle but it got worse and worse as the day went on. Nevertheless, we still tried to do as much as possible without letting the rain put a damper on things.

Quick breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts

We started the morning off at the Dunkin' Donuts across from the hotel. Their iced tea was $0.99 any size. I got a sweetened lemon iced tea but I can never get used to the flavour of the iced tea in the States. I tried a peach iced tea also from Dunkin' Donuts later in the day and it was disgusting. The cheese bagel twist my mom and I shared for breakfast was good though. I saw Nicole's favourite Bavarian Creme Donut but it was too much sugar for me to eat in the morning.

In the morning, we shopped at Herald Square - Forever 21, Victoria's Secret, H&M, and Uniqlo. I love how enormous the stores are in NYC. Everything is so neatly displayed and it's easy to find your size. Also, no tax for clothes and shoes under $100! I bought a bunch of tops from Forever 21 and Uniqlo. Can we please get a Uniqlo in Toronto? I love that store!

We headed to Rockefeller Centre after and hunger struck so we grabbed 2 slices at Harry's Italian Pizza Bar. The pizza was pretty good but it could just be because we were incredibly hungry. It's funny that I wasn't hungry at all while we were shopping and the minute my mom noted it was past 12pm, I couldn't think of anything else but getting some food into my stomach.

Pepperoni and Sausage slice

Rockefeller built all in LEGO

We took a walk around 30 Rock, checking out the NBC Experience Store (so tempted to buy a "Troy & Abed in the Morning" cup!), Anthropologie, the Lego Store, and Radio City Music Hall. In comparison to the last time I was in New York, there was considerably less people and only one crazy fool skating in the rain.

After a quick break at the hotel to drop off our purchases, we headed down to West Village. I love that each neighbourhood in New York City has a different feel. We browsed a few Marc Jacobs stores and my mom bought me the Classic Q Natasha purse as a graduation gift. I still feel really guilty for spending so much on a purse but I loooove it! It's the perfect size for me and I love that I can wear it as a shoulder bag or cross-body. And it will always stay in style. Every girl needs a classic black purse.

By this time, it was pouring and it was getting annoying juggling an umbrella, my purse, a map, and trying not to get the Marc Jacobs bag wet. Before we headed back to the hotel, I gave my mom a little tour of where I lived the last time I was in the city and we made a stop at Magnolia Bakery (made famous on Sex and the City). The bakery smelled good but I was disappointed to find that the cupcakes were self-serve and the service wasn't very friendly. I guess that's the downfall of too much success?

Outside Magnolia Bakery

Pistachio Cupcake - almost forgot to take a picture.
It was super moist but had too much icing

Red Velvet Cupcake - it was alright, nothing special

By night time, my mom and I were exhausted from walking all day and the rain didn't make going out look appealing so we headed down to Tick Tock Diner once again. I promise, it was the last time we went (but it was tempting to go back one more time for waffles). We shared a big bowl of Tomato Basil Spaghetti with meatballs and side salad as well as a plate of onion rings.

Dinner at Tick Tock Diner

To end the night, we watched The Amazing Race and Game of Thrones in our hotel room. Free HBO! Joffrey and his weird sexual fetish made the night a little awkward....haha.

New York City: Day 1 - April 21

After a quick flight to LaGuardia (I only managed to watch half of The Descendants), my mom and I found the bus stop at the airport and took a ride to the subway. We didn't realize that the E line was closed and were confused for a bit since the subway car said "E" but I figured out an alternative route and we made it to The New Yorker Hotel!

Our home for the next 5 days. It was a nice size but the
walls were thin and the water pipes were so loud!

Our view from the 36th floor. We could see
the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building!

Once we got settled in, we headed to Times Square to grab some lunch at Shake Shack. There was a lineup outside but it wasn't too bad and the weather was nice. As per my sister's recommendation, we shared the Shake Stack, a cheeseburger topped with a crisp-fried portobello filled with melted muenster and cheddar cheese. I'm not a fan of mushrooms but even I have to admit, it was delicious.

Shack Stack, French Fries, and a Strawberry Shake

After lunch, we headed to the TKTS booth under the red steps in Times Square to buy Broadway tickets. We lined up for about an hour and 15 minutes (waiting for the ticket booth to open); I panicked about not getting How To Succeed in Business tickets while my mom took in all the bright lights, signs, and masses of people at Times Square. In the end, we got great center mezzanine seats for $85 each (40% off original price).

Taking a walk in Times Square

In Times Square, people were taking pictures with Muppets and Disney mascots that were walking around. The characters looked so fake though. I kept calling them creepy pedophilia mascots - who knows who's under those costumes?! On a more positive note, we stopped at the M&Ms store and bought some coconut M&Ms and mint M&Ms. They're so good! How come we don't have them in Canada?

The coolest T-Rex at Toys R' Us. It moved and made sounds!

We couldn't decide where to go for dinner and we didn't have much time before we had to get to the theater so my mom and I ended up having dinner at Tick Tock Diner below our hotel.

My Chicken Pesto sandwich with sweet potato fries

Mom's Cobb Salad. Gotta make sure we eat some veggies!

After dinner, it was Broadway time! The first thing I did when I got in was check to see the cast for the night and hallelujah! No understudies today! (I'm still bitter about Hunter Parrish not being in Spring Awakening last time I was in NYC and he's not on Godspell anymore. I totally would've watched that too.)

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was so good! It's everything I imagined a Broadway show to be: great catchy songs, fun dance numbers, bright costumes, and some comedy thrown in. I'm so used to seeing Nick Jonas being quiet and reserved so it was a nice surprise to see him so enthusiastic and he's got great comedic timing. Speaking of which, I loved Michael Urie as Bud Frump. It was like watching him as Marc St. James from Ugly Betty again. The show was so much fun! I would totally watch it again.

All in all, it was a great first day in New York City. If I only had one day in NYC, I wouldn't mind going to Shake Shack + a Broadway show again.

Spot the Dork

DWW! From L-R: Diggy, Tyler, Marty, Cam, Bucky, Pat

My dorky self with Down With Webster.
Fun Fact: I blinked when the picture was taken and looked like an even bigger doofus than usual so I photoshopped eyes from old pictures of myself into this one, hahaha. It looks creepy.

Eye Candy: Chris Evans

So I just finished watching What's Your Number? - I'm not gonna lie, I only watched it for Chris Evans and the movie has enhanced my crush on him. It's impossible not to fall in love with him and there's plenty of gratuitous topless scenes ;)

Can't wait for The Avengers to come out!