Long-Overdue New York Post Part 2

Since it's been almost two full months since we went on our vacation I suppose it's about time I added the second portion of our New York trip blog.

Our third day in New York picked up right where we left off on day two.  We continued with more activities and sight seeing adventures.  In the morning we decided to walk around and explore Central Park before catching our matinee.  Central Park was beautiful with all the walking paths, bridges, trees, and lakes.  I think we ended up walking about half way through the park before we decided we needed to head back. 

 

We saw Belvedere Castle which had some awesome views of the park, so we stopped and took some pictures before starting our walk back.  I couldn't believe how big this park was, it just kept going and going.  It even has its own zoo.  All along the walking paths there were musicians and artisans who would draw a portrait of you.  I'm not talking about a caricature either, these were straight-up, high quality, portraits.  Too bad it was freezing out and we didn't want to stand still long enough to get one done.   

After leaving the park, we wanted to stop by the Carnegie Deli for lunch.  This place was recommended by one of Pamela's coworkers and I guess it's famous for large portion sizes, rude service, and cheesecake.  Unfortunately when we got there the line was literally a block long.  No way we were going to wait in the cold that long, plus it was getting close to our showtime.  We ended up ducking into a little deli/cafe called Bagel & Bean near the end of the Carnegie Deli line.  No wait there and we even had time afterward to stop at a cupcake shop next to the theater called Crumbs Bakery.  Yum.  Bellies full, we headed into the Broadway theater to see Promises, Promises with Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth.  Being on Broadway definitely meant a step up in terms of the stage, props, and overall production value.  Another good play and Sean Hayes was hilarious in the lead role.

Back to the hotel to change into some warmer clothes and we were back out in the evening.  We took the subway toward downtown to eat at a place called Freeman's.  I brought up the location on my GPS but it was nowhere to be found on the main street.  We walked all around the block and determined the only place for it to be was down a sketchy alley named Freeman.  We had come all the way here so we decided to be brave and check it out.  Sure enough, it was down the alley and it turned out to be a cute little restaurant, albeit very crowded.  Apparently they were very accustomed to this because the entire upstairs was a bar/lounge where you could hang out while waiting for your table.  Again, the food was great.  

An unrelated picture of us at Times Square

We decided there was time for one more stop before calling it quits for the night.  We took the subway back toward midtown and went to the Empire State Building.  Another iconic staple of New York City that we had to visit while there.  Night time turned out to be an excellent time for visiting the Empire State Building.  I guess during the day it can get pretty crowded with tourists but at night there was hardly anyone there.  The views from the 86th story observatory were breathtaking.  You can walk around each side of the building to see the entire city.  It was very romantic with all the city lights and a saxophonist playing Christmas songs.

Not the greatest quality picture, but it proves we were all the way up there.

Sunday was a special day because we got to meet up with our good friends Don and Nicole whom we hadn't seen in almost a year.  They took a train from Connecticut to meet us in New York to spend the day.  So the first thing we did was meet up with them at Grand Central Terminal.  Grand Central is another New York landmark which was very cool to experience.  After finally finding them in the huge main hall of Grand Central we were off down fifth avenue toward Rockefeller Center for some ice skating.  Fifth avenue had a ton of stores decorated for Christmas and elaborate window displays.  Some even had sectioned off walkways for viewing their window displays without blocking pedestrian traffic.  It was a good idea but they didn't work.  Everyone, including us, would slow down to view the displays anyway right in the middle of the sidewalk.  I think it took us about 30 minutes to walk one block.  Rockefeller Center was fun with the big tree and decorated plaza, but we wouldn't be skating there.  They had a special event going on that reserved the rink and it wouldn't be available to the public until the early evening.  

Undaunted, we looked up an alternate skating rink at Central Park which turned out to be an even better option.  It was a much bigger rink, for cheaper, and no time limit on skating.  I would recommend going to this rink and skating amongst the trees and beautiful backdrop of Central Park, even though Rockefeller may be the iconic New York ice rink.

We worked up a bit of an appetite out on the ice so we decided it was time for lunch.  We took the subway toward downtown again to eat at a pizza place called Lombardi's (apparently all the good restaurants are in this area between midtown and downtown).  This was Pamela's food highlight of the trip.  This place had advertised on their walls and menus that they were the original pizza place in New York.  I'm not sure if that is true but they definitely knew what they were doing.  We went with the waiter's recommendation of a spinach and meatball pizza.  These toppings are not what we would typically get on our pizzas but Lombardi's made it work and somehow it was delicious.  

Now it was back to midtown to see the gingerbread extravaganza at Le Parker Meridien Hotel.  A lot of hype turned out to be 6 movie themed gingerbread houses, which was a bit of a letdown.  At least it gave us a place to warm up and sit for a minute.  Since we were in the area, we decided to try the Carnegie Deli again and hopefully score a piece of their famous cheesecake.  Even though the place was packed around lunch time, apparently mid afternoon it's a ghost town.  We were able to get right in and score a table.  Pamela and I split an enormous piece of cheesecake that was as tasty as it was over-sized.  

Pictures of all the famous people who have been to the Carnegie Deli

To end the night we decided to head back to our hotel and just spend some time catching up with our friends.  Even though we just had drinks and a few appetizers at the hotel bar it was a highlight of the trip to hang out with our good friends.  We walked Don and Nicole back to Grand Central and said goodbye but still had time to check out a few features of the building.  There is a patch of the ceiling that they left untouched when the building was restored to remind people of how disgusting it used to be.  We had to ask someone to point it out and sure enough it was a small strip of pure black on the ceiling.  Hard to imagine the whole place being like that.  Then we found the whispering wall, which is a neat feature of the architecture that allows sound to be amplified or reflected from opposite corners of a large hallway.  Pamela and I stood at the appropriate positions and you can literally whisper into the wall and the other person, about 30 feet away, can hear you perfectly. 

Christmas trees and decorations were everywhere

Overall we had a great time.  Heading into the trip I wasn't sure if I would like New York or not.  My idea of a vacation usually involves beaches and warm weather, which this had neither.  However, I can honestly say that this has been one of the most fun vacations that we've been on.  I have been converted from my beaches only vacation mentality.  I would be glad to come back and see New York again sometime.  Even though we got around and saw a lot of the city, I'm sure there are tons of things left to try.