This weekend we went up to NYC for a little getaway. On Friday, we hopped aboard a shuttle bus to the big apple based on the recommendations of many of friends. That was a mistake.
The driver was swerving in and out of traffic the whole way, singing loudly along
with his iPod, dropped off one of the passengers at a random truck stop
in New Jersey, and even stopped the bus in the MIDDLE of the freeway to
ask us, the passengers, how to get to the Lincoln Tunnel! Plus, neither
the interior lights, nor the WiFi worked. It a ridiculous ride to say the least! As soon as we were freed from our 6+ hours of bus-torture, we made a pact that we would never set foot on that bus again, and would find some other way to get home...
...more on that later...
We checked into the hotel, went out for a slice of pizza and had a great night's sleep.
The next morning, we had an amazing breakfast at Sarabeth's Kitchen followed by a nice walk through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We wandered through the galleries for a few hours and paid a visit to a special exhibit on Byzantine art, Autumn's favorite. Next up in our action-packed day in Manhattan was lunch with Jake at another fave, SushiSamba! It was great to catch up with him and chow down on some good Japanese food, which doesn't appear to exist in the greater D.C. area. After lunch, we hit up Momofuku Milk Bar for an afternoon treat. Autumn has been making cookies, pies and cakes from their cookbook since last Christmas and needed to have a taste-test-comparison to verify her home-kitchen results.
We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping and chatting with Jake until we parted ways before dinner. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Sardi's before going to see Anything Goes, our very first Broadway show. The food was good and the show was hilarious and amazing! The music was really loud and our daughter-to-be gave it her kick of approval! We dragged ourselves to bed around midnight (which is late for us, since we are now old!). Before bed, I reserved tickets on Amtrak to avoid the much-despised bus in the morning.
We got up bright and early for bagels and cream cheese before we caught the train back to DC. It was wonderful and worth every penny!
Upon our arrival in DC, I received an email from the bus company that the bus that we would have been on that morning had suffered a tire-blowout on the freeway and was delayed for over an hour! I replied saying that was exactly the kind of thing that I would have expected from their sub-par bus company, and that our trip had been so terrible that we had to buy train tickets to get home. I also mentioned that I wanted a refund. A few hours later, they called me and offered two more tickets for my inconvenience. I said that I wouldn't be caught dead on their bus ever again and that I wanted my money back. To my surprise, I already got a refund! Wow!
In spite of the bus-related havoc, we had an amazing time and want to move to NYC as soon as possible, as usual!
Now that I'm done with my bus-rant, here's the day in pictures:
Good morning Manhattan!
If you look closely, you can see the new World Trade Center Tower!
Central Park stroll...
The Met...
...we may have been lost on more than one occasion inside it's vast labyrinth.
Byzantine bug-eyes!
Autumn and the bump!
Mmmm...sushi!
Candy bar pie at milk!
Autumn and Jake
St. Patrick's Cathedral and Rockefeller Center
Brazilian specialties in Little Brazil
Who knew?!
Fun in Times Square before the show
Look! It's Parson's, just like on Project Runway!
Where's Tim Gunn and the Heidi?
I found the terrible photoshoppiness and the nickname "Bam" to be hilarious on the front page of the New York Post today.
Goodnight New York!
