Edinburgh Castle 1

New York City, Part 5

It was Friday and our last full day in Manhattan before heading back home. We had a fairly long list of things we wanted to do including seeing the Statue of Liberty, the Strawberry Fields John Lennon Memorial in Central Park, the Dakota and walk along the High Line.

We started out by walking across town to the top of the High Line. For those unaware of what the High Line is, it’s an old elevated set of train tracks that have recently been converted into a gorgeous park and path. You can get on and off at a number of different spots along the 1.5 miles of the park.

It’s a really unique and sustainable idea that I loved the idea of before even seeing it. I loved it even more after taking an hour stroll along it. It was packed with people walking both ways and experiencing the many different views and plants seen along the track.

Once we reached the end we walked a few blocks through Chelsea to get to Grimaldi’s Pizza… and talk about delicious ‘za. And while it is a sit-down restaurant, they move fairly quickly, so we were in and out in little time.

We then headed down toward Staten Island to get a look at the Statue of Liberty. We decided against taking the fairy across to the island, instead opting to stay on Manhattan for a couple of photo ops. We walked around the beautiful Battery Park where we saw a fun street show and sat under the shade of some trees to rest up a little.

We then made our way all the way back up to 72nd Street to see the Dakota (where John Lennon lived before being murdered there) and his memorial across the street in Central Park called Strawberry Fields. It was moving to see both the Dakota and Strawberry Fields.

On our way back to the hotel we walked through Grand Central Station during rush hour which was a really interesting experience. The place is a zoo with people moving very quickly and not wanting to stop.

Finally we ended up at the Manhattan Center in the Grand Ballroom to take in a fierce comedy show from the likes of Duncan Trussell, Joey ‘Coco’ Diaz and Joe Rogan. All were absolutely hilarious and each of them killed in their own unique ways. Rogan was a special treat, staying out and performing for a full two hours.

To top it all off, the three of them stayed after the show to meet and take photographs with anybody who stayed. They were all super kind and genuinely grateful for the support.

Other Photos:

New York City, Part 4

We walked up to Bar Americain, Bobby Flay’s (of Top Chef fame) restaurant, for a celebratory dinner. We had a reservation for 8:15 and were getting hungry by the time we got there. We lucked out and were seated on the upper level overlooking the big open restaurant.

There was a warm, social feel to it and we ordered some wine and a small pizza to start. Both Sammie and I were craving steak and so filet mignons it was–medium rare. We sided them with some mixed veggies, potatoes and the best garlic asparagus I’ve ever had.

After enjoying the food as slowly and as much as possible, we hailed a cab and headed back to the hotel. By this time it was close to 11 and after the long day we had we were just excited to get some sleep. Of course when we turned on the TV the New York Rangers were underway in what would turn out to be a triple-overtime game so we had to stay up and watch that come to a close.

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The next morning I got up and showered before Sam. We were both still feeling full from the previous evening but once we got up and moved around a little bit we felt more energized. We started our day off with some Starbucks before heading for a subway to Brooklyn.

When we arrived we started wandering around the cute neighbourhood of Williamsburg and stopped in for lunch at Crif Dogs. It had been suggested by a cousin as somewhere to check out but we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. What we got, though, were delicious bacon-wrapped hot dogs with cheese and ketchup accompanied by some tasty waffle fries.

Following that pleasant experience we headed for Bedford Ave. which is the main street of Williamsburg. It turned out to be exactly what we wanted so close to the big city–a quiet, yet happening community where people walk dogs and smile at one another.

We headed down to the waterfront where we took in a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline. We watched ferries and boats putter along the East River and birds fly about in the breezy air.

We found our way to a little coffee shop and bar called Cafe Colette (Sammie’s mom’s name) and felt obligated to try it out. We snagged a little table in the tight space where we combined our love for beer and scones. And while the waitress giggled at the combination of the two, we were more than satisfied. We settled up and headed on back for Manhattan.

Sammie wanted to do a little more shopping and I reluctantly followed. We had seen a lot of Brooklyn and thought SoHo would now be a nice place to check out. Apart from the potential shopping, we had heard really nice things about just walking around–so that’s what we did.

On our stroll we peaked our heads into a few ritzy shops as well as some more reasonable places. Sammie found a nice outfit that she bought and it felt like a really productive evening.

We grabbed a few beers on our way back to the hotel and looked forward to what we would do with our last full day in the city. We got a little drunk while figuring out what last things we were going to be able check out before heading home.