I Heart NYC

April 9-13, 2014

Best. Birthday. Ever. 

My husband rocks.  At Christmas he surprised me with 2 plane tickets to New York City and 2 tickets to see The Newsies on Broadway.  What a thoughtful man!  Since he gave them to me at Christmas and my birthday wasn't until April, we were able to plan the rest of our vacation together during the months that followed.  We stayed at the W New York Times Square hotel - it was perfect!  Here's a snapshot of our adventure...

April 10, 2014

Time Square

Empire State Building

Central Park

US Supreme Court

Brooklyn Bridge

I swear this is the Sesame Street house... or the Huxtables?  I can't remember.  Super cool anyway.

9/11 tower

Taking the metro was fun and a little scary :)

The beautiful new Yankee's stadium

Let's be clear... we are NOT Yankee's fans.  I was born and bred an Angel's fan, and my husband has always been a Brave's fan.  But we share a love for the game.  We love baseball.  So when you're visiting New York City, you absolutely make time to see a game.  We weren't disappointed!  The Yankees played the Red Socks...

We got to watch Derek Jeter play during his last season before retirement.  

We witnessed David Ortiz in action - one of the greats. 

And we saw the amazing dirt-sweeping-guys dance to the YMCA song during the 7th inning stretch.  They were choreographed and rehearsed.  Made us laugh!

Sweet tickets

A view of our hotel (the one with the big "W" on top) as we walked back from the game.  The city was both beautiful and bustling at night.

April 11, 2014

We spent a good portion of today touring the city on the roof of a double decker bus...

We laughed as we saw the, "No soup for you!" guy from Seinfeld.  Turns out the Soupman is real and right down the block.

As the bus turned the corner, we were amazed to see the New York City temple with the unmistakable Angel Moroni atop.  

A pinnacle of light in the middle of the busy city.

First stop, the Natural History Museum!

I would love to meet Theodore Roosevelt one day.  Great quote!

We took this picture especially for Natalya.  The Okapi is her very favorite animal.

We took this picture especially for Branson.  We thought he'd appreciate the outrageously gigantic nose.

This picture is for Irelynn.  Not only is it a super cool jaw from an underwater creature, but Daddy looks silly trying to mimic it.

This picture is for Annika.  Dinosaurs rock and this T-rex screams cool.

Brian wanted a picture of this little chunk of wood.  Ok, large cross-section of a once mammoth, gargantuan, colossal tree.  

I liked the whale.  I wouldn't want to meet it under water, but it's cool in a museum.

Next stop, the Guggenheim Museum!

But first, we enjoyed a little street food.  Brian got a pretzel and I got a churro.  You can't go to NYC without catching a snack from a street vendor.    

Inside the Guggenheim looking up 

(they call this the toilet bowl)

And looking down

The actual museum was a piece of art all by itself.  We enjoyed taking our time walking from painting to photo, and sculpture to drawing.  There were some precious pieces of art along with some weird stuff that we enjoyed quietly making fun of.  

Next stop, Central Park.  We chose to walk back to our hotel through Central Park.  I'm glad we did - it was a little piece of quiet amongst all the noise. 

I loved the cherry blossoms!

We watched people race their remote-controlled sailboats on the water.

Brian on top of the world...

Dinner was amazing!  We met Spencer and Antonio at Buddakan and had a great time.  We took a lot of great photos, but unfortunately I can't find them on my hard drive.  Here's one picture that I took with Spencer - I wish I had the rest!!

I'm so glad my brother took the time to meet us in New York.  What a bonus!  I genuinely felt loved - and a little spoiled.  Thank you Spencer and Antonio for a wonderful weekend!  We truly savored each meal we ate together and all the laughs we shared. 

April 12, 2014

Happy Birthday Me!

We started the day with an amazing brunch with Spencer and Antonio at Beauty & Essex.  Best blueberry pancakes ever.  They MELT in your mouth.  Stunning little restaurant - again, I can't find any of the pictures I took with my phone so here's some stock photos I found online...

We ate in this room, in a booth on the left.

Among the many dishes we tried, this one was a favorite.

Ok, and this one too.

The Eggs Benedict was amazing.  The blueberry pancakes were to-die-for.  So it's safe to say it was our favorite restaurant experience while in NYC.  I heart food!  What a perfect way to start my birthday :)

After brunch, we hurried off to see a matinee of the Newsies, my favorite musical.  

The Nederlander Theater

Before the show

Our seats were on the front row of the mezzanine.  Perfect!!

(I just thought Brian looked really cute in this picture.) 

Spencer and Antonio were able to get their seats just behind ours - I'm so glad we were able to share this experience with them!

 I wasn't supposed to take photos during the show.  But I did ;)

The set was awesome - the actors so talented

I couldn't help but sing along in my head.  I watched this movie a million times back in 1992.  

I had a crush on half the cast.  

    

Christian Bale was my secret heart-throb.

I loved that these boys made dancing cool.

Broadway did it justice - even with high expectations, I wasn't disappointed.  I think Brian enjoyed it too - even if he didn't know every line.   

Another busy walk "home" to our hotel.

The taxis, people, vendors, street entertainers, lights, and billboards were overwhelming.  It's like we were in a different country! 

Thank you, Brian, for an unforgettable adventure!  I had an incredible time.  Every day was a swoon-worthy experience.  I LOVE YOU!