Various food we sampled in NYC

Pho Soup with a thin layer of grease due to the fatty beef used. Not terrible but I've had better. Vegetable curry. yum

This was a cucumber/avocado roll. Was.

Cheesecake at the Film Center Cafe. The cheesecake at Juniors was yummy and HUGE - no photo - sorry - you'll have to go there and try it yourself. This cheesecake was very tasty and creamy. We had no problem eating it.

Ferrara Chocolate Dipped Cannoli

Sorbet and fruit refresher at Ferrara's . . . before the pannini and cannoli

Cannoli we had before we headed to Coney Island - after our dinner at Zen Palate. Wish I had shot photos of that dinner.

At Zen we ordered a few things but the prettiest was the pineapple fried rice which they served in a hollowed, half pineapple. Not only was it beautiful, it was fantastic tasting. I'd go back to this place too.

We also enjoyed Tapas at a place in the village (bad photo, sorry) and that is a place I would visit again if given the chance.

There are so many wonderful restaurants, on every corner, every street, that you could eat someplace different for years - never have to try the same place twice unless you really wanted.

Saturday night in the city

After Memphis and saying goodbye to the Penneys, Bailey and I headed to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). I was excited to see what was behind those walls. We were both a little tired and a little hungry but we decided to go for it. We had to walk a few extra blocks because the address provided on the internet was not correct. WHAT? Yes, google was wrong. LOL We found it though and headed into the cool air. We worked our way up, up, up and looked at every room. We could have spent hours in there reading about the artists, etc. MOMA houses Picasso, Pollock, Kahlo, VanGogh, Dali, Warhol, Mapplethorpe, and 1000s of other artists; it is an amazing place. I asked Bailey if she could take home ONE, just ONE item in the museum what it would be and right now I can't recall the name of the sculptor. I do know the piece is a beautiful gold sculpture. My choice was easy. Oh-so-easy. I want the Warhol ELVIS. I want a poster of this print to frame and put in my kitchen. I need to start my google search now for this poster. What do you think?

After MOMA, we headed out for FOOD because we were STARVED now. Directly across the street was an Asian restaurant and of course we both wnated to go there. It wasn't terrible but it wasn't the best I've had. You can't go wrong with a veggie sushi roll but the Pho soup was greasy - a no-no. Her curry was good but again, we've had better.

After dinner we headed south down 5th to do a little more window shopping and went in a few stores before they closed. We walked through Rockefeller Center (or maybe that was earlier in the week?!?! my days are blending together now) and headed to Times Square to do a little more shoe-watching. I was having fun looking at all of the people and their various shoe choices. From flats to the highest heels, combat books to ugg boots, flip flops to birkenstocks, converse to nikes, wedges, pumps, moccasins, you name it, we saw it.

Two tired girls then headed to the hotel for a much needed night's rest. Oh, but first, a pit stop for some fruit and other snackie cakes.

Saturday morning, let's sleep in a little!

Saturday morning we didn't have to be anywhere except the Memphis box office at 10am to buy student tickets. So, we took advantage of this and slept in a little.
After the ticket purchase we went to Times Square and did a little shopping (Levi's, H&M, Forever 21, etc.) We quickly tired of that and headed back to the hotel to meet M&J. They had an early tour of the NBC studios. Today is their last day in the city so they also had to pack and get their bags on the bus. Our show was at 2pm and it was wonderful. Student tickets for this show are always in the first row which sounds great except that the seats are almost against the stage and you kinda get a pain in your neck craning to see what is going on . . .but for the price, no complaints. I love this show.

Central Park bike ride, carriage ride, and dinner at Film Center Cafe

We rented bikes and mom waited for us somewhere on 5th near central park. We were gone only an hour. John lost us twice on this ride and the second time I didn't try to find him! Bailey and I worked our way through part of the park and rode out of the park to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then back in to weave our way back to mom. We returned the bikes and I had decided earlier that I wanted to rent a horse and carriage to take mom through the park since she didn't get to see any of it.

The driver was nice and knowledgeable about the points of interest in the park and I thought it was a nice, relaxing way to end the tour of Central Park. I still haven't seen the entire park. Another item to add to the to-do list. Next time I want to rent bikes for 2 hours and take a leisurely ride through the park. :)

After the carriage ride we walked south to Hell's Kitchen (area just a couple of blocks from our hotel) and ate dinner at the Film Center Cafe. Another nice restaurant with great food. Thanks to Restaurant.com for the coupons. I randomly picked three restaurants from a list of 100s and so far, the two coupons we used (FCC and Zen) were wonderful.

Is it Friday already? The Penney's last full day in NYC

Today we walked a couple of blocks east to 5th and then south to the Empire State Building. The Chryslter Building is in the distance behind mom and john. We arrived at the Empire State Building and the crowd had not yet formed. Riding the escaltor up to the ticket floor.

We bought our tickets and worked our way through the displays on the way to the elevator. This is kind of a staging area for when the place is packed. Lots of facts to read, photos to examine, etc. We then boarded the first elevator which takes to you the 86th floor I think. Then you get on a second elevator to the viewing area.

That pointy building in the center of the photo is the Chrysler Building again.

Finally a photo of me with the parental units. I bet you were beginning to wonder if we were really on vacation together, huh.

Bailey loves mirrors and the reflective glass was perfect. :)

Some views from the top:

After we left the ESB, we took the train to the World Trade Center site. The construction is in process and the site is surrounded by chain link fence. We didn't stay long. Mom and John wanted to go to Yankee Stadium so we sent them on the orange train north which I learned later did not go all the way to the stadium for some reason but the conductor helped them transfer and get off. Then, they discovered that the dang museum wasn't even open because Paul McCartney was in town and for some silly reason they had to close it. weird. They then took the green train south to central park and waited for us.

We headed to Chinatown and then walked to Little Italy. I wanted to see the tenement museum but we didn't have enough time. Something to add to my list for the next trip to the city. I wanted to eat at Ferrara Cafe www.ferraracafe.com and we found the place a few blocks away. The food was wonderful and I had my first chocolate covered cannoli. The third cannoli of the trip. It was worth every dollar.

We then headed to SOHO to meet a friend for a snack. My first Pink Berry ice cream (or is it yogurt?). We also did a little shopping while waiting. SOHO is pretty once you get away from the store fronts! Back to Central Park to meet the Penneys and go for a bike ride through Central Park.

We need a break from walking . . . let's take the train to Coney Island and ride the Wonder Wheel!

After dinner, and a pit stop back at the hotel for Bailey's shoes, we took the subway to Coney Island. The ride took about an hour and it was nice to just sit for a while instead of walking. The train emptied out at every stop and by the time we reached the end of the line, we were the only riders! I was worried for a few minutes that Coney Island would be closing soon or that we'd be the only people there. But we used google (of course) to check the hours of operation and the park is open until midnight. Before we left the station we tried to use the restrooms. GROSS. One of the dirtiest restrooms I've ever seen. We left the station and stopped in the Dunkin Donuts hoping for better. A little better but not much. We walked across the street to the park and this was our view: The full moon over the park was beautiful. The photo does not do it justice. Of course we had to ride the Wonder Wheel. I think it was $3 for the ticket.

Sign above the entrance to the Wonder Wheel.Sign with history of the Wonder Wheel.Bailey in our car on the ride.
View from the top of the Wonder Wheel. It was very cool being there at night. Next time I will go during the day so I can see the beach and boardwalk.Moon over the boardwalk.On the way out I spotted the Zoltar machine. Bailey has not yet seen the Tom Hank's movie BIG. I told her if she started acting like an 8 year old I'd be bringing her back to Coney Island immediately. She loved the fortune Zoltar provided. We stayed about an hour between the ride, the walk on the boardwalk, and just looking around and then headed back to Manhattan. Fun.

Columbia University, Morningside Park, and Zen Palate for dinner

Bailey rows for Tampa Catholic and she wanted to see Columbia University's boathouse. So, we took the red train to almost the last stop uptown. This train was elevated for part of the way and it was neat seeing parts of the city I've never visited. We got off the train and walked a couple of blocks north. After walking west for a few minutes I couldn't figure out where this dang place was located. Based on the address provided by google it should have been right THERE! There was a lady walking her dog so naturally I asked her for directions. Of course she didn't speak English. LOL So we walked back towards the Columbia athletic building on the corner. Meanwhile, a golf cart was approaching us from behind and we were in the way. The men were driving into the drive way of the athletic building . . .so. . . naturally I asked them if they knew where this place was . . .well, of course they did and one of them gave us a tour in that golf cart. I was very happy because again, it was HOT and it was a long walk to who-knows-where. He had fun chatting with us and I think Bailey enjoyed seeing the boat area. After the tour we got back on the train and headed south a few stops to the Columbia campus. We walked through the campus and shot a few photos. On the other side of the campus is Morningside Park.

We walked through the park and continued a few blocks over to Harlem and to the train station. In Harlen, across the street from the station, nestled between two buildings, we spotted this green space.

We took the train to our usual stop and walked north a block or so to a restaurant for dinner. The Zen Palate is a vegan restaurant and the food is fabulous. www.zenpalate.com