Hello Monday and Hello NYC!

 

Hi Friends and Happy Monday!  Sarah and I are so glad you stopped by!  If you blogged today, grab our graphic above and link back up with us below.

We just came off an amazing long weekend where we took the girls to NYC for a little spring break getaway....here is what it looked like....

Thursday

Rob and I worked for the morning and my Dad brought the girls back from an overnight with Mimi and Papa.  We packed up a few last minute things and we hit the road around 12:30.

We were off!

We arrived in Manhatten around 4:30 so it was not bad- it was good we hit the road earlier than expected as we were able to beat much of the traffic

We checked into our hotel- the beautiful and historic JW Marriott Essex House

and then we headed right out the front door and across the street to Central Park..we then had to hail a cab to bring Rob to "Strawberry Fields" for the John Lennon memorial.  Side note: we did not realize how big Central Park is so taking a ten minute cab ride was in our best interest as we would not be able to squeeze in our must sees.  So glad we did

After stopping at the memorial for a bit, we walked for another hour or so 

 

and then ended up hailing another cab to get to the opposite side of Central Park so we could get to the Conservatory Garden which was my wish.  It was on the complete opposite side.  For a point of reference, our hotel sits across from Central Park South.  The John Lennon Memorial is on the Upper West Side and then the Conservatory Garden is on the Upper East Side- we were learning as we went.

Lilacs- I was in heaven!

The Conservatory Garden is where the tulips were in FULL BLOOM as well...in all of their glory!

We spotted a cardinal that came to visit us and we can credit Diana for these two photos :)

After that, we hailed one last taxi back to our hotel- did a quick bathroom run and headed right downstairs to the restaurant "South Gate" for a nice little meal (and we watched the NFL Draft- I was really enjoying it surprisingly- ha!)

A couple of shots as we headed back to our room to crash...so pretty!

Friday

We were up bright and early... so excited to get our day started!  We showered, got dressed and headed down to our concierge to find out what she would recommend as a top bagel shop in the area- she directed us to Liberty Bagel so we enjoyed a nice walk to breakfast AND the bagels were incredible- well Diana thought the soup was incredible because she opted for Chicken Noodle Soup- teenagers ;)

Home of the Famous Rainbow Bagel :)

Walking back to our hotel and seeing some famous sites

 

The famous Plaza Hotel- we even went into the lobby to check it out- so beautiful!

Back at our hotel

Next Up...Hailing a Cab to Downtown and The Empire State Building!

When we arrived, we experienced the Starbucks Reserve- only a few locations in the U.S and it was very cool especially for fans like us :)  It sits at the bottom of the Empire State Building

Then it was time to head up for our tour!

On the lower floors, they had so much to look at and read about the history of the country's most famous building-very cool!

Also some cool interactive experiences for the kids!

 

Then we headed up the first elevator- 1st stop = the 80th floor!

Then it was time to head up to the Observatory Deck on the 86th floor- so sooo cool!

When you get off the elevator, they sell cinnamon donut holes and the nice gentleman insisted on giving the girls a free sample-they were so excited

Then we headed outside for the incredible views of the entire city!

 

Photo Op!

and then of course after the tour, you get dumped at the "gift shop"

After this great experience, we walked around downtown and did some touristy shopping

and we sent this pic to Miss Lea because of our escapades there in PA a few years ago- ha!

 

The Public Library- Such a Beautiful Building!

She made it to 42nd Street ;)

Then we walked back down to the Empire State Building area and went to experience our very first NY Pizza at Little Italy Pizza- it was INCREDIBLE!  We can now see what all the hype was about!

After lunch, it was time to head back to our hotel and we rested for a bit and then got all dolled up for our big night!

We had an early dinner reservation at the famous Carmine's but we got to Times Square pretty early so we walked around for a bit before heading into the restaurant

 Then...we made it to Carmine's...yeah!

It was such a beautiful place and fun atmosphere...though the fam thought the chicken parm was just ok, we were big fans of the salad that was our first course (the restaurant is all family style which was a nice change from what we are used to!)

 

The wine glass reminded me of wine at my relatives' homes when I was little- so authentic!

Since the restaurant has a 90 minute table limit, we had more time to kill so walked around a bit more and hit Juniors Diner for dessert

 

But first...Batman ;)

As we were sitting in the diner, Rob looked up and spotted the Brill Building...he couldn't believe it...he wanted to find it before we left and looked up and said it was serendipity- he was so excited.  He explained that so many famous songs were written in this building including all of Elvis's big hits!  So after this, we bopped across the street so he could touch the building and get a couple of pics!

 Then we walked to find our theater....we were so close!

You guessed it....the main event!

Well we were too early again- they wouldn't open the doors until 30 minutes before the show- ugh!  So we had to make another stop and found a bar across the street to grab a soda and kill some time- cute place!

 Then we headed back across the street and stood in line...in the rain...we really couldn't complain though...the weather really held up for us on this trip!

 

Inside the theater, we hit the restrooms and Robby B grabbed me a souvenir cup filled with....are you ready for it...."Don't Rain On My Frose"...we were dying!!!  We also could not believe we were going to see Lea Michele...ahhhh!!!

The show was INCREDIBLE and Lea Michele as Fanny Brice was SUPERB...she is a true STAR :)

After the show, it was challenging grabbing a cab but we did...after getting soaked of course...ha!  Then we crashed hard!

Saturday

We checked out of our beautiful hotel begrudgingly and we had one more stop on our way home and that was to The Sugary Factory.  There was a location near us in the city but it has been closed down due to damage to the building during a flood a couple of years ago SO we hit the one in Queens on the way home and it did not disappoint!

It is located in Resorts World New York- a Casino and Resort-very cool

It is the most "insta-worthy" location in the country I have been told ;)

It took us a little longer to get home due to intense rain and extra traffic- about 5 hours

Remi gave us the best welcoming though so all was good! :)

Sunday

We headed to mass first thing and got an online grocery delivery.  Then we divided and conquered.  Pidge went to hang with Papa.  Robby B headed to see WAG's production of The Producers

and Diana and I headed to the movies to finally see what we have been waiting so long for!

Are You There God, It's Me Margaret

based on Judy Blume's famous novel and OUR fave book of all time...the movie did not disappoint...we sooo enjoyed it and didn't want it to end!

Last night these two were crushed when the Bruins lost...it was a heartbreaker!

We are still on a high from our wonderful NY getaway....until next time :)

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