I just returned from the most AMAZING 5 days in New York. With all of my relatives rooted in NY, I have always been lucky to get to visit there every couple of years. This time, instead of spending most of my time in Northport, Long Island, I spent it in the city- thanks to my mom making the greatest decision. She has rented an apartment on the Upper West Side for the month of July. Friends of my aunt were going away on a month long trip and wanted/needed someone to stay at their place (for a great fee). With little hesitation, my mom took them up on the offer to finally live one of her life long dreams - to be a local in the city. She is in a great 1,200 sq.ft. apartment in a very safe part of town just west of Central Park. My cousin, Amanda, and I were just some of her many visitors in and out (and I am sure, her favorites :) We got in early Saturday morning and returned back home Wednesday night after a very bittersweet goodbye - I was missing Travis and the kids but didn't want to leave the carefree lifestyle I was enjoying so so so much. Here are bits and pieces of our trip....still waiting on more pics from others but this is what I got. Enjoy!
This was just across the street from her building...but the whole street
lookedjust like the "The Huxtable's". I want one someday.
We were very close to a subway station and used the 1 train to get to and from just about everywhere. Our first day there, we traveled down to Soho and Little Italy for some....shopping! Shocking!
Sistas! After seeing Lady Gaga at the Today Show the day before, these sisters still had tons of energy. (Aunt Jo, Aunt Donna, Mom)
Little Italy- Mulberry Street
It is not NY without an Italian Ice (and yes, not even freshly scooped ones but Marino's in a cup from the store) Aunt Donna brought some in and I had one everyday...The key is to scoop out and eat just enough so that you can flip it over and eat the oh-so-yummy syrupy crystals at the bottom, the best part.
And then we ALSO had to get vanilla cones dipped in chocolate sprinkles a couple of the nights too - our diet was not great at all. We didn't eat a lot but it was all bagels, pizza, and ice cream.
On Sunday we made our way into Northport to hang with family, visit Main Street (you gotta do it), and drive down to the south shore (Patchogue) for a family reunion bbq. This is my 19 year old cousin, Joe, in his very own boat - it is huge, with a kitchen, kitchen table, bed and all.
Amanda on the upper deck of Joe's boat.
Just a beautiful pic of the Northport dock...my cousins get to live this life everyday. My other cousin, Kelli-Marie, is the dock master (you can barely see her to the left in this pic). She supervises and helps dock the boats as locals and visitors come into the village.
The view of Northport Harbor from Molly's house. (molly is my soon-to-be cousin :)
My mom and my grandpa....this is obviously where she gets her looks from.
Ok, this is my Uncle Beefy dressed as a clown (inside family joke) but he is always the life of the party.
My oh-so-loveable Grandpa giving his granddaughters devil ears....nice.
We took Kelli back into the city with us later that night and shopped all over town the next day, Monday. I had to go to the Espirit store and get myself a bag (any of you my age will remember having to have one in the 6th grade).
I had my first "Bloomies" experience. My mom was the sucker though and bought a gorgeous Louis Vutton (after making us convince her to buy it). Money well spent :)
This is the living room of our apartment...everything is so old and detailed. I loved the moldings and paint colors. Every room was a different beautiful color.
On Tuesday, Amanda, my mom, and I made our way on 3 subways to the Brooklyn
Bridge (we thought we would walk across it). Well not so much. When we got out of the last train, nobody was going up out of the station - why?, because it was raining buckets outside. We got our umbrellas (well, Amanda quickly got one from a little old chinese lady at the top of the stairs) and off we went. Being at City Hall, there were not many stores or restaurants so we hid in a Starbucks for a little while and then made our way out again. Walking the bridge was out of the question at this point. It was raining so hard, you couldn't even see the bridge. We walked through deep puddles - yuck! and got drenched. Amanda's umbrella kept turning inside out in the wind - it was hilarious. Anyways, we got a cab and went to Macy's - where everyone else seemed to go also.
Molly came in and met us at Macy's and later that night we went to see "Promises, Promises" starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway. What a great show! Super funny and amazing talent from the two of them.
After the show, we waited near the stage door and saw them both come out to sign autographs. We weren't close enough to get any of them for real but we did get an autograph and a pic with Tony Goldwyn (another star of the show and the "bad guy" from Ghost). I will post that later.
We walked the park all but one day....it is so cool seeing all the spots from different movies and tv shows. This reservoir is just beautiful......as you can see, another storm was on the way....
Dreamy!
Nice and dry...if we only knew what was coming....
As we headed home from the park, it started to drizzle and then pour. Instead of rushing home, we kept walking and just enjoyed getting soaked this time. I can honestly say I had never been in the rain like this before....and it is soooo much fun.
This was our last day. I was so very sad to go. Just "being" in the city is a dream. The local boutiques, the markets, the outdoor dining, and the flower stands...it is all so perfectly NY. I want to go back right this minute....I will miss you NY (and mom...it will be two weeks before I see her again, the longest time ever)....
