NYC

John and I were fortunate enough to enjoy a weekend in NYC sans James over Memorial Day weekend. Not only did we get the chance to visit one of our favorite cities, but we got to enjoy it with our good friends, The Kelley's!

6 AM flight...one person is clearly more excited than the other.

Asleep before take off.

We arrived in NYC around lunch time and checked into our hotel to be greeted with the view of one of the 9/11 Memorial pools. Such a beautiful, humbling memorial. For anyone visiting NYC, this is a must on the "to-do" list.

After a quick lunch, we quickly jumped in and hit the city to see the sights. Bethany has been to NYC before, but it was a first for Kyle. So, John and I did our best to ensure they saw all of the important things. 

 

Enjoying a sweet treat at "Big Gay Ice Cream". I'll spare you John's story from the last time we were in NYC..... 

3 "Salty Pimps" and some rainbow sprinkles for Kyle

 We found a bar nearby to enjoy a rum beverage for Happy Hour!

 

And then we found another bar (a Cuban bar) to continue to enjoy the libations! The last time John and I were at this bar/restaurant I was 20 weeks pregnant and clearly unappreciative of the loud music and the fact that I was there WAY past my bedtime. But this time....we had a blast!!

Group selfie!

Hands down the BEST mojito!! We may have even gone back to get another pitcher after we had dinner at a Thai restaurant.

Post dinner/happy hour subway ride back to the hotel.

John and Kyle enjoying the subway.

The ladies- a few pitchers of mojitos may have contributed to this fine picture. :)

Saturday we were up and at 'em to enjoy more sites. First up, the Flat Iron Building!

They were clearly not ready for a picture.

A quick pit stop at Grand Central Station.



Prior to the trip we had all agreed upon seeing a broadway show of some fashion. We agreed on the Phantom of the Opera. It was a great show!




Ready for Phantom!

Post Phantom, we ended up in a sea of food tents with some festival going on . AMAZING food of all varieties and ethnicities.  

Fried Ice Cream

Resting our feet in Central Park.

Love this guy- would be lost without him!

We found ourselves desiring to bar hop post dinner after our post- Phantom feast. We stumbled upon a super fun bar with live music called Wicked Willy's. We enjoyed a few live tunes and a massive, glowing fish bowl.

The Ginger up to no good as usual.

Around 9:30pm we figured we would start to find a venue for dinner, so we ventured to Little Italy. First up was a cannoli. So amazing!  

 

Holy cannoli!

I don't remember the name of the Italian restaurant we decided to eat dinner at. But, all I remember was that it was literally one of the best meals that I have ever had. My lobster ravioli was amazing and complete with a half of a lobster. I ate every. single. bite. I think we all agreed it was the best meal of the trip. Great company, great weather to sit outside, and we even had a view of the Empire State Building.

 

Sunday was our last day in NYC. We were glad to have half of the day to enjoy more sites before heading to the airport. First up was a stop to grab a NYC bagel. My selection? Everything bagel with lox and cream cheese. I'm still dreaming about this bagel and wish I could have one half this good on a daily basis!



View outside of our hotel door of the new bus station and World Trade Center building.

So thankful for this girl!

Sunday we ventured to the Bronx before heading to the airport. We were informed that there were some good, authentic food places that we should hit up before leaving town.




En route to the Bronx.

 

Exploring in Flushing Park.

Italian ice- Mango and Coconut

 We made it to the airport in plenty of time to decompress and enjoy one last beverage before boarding our flight back to KC.

But then we enjoyed one last drink on our layover in Nashville with a glimpse of some good 'ole country tunes.

 

But most importantly, we were SO glad and thankful to be home and wake up to a sweet, happy boy on Monday!