We started the day by heading downtown on our double-decker bus tour. We got off at the World Trade Center stop. We walked around the church that is still standing right across from WTC. George Washington had attended services there, so they have a pew that he had sat in. It was really just very said walking around there, so we didn't spend much time. After that we went to a building where it had a timeline of the 9/11 events and then models and plans for the memorial they are building at the site. Then we left there and headed south to walk around the financial district- saw the new york stock exchange and wall street. Nothing real exciting. Then we walked towards the Brooklyn Bridge and thought we'd walk across that to meet dustin's friends for lunch. So as the idiots we are, we walk down to the water....except come to find out you have to enter the bridge about a half mile back on the land! It's hot and I'm already tired of walking, so was not happy to go out of our way! Going across the bridge had a good view of the statue of liberty, but it was crazy how crowded the bridge is. Go figure, there was a group of about 30 people training seeing eye dogs walking right by us. So these dogs are stopping to poo and pee on the cement every few feet....so you had to be VERY careful of where you were stepping. Here is a pic of the exhausted gus-- can you spot the statue of liberty in it?
Finally we just walked fast enough to get ahead of them! So after 3 miles of walking we finally get across the bridge, dripping in sweat, and arrive at Grimaldi's for some of the best pizza. Only to discover the line is about 2 hours long and is probably already 1:30 or so at this time so I'm starving!!!! Dustin's friends arrive and we decide to just go try somewhere else. So after another mile of walking, we arrive at a pretty good restaurant where we could just sit back and have a beer and some good pub food.
After we hung out with them, we then took the metro back to Manhattan and picked up on our bus tour basically where we had left off. We then went to the hotel to shower and regroup and then went back on our double-decker bus for the night tour! The night tour was really pretty and it took us around Brooklyn so you got to see the manhattan skyline all lit up. We wanted a good dinner so when we finished that tour, we took the train to Greenwich Village since this seems to be where I see celebrities spotted frequently in my magazines. On the bus, we had passed down streets that looked like they had awesome restaurants that were our style-- candles on the table, patio/sidewalk dining, etc. So we get down there and walk FOREVER cause I was being rather picky looking for the perfect place. Too many were too fancy of food for me where there was only 1 item on the menu I'd even be able to eat! We were checking the menu outside of one restaurant and as I'm turning around I hear dustin say "hey eli, how's it going?" and this guy responds with "hey, pretty good man." So i ask dustin if he knew him and he's like- you idiot, that was eli manning! So we had another famous sighting and i didn't even know it until it was too late! I think we walked at least 1.5 miles, but we finally stumbled upon Elizabeth and it was perfect! We got some garlicky garlic fries and they were to die for!!!!! I had their homemade pappardelle that had truffle oil in it and was also awesome! By the time we finished dinner, it again was a late night of almost midnight so we just headed back to the hotel.
Sunday-
We started out by walking around NE of our hotel-- Park Ave, 5th Ave, etc. However, since it was still early in the morning most things were still closed. We did get to go in the Apple store since it was open 24/7. I made Dustin take a picture by it since it was a rather unique looking store. They are just all glass like this and then you ride an elevator or escalator down to the store.
Next, we went to Washington Square Park and just looked around there and then walked around the west village area. We found a great place for brunch where we could dine on the sidewalk to people watch. It was $10 for brunch and you got selection of an entree/side and TWO drinks! And you got a basket of muffins and bread on the table which was great. We can't even find a breakfast that cheap here in st louis! After that we basically just walked along the Hudson River. We ran across an Open House for condos they were building in a pretty run-down area, so looked like it would be more up and coming. It was $3.3 million dollars and was I'd guess 1800 sq ft. It was 2 stories and had top of the line appliances, tile, fixtures, etc. But, still was outrageous!!!!! We grabbed some cheesecake from Junior's to go and then headed to the airport. We ate our cheesecake later and it was AWESOME! Dustin swears it was head and shoulders above any other cheesecake he's ever had.
Next, we went to Washington Square Park and just looked around there and then walked around the west village area. We found a great place for brunch where we could dine on the sidewalk to people watch. It was $10 for brunch and you got selection of an entree/side and TWO drinks! And you got a basket of muffins and bread on the table which was great. We can't even find a breakfast that cheap here in st louis! After that we basically just walked along the Hudson River. We ran across an Open House for condos they were building in a pretty run-down area, so looked like it would be more up and coming. It was $3.3 million dollars and was I'd guess 1800 sq ft. It was 2 stories and had top of the line appliances, tile, fixtures, etc. But, still was outrageous!!!!! We grabbed some cheesecake from Junior's to go and then headed to the airport. We ate our cheesecake later and it was AWESOME! Dustin swears it was head and shoulders above any other cheesecake he's ever had.So I think that pretty much sums up the NYC part of our trip now!
