Saturday, April 10, 2010

Last Day in NY Recap and Some Great News!!



Our last full day (Thursday) in NY was a great one. We started the morning with the famous H&H Bagels (Carrie brings these bagels to Miranda in SATC, and refers to them as the "Good" bagels). Good they were:



We enjoyed our breakfast with some coffee in a park on the Upper West Side. Our morning was spent at the American Museum of Natural History. What an amazing place!! We saw more than we could have ever imagined, including the bones of Lucy. We also went to the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) where we saw my favourite painting, Starry Night, among many other amazing pieces.

Lunch was a hotdog from Papaya King:





In the afternoon we checked out the beautiful NY Public Library, The F. A. O. Schwarz Toy Store, and did some shopping.

Dinner was at a Restaurant in Union Square called The House. We started with a cheese plate and bread:









I had a bad case of vertigo (still have it) during dinner and could not eat much of my NY strip loin steak sandwich. I had a few bites, and left the rest:



I felt a bit better when we got outside. We came across a little cupcake shop called Baked By Melissa, where all the cupcakes are little tiny bite size things. The hubby and I bought 3 and shared them:



We went to bed early so that we would be able to get up for our early morning flight back home.

Friday morning we took a car to the airport (another 70+ dollar ride). We had our last NY bagel breakfast (I ate about half). It was the first rainy day we had seen in NY, and we were glad it decided to rain on the day we were leaving - it made leaving a little easier!

We had a Mexican lunch when we arrived in Minneapolis, and then we arrived home around 1:30 in the afternoon yesterday.

When I got home I checked the mail and saw a letter from the University of Regina. I quickly opened it and found out that I have been accepted into grad school!!!!! I will be starting my masters in Educational Psychology in the Fall!!! I am so excited!! I will still be teaching full time, but will take classes in the evening.

We went out in the evening with our friends. We had dinner at 13th Avenue Coffee House. I had some curried chickpea soup to start and a tofu veggie bowl as my entrée.





We then headed over to another place called The FreeHouse for some wine and visiting. I nibbled on some sweet potato fries late in the evening.

Our trip was so fantastic, but it is nice to be back home with our friends after a week away :-) the hubby and I see a lot of our friends, and we miss them when we are gone.

I slept in this morning, and then since we have no food in the house we had to dig in to the Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese Gourmet stuff that I brought home from NY:



We are getting groceries this afternoon - I need some veggies in my life!

Final Thoughts on Our NY Trip:

- The hubby and I LOVED Manhattan, and cannot wait to go back.
- My favourite areas were Greenwich Village, and the Upper West Side. We explored every single area in Manhattan.
- Although it looked like I ate a lot on the trip, the hubby and I shared most things - I didn't gain a pound while we were away ... but it is time for a few Green Monster me thinks :-)
- The people in NY were SO nice. I don't know where they get the bad rep. because everyone was so friendly to us, and many people struck up conversations with us throughout the city.
- Manhattan is such a unique place because it is SO tiny, yet so big.
- The subway system is AMAZING. We never got lost, and you can see so much of the city for very cheap ... not like anywhere else we have ever been.
- The best thing about the city is that it is so ALIVE, and you feel so ALIVE when you are there.

Although I didn't get the tacky cliché shirt they sell on every corner, I heart NY.

In case you missed the other recaps of our time in NY:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 and 4

Day 5 and 6

Tonight we are going out with friends again - to celebrate my good friend Mel's 28th birthday.

What are your plans for the weekend?

24 comments:

Morgan said...

congrats on your grad school acceptance! That is very exciting news

Anonymous said...

Welcome home Sweetie and Congrats to ya!

xoxo

sophia said...

I loved all your NYC posts, Jolene! And I'm glad you can honestly share that no, you do not have to gain 500 lbs from good food while traveling! Moderation is the key, and you don't have to stick to salads doing that! :-)

And OMG!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! WHEEEE!!! WHAT FABULOUS NEWS!!! AHH! So excited for you!!

Losing in the City said...

so glad you had a great time in nyc.... congrats on getting into grad school.. i know the feeling when you receive the acceptance letter :-)

Kat said...

Wow, what an amazing trip. I am glad you had such a great experience. Congrats on your great news :) That really is wonderful. What a perfect way to end you trip/vacation huh?!

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

You had me at the bagel! I so love bagels!

Good news on the grad school! Nice! :-)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! That's a nice way to come home. Work,golf and laundry Sunday. Today was work,golf and poker.

Yelena said...

First of all- congrats on your acceptance!!!! What an amazing accomplishment! I loved all your trip recaps and the food!

I hope you are feeling better- I am sure those mini desserts helped just a bit :)

Simply Life said...

great last meal in NY! My trips never there seem to be as good as yours! I think I need to take some tips from you! :)

And CONGRATS on grad school! That's wonderful!!!

Anonymous said...

First of all CONGRATS on grad school! What a fantastic way to end a grand week!! I'm so happy you loved NYC! Maybe next time we'll both go ;) Seriously...this whole NYC recape showed such fun/delicious/famous eats! GREAT foodie blogging week!

eatmovelove said...

You rock!!! Huge congrats! NY sounds (and looks) phenomenal...I want that hot dog :)

Fit Chick in the City said...

Congratulations!

Also, H&H bagels are good bagels especially if you happen to get one while it's still hot. I also love Melissa's cupcakes!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on getting accepted to the Uni...that is really great!!! Do you know why the NY bagel is so good? It's cause of our water. Bagels are made with water and NYC has the best water in the country.

Sarah said...

WOOHOO! Congratulations on getting accepted to grad school! The fact that you can still work and do your masters through evening classes is such a bonus, too!

I'd love to go to NYC, and you're description - especially of the people - makes me want to go even more! I can't see it happening any time in the near future though. :(

Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday said...

YAY!!! That's great news.

Jessica @ The Process of Healing said...

So glad you had fun! And CONGRATS on grad school! woohoo!!

Anonymous said...

oh baby, those teeny cupcakes are soooo good lookin! and BAGELS yum! i love bagels and have only been to nyc once but sadly didn't get to have one of their famous ones!

Gracie @ Girl Meets Health said...

Looks like you had an AMAZING time! Which, isn't surprising because NYC is unlike anywhere in the world. And I can totally relate to wanting to load up on the Green Monsters after a vacation ;) After a few of those you'll feel back to your old self in no time!

Jocelyn said...

congratz on getting into grad school!! You are gonna be one busy lady!! :D

Kacy said...

Congratulations girl! I'm so happy for you!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on the grad school acceptance! What great news in the midst of a great few days in NYC!

P.S. I can't even believe that I've not eaten an English muffin until this morning either! Ha. The weird things in life. But at least I got to try them for free and now know to buy them because they are tasty! That's a plus!

Unknown said...

Wow girl! I am falling behind on blog reading, but just read your AWESOME news!! Way to go!! That's so incredibly exciting!! :)

Welcome home!

Anais said...

Congrats!!! That is amazing news :D

Those teeny cupcakes are so cute!

I love NYC too... and I think you explained very well what makes it so special :) I will never get tired of visiting it! And really, I wouldn't mind living there either...

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!! Such exciting news to come home to!

Also, love the SATC references. I know exactly which episode you're referring to - another spot to add to the list!