EXILED FROM CHINATOWN: the girls take on the big apple! THE END!!! p.25

[ArielSRL]

Ok, Dawn, just read the entire TR thus far. Seems like you guys are having a great time. I have been to upstate NY but never NYC. I have always wanted to go at least once, especially to see Ground Zero. Everything in NY looks so HUGE! It is like, Attack of the Killer Ads!!! Bombardment galore...but part of the culture of the city (like Naked Cowboy & Girl).

Some of the restaurants here in metro Atlanta have the crumb things, but it is usually the high priced ones (which I dont get to very often on a teacher's salary, but it is nice to splurge sometimes). That dessert sounded good. I love blackberry anything!!!

Looking forward to more!

 

[jwwi]

better late than never, can't wait to read about your trip to the big apple..........

 

[lmillercrew]

Looks like your NY trip has gotten off to a great start. Other than the hotel construction situation. I showed my DH the picture of Naked Cowgirl, and he said "They also have a Naked Cowboy". I have never even heard of him. But, apparently he's been on David Letterman and the city has made him wear something less see through. I couldn't believe he'd heard of him.
How was the subway? Was it scary at all???

 

[jwwi]

I am all caught up with your NYC TR. When my DH and I visited in May 2008 I just loved being so close to Times Square, we stayed a half a block from Toys R Us. I wish we would have gone on the ferris wheel, I loved the theming on all the cars. We ate at very boring places, ESPN, Hard Rock Cafe. I am looking forward to reading more about your trip.

 

[punkin413]

I love the update!!

Oh man, if we were there and came across the guy with the snake, Chad would freak!! He hates snakes!!!

thanks! snakes don't bother me but if that would've been a parrot sitting on the guy's shoulder i would've ran the other way!

Dinner looked so good! The subway is confusing - I was lucky that my friend I was visiting knew how to get everywhere - so I didn't have to figure a thing out!

it was! we did okay the first couple of times on the subway but trying to get to brooklynn was so difficult!

The update is great Dawn, I am loving all the pictures. I am now even more determined to get to NYC soon!

thanks! you would totally love it. let me know if you ever decide to go!

Dinner looks delicious!

In the two pictures of you and Brooke walking, I noticed you passed the Scientology building! And you walked right by the hotel we ALWAYS stayed at when we went to NYC -- the Hotel Edison! It made me all nostalgic just seeing the sign for it!

it was so good! that scientology building was like 2 doors down from our hotel. i kept looking for tom cruise. the hotel edison was nice! we had breakfast there the next day.

Great update Dawn! You girls all looked so pretty dressed up for dinner : Too funny about the busboy! In almost every restaurant here there are busboys who take the plates, refill water and get the crumbs off the table with that little brush thing. I thought they had that everywhere I'm glad you liked the food! It all looked delish. And I had to laugh at the picture with the Scientology Center in the background. We always pass the celebrity Scientology center on the upper east side and it cracks me up!

The subway can definitely be confusing. Just a tip for if you come back again - if you log onto Google Maps you can map out your route beforehand. It's linked to the NYC mass transit system so you put in your starting point and destination, and it tells you what trains and buses you need to use to get there. It's really helpful!

awwww....thanks! this wasn't a brush - it was like a little dull knife or something. i'd just never seen one before! the scientology building was like 2 or 3 doors down from our hotel. like i told jackie above, i kept looking for tom cruise! thanks for the tip about the subway. i used hobstop but i didn't ALWAYS have directions where we were going before we decided to go there.

i would hav ebeen in bed by 9:30 and sleeping by 10:00

okay, i'm old but not THAT old! just messin with ya, dan! i do believe you're actually younger than me. either younger or the same age. i'll be 33 next month.

I finally had time to get over here to read your NYC report! I am looooving it so far. I so want to go to NY but Dave has this thing about cities. He gets so flustered even when we go downtown StL. Maybe I will have to try to plan a girls trip too! HA! the naked cowboy! AH! the naked cowgrandma!

thanks! glad you're enjoying it. yeah, ray had no interested in NYC either. but now that i've been i think he'd love as long as we stayed away from times square!

OMG THAT SNAKE!!!
and OMG that food...droool!!!!!

i thought the snake was cool but i'm a weirdo. and the food was SOOOOOOO GOOD!

Oooh Bobby Flay! That food looks yummy!

Ahhhh...that snake!

it was so yummy! everyone's freaked out by the snake! they totally don't bother me. if it had feathers and a beak i'd be freaking out.

You all looked so pretty at dinner.

IT'S LADIES NIGHT IN NYC!!!

Anna's choice sounds amazing...I'm sure all of it was good. Even though I don't eat seafood.

No comment on the sssss!

Times Square at night is so cool with all the lights!

I'm so curious to hear about the Disney part....

thanks so much! all the food was amazing. i'm glad we were all willing to share! i love steak and seafood so i was in heaven.

I have always wanted to go to mesa grill but the food all seemed too spicy for me. We have been to Bar American tho and it was amazing.

I have to giggle at you about the subway...why is it so confusing? The map yes but at the 49th street station you only have 2 options Uptown or Downtown and 14th was only 5 stops down. I guess I'm too used to it. LOL.

the salmon that brooke had wasn't spicy if i remember correctly. my tuna was and i think anna's had a little bit of a kick, but nothing horrible. now the appetizers i don't remember being spicy at all. the 49th street station wasn't too bad. i really was studying the map to make sure we were going in the right direction but brooke was just being silly. now we did get lost on the subway trying to get to brooklynn of all places! i don't remember where we got on but it was the wrong side and i had to call on one of those phones to get directions, then some girl tells me that the guy on the phone wasn't telling us right. so we had no idea who to believe! the problem is there were several trains going to brooklynn but we couldn't find the A or C train to get off at high street. when we finally did *think* we found it we were on the wrong side and had already used our little card to get in, so that was a wasted subway ride. then we went back above ground and ended up getting on the complete WRONG train and got off in brooklynn south of where we should've been. not a big deal but it meant more walking.

Great update! Dinner looked wonderful! How cool you saw Jack!
Didn't really care for the snake though! Eww!

thanks! it was so good! and jack was cool. nobody likes the snake! poor thing has such a bad reputation.

 

[punkin413]

Oh my goodness! Dinner at Mesa Grill looked amazing! That food is making my mouth water right now! You ladies looked gorgeous as always, of course!

I'm sorry to hear you didn't get to sleep that well, but at least you weren't feeling sick the rest of your trip!

thanks! the food was amazing! yeah, i felt fine. my voice was just GONE!

Not a bad Jack....dinner looks delish! I need the crumb cleaner for the house! That would be sweet. Note to self...stay away from the AC area in room. I like the rooms by the way. Very nice and modern. My style.

it was soooo good! yeah, i liked the rooms too. but those girls about froze me to death with that AC! i slept on the other side of the bed the rest of the trip.

Great update! Mesa Grill looks yummmmmm! I'm so hungry right now and that didn't help

The subway system is definitely confusing...usually I'll ask someone what trains to take if I haven't mapped it out in advance. Some people in NYC are weird but generally they're pretty nice LOL

Sorry that you weren't feeling well! I hope you got some more sleep on the other nights.

thanks! that food was so good. i wish i had some close to me! oh, we found what we thought to be the locals very friendly and helpful! it was the tourists that were obnoxious. i actually felt okay but my voice was non-existant. it was weird!

Does the lady at the cupcake stand have a hidden mickey in her shopping bag?

kinda looks like it, huh?

My feet hurt just looking at the shoes you were conquering NewYork in!

So, with Capt. Jack and the naked cowboy, do they get paid or are they just there fun?

I would be scared getting on the subway, just taking a taxi makes me hyper-ventilate.

oh, don't get the wrong idea. by no means did we wear heels the entire time!!!!! only when we were going out to dinner or something. no way was i trudging around all day in those! the people on times square work for tips. usually when you take your picture with them they expect a tip of some sort. there were street performers EVERYWHERE we went. i've never tipped so much in my life!

Great update Dawn. We ate at Bobby Flay's restaurant in Vegas.... it was so great too. In fact DH ate there twice that trip! Times Square... I got to get back to NY. I want to go with my mom and sister in law... but got to get bigger kids first!

that food was so good....i wish he had a restaurant in atlanta! a trip with your mom and SIL sounds fun!

OOPS! Somehow I missed subscribing to this TR - I was waiting for you to come back, and now I'm way behind! DH came home the same weekend you were gone, and I had alot of catching up to do after he left! Now I'll start reading with my glass of wine!

no problem....you're here now!

What a great update. I love your NYC pictures. I am glad you figured out the subway, I may have still been standing there. You certainly saw some interesting people. I would have liked the snake as well. We have 2 snakes at home.

thanks! oh, we by no means figured out the subway. you'll see later on! snakes have such a bad reputation. usually they're harmless!

I was going to say that too. Except the stretch marks on "the girls" look pretty real.

i agree!

All caught up. Great update! What a crazy place.
First, When I saw the pics of all the buildings in Manhatten, I got a little panic attack. I'm usually up for any adventure - but in the West, we have wide open spaces! Your Times Square pics are awesome - but they made me feel the panic, too!



I've seen these parking structures in Hollywood when we went to see Wicked - pretty ingenius!

Your hotel room looks like fun! A truer NY experience! Love the Ferris Wheel at Toys R us! As for the cowpeople -what are they thinking?

The subway looks really scarey - I feel like I'd never figure it out. I don't even know how to take a city bus - I don't think I ever have

Your dinner looks wonderful, and the night life on the street is interesting. That's how Hollywood starts to look after 9. People singing and doing interesting things to draw a crowd. Except I guess you don't "hang out" until 3 a.m. there - you need to leave when it gets dark.

Can't wait for more!

i have no idea why but when i quote you there's like a zillion codes in your post. very odd!

yeah, those buildings are pretty packed in there. i know what the cow people are thinking. they're thinking, "i can dress like this on times square and just walk around and make money!"

 

[punkin413]

What a great update! Mesa Grill looks sooo yummy!

I can imagine how hard the NYC subway system is to figure out for out of towners. Sometimes even us Nyers can't understand it b/c they're always rerouting some train line without any announcements Next time, try using http://www.hopstop.com/ you basically type in your destination and it gives you detailed directions on how to get there by subway or bus. It's really helpful!

it was SO yummy! i actually did use that website! the problem was that sometimes i didn't know where we'd be getting on the subway in order to get somewhere, so i couldn't check ahead of time. the night we went to mesa grill wasn't really a problem but later on when we were trying to get to brooklyn it was a pain!

Great update! Loving this trip report! Your sister is seriously cracking me up in those pics! She is a hoot! Then she wanted cupcakes after that dinner?

Sorry about your sinuses and your voice. No fun while your on vacation!

Can't wait for more!

thanks! my sister is crazy. she's never serious about anything but she's such a smart girl that it's hilarious.

Great report so far Dawn! I'm expecially enjoying it as we are planning a trip to NY next year!

thanks! oh, fun! i hope i give you guys some good ideas.

I think this might be the same "Jack" that I saw at WDW in January.

What do you think? Just look at the nose.

Long time Luker here, just adding my 2 cents.

i would guess probably not just because the ones at disney are professional actors and from what i hear it's really hard to get a disney gig playing a "face" character (the characters that aren't in a costume which covers their head). this guy i'm sure was just some dude that liked jack and was trying to make some money on times square. but i do agree that they look alike...maybe theyr'e brothers!

Yeh, the stretch marks did look real! I think the Naked Cowgirl is definitely interesting...just part of the city. Scary too, but more power to her!

i agree!

Ok, Dawn, just read the entire TR thus far. Seems like you guys are having a great time. I have been to upstate NY but never NYC. I have always wanted to go at least once, especially to see Ground Zero. Everything in NY looks so HUGE! It is like, Attack of the Killer Ads!!! Bombardment galore...but part of the culture of the city (like Naked Cowboy & Girl).

Some of the restaurants here in metro Atlanta have the crumb things, but it is usually the high priced ones (which I dont get to very often on a teacher's salary, but it is nice to splurge sometimes). That dessert sounded good. I love blackberry anything!!!

Looking forward to more!

we see ground zero on monday, which is the 4th (and last) day of our trip, so that's coming up. it was amazing. anyway, you'll see it later. and yes, the ads were definitely HUGE!!!! i guess i've just never paid attention to the crumb things. PF chang's and bonefish are about as expensive as i get on a regular basis though!

better late than never, can't wait to read about your trip to the big apple..........

thanks for joining in!

Looks like your NY trip has gotten off to a great start. Other than the hotel construction situation. I showed my DH the picture of Naked Cowgirl, and he said "They also have a Naked Cowboy". I have never even heard of him. But, apparently he's been on David Letterman and the city has made him wear something less see through. I couldn't believe he'd heard of him.
How was the subway? Was it scary at all???

yeah, we saw the naked cowboy too! i posted a picture of him. did you see it? if not, go back and check it out. he walks around in his tightie whities! no, the subway wasn't scary....just confusing. of course i didn't go on it too late at night!

I am all caught up with your NYC TR. When my DH and I visited in May 2008 I just loved being so close to Times Square, we stayed a half a block from Toys R Us. I wish we would have gone on the ferris wheel, I loved the theming on all the cars. We ate at very boring places, ESPN, Hard Rock Cafe. I am looking forward to reading more about your trip.

cool! you guys weren't very far from us then. we tried to eat at places that you can't get anywhere else. there are several mesa grills but none close to where we all live. you'll see where we ate the rest of the trip!

 

[punkin413]

so now we're on to day two of our big city adventure....saturday, may 23rd. as i said before, i woke up with no voice and really congested. i FELT fine and the congestion cleared up once i got up and moving around. but my voice never returned the whole trip. so annoying!

we got ready and headed down to get breakfast around 9:30. the elevator forecast for the day. this is actually what it said the entire trip!

anna suggested we try the little restaurant in a nearby hotel, the hotel edison. we had to wait about 5 minutes for a table and had our food within minutes. that place was FAST! i can't even really remember what we had other than standard breakfast food.

soon we were on our way for the day. i think it was around 10:30 when we got finished with breakfast. today the plan was to make our way towards 5th avenue because a lot of what we wanted to see was on that street. i'm thinking we walked down either 48th or 49th street until we got to 5th avenue and then took a left. at some point along the way we saw this. i took a picture of it for my friend melanie's little girl, megan, who loves american girls! plus i remember the jon and kate plus 8 episode where they took madi and cara here.

we accidentally came across rockefeller center. WOW! SUCH a pretty place! the building that we'd be going to the top of the next night....

i know you guys have seen this! usually you see a christmas tree and skating rink in front of it for the holidays.

i really loved this area. i wish we could've had more time to really explore all the buildings.

we eventually made our way to 5th avenue and one of the first things we saw was st. patrick's cathedral. this was one place i definitely wanted to visit. i'd seen pictures and it looked just beautiful. but let me tell you, pictures do this place NO JUSTICE AT ALL! it is INCREDIBLE!!!!!

i'm not catholic but i do find the religion fascinating and the tradition that's involved is just so interesting to me. all of that was evident in all of the detail of the cathedral. it was absolutey amazing. and gorgeous. details EVERYWHERE you looked! it's amazing to see the wide array of people there. some are there to worship, others just walking around taking pictures and admiring the beauty. and it's so quiet. it's such a sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of NYC just beyond the doors.

i took lots of pics but i'm only showing you a few of them because if i showed all of them it would take about 5 posts!

looking at the front while standing near the entrance.....

looking back at the entrance.....

there were alters to different saints everywhere. i think this one was my favorite.

but they were all really beautiful....

saint patrick.....

there was a baby being christened in a roped-off section of the cathedral.....

more alters....

there was an area near the very front of the cathedral where cameras were prohibited. i never did figure out why. i do know that several archbishops are buried under the cathedral so maybe that has something to do with it.

even all the walls had so much detail....

the candles near the entrance for prayer or in memory of someone....

i really loved our visit at the cathedral. if you ever make it to NYC go by there. it's just an incredible thing to see.

we left the cathedral out a side door and saw this when we came out.....

no idea what they were doing there but i thought their motorcycles looked cool all lined up like that!

i think at this point we came upon a HUGE H&M store, so we did a little shopping. we spent a good 45 minutes in there. i got a really cute pink dress for like $20.

another really pretty, gothic-looking church in the middle of the city!

we saw this in the street and anna wanted to go stand over it like marilyn monroe!

soon we came to an intersection and what is that i see across the street????????

WORLD OF DISNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

continued in next post: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32208083&postcount=129

 

[punkin413]

i was seriously really excited!

we went in and all went in different directions to explore.

check out the elevator!

some shopping pics for memom....

the snow globes that you can no longer take on the plane....

i loved that mickey coffee mug!

this was the elevator on the second floor. now the one on the first floor makes total sense!

the third floor had lots of art, which i absolutely love! i'd seen a good bit of the stuff there at disney world but these two were new and i thought they were both so awesome.

i took this for ray - he loves this statue!

a familiar sight!

a very unusual pole that i saw while going down the escalator....

i know they used to have characters here sometimes but i asked about it and they said that as of february of this year, they no longer have them. bummer!

i ended up buying myself a t-shirt that said, "i (mickey) NY". instead of a heart there was a mickey head where the (mickey) is. i also got a disney cookbook and i got my niece (margot) a minnie NYC bib. i wish i'd taken a picture of the bib now! i've already sent it to her. but i promise to take pictures of the t-shirt and cookbook for you guys. i would do it now but the t-shirt is in the washing machine, plus i'm just lazy!

i was trying to get a picture of the front window as we were leaving and brooke decided she wanted to be a part of the picture too!

one more time.....

pretty soon we came upon this.....

no sighting of the donald.....or his hair.

after that we saw these kids. i'm assuming they're a family and they do this on the weekends. they were so cute!

of course i took a video. listen to my voice in this when i try to cheer for them. it's SO BAD! and i said they were cute....not necessarily good. and yes, that's anna tipping them. she was usually the official tipper of our group.



it was almost 1:00 at that point and we were planning on a pretty late lunch, so we decided to get a snack. what better snack than our very first NYC hot dog!!!!!!

it was good but the guy put so much mustard on mine i had to get some extra napkins and wipe some of it off!

there were some tables nearby so we found a seat. we asked a girl sitting nearby if she'd take a picture.

it was a really pretty day but REALLY windy! i asked the girl that took our picture if she lived there and she said yes, then i asked if it was normally that windy and she said absolutely not. it was crazy windy!

up next.....more toy stores, singing waiters and drunk obnoxious people!

 

[hlrababy]

Oh WOW!!! St. Patrick's Cathedral looks amazing!!!!!


I really want to go ice skating in front of Rockefeller center!!

Man, I could drop some loot in that Disney store!!!

 

[KatGarcia]

My husband's graduation ceremony was at St Patrick's. It really is beautiful! You guys didn't go into FAO?? It's neat in there!

 

[OneTreeHillAddict]

Oh my DD would have flipped out over the AG place store. She loves them. She has 7 dolls so far and of course that's not enough. If I get to NYC for her birthday I'm gonna take her there and let her do some shopping.

My kids are loving this TR! Of course they want to go to NYC even more!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Great update Dawn! Your pics of Rockefeller Center are great! Looks like you felt at home when you found the Disney Store!

I don't know why there are codes for my posts. I don't see them on this side

 

[winkers]

An elevator that gives you a weather forcast?!!
How cool

St. Patricks is gorgeous! I would love to see it someday..

 

[troobabiee7]

I'm so glad you liked Rockefeller Center! It's my favorite part of the city, along with Central Park. I have so many amazing memories from 30 Rock : And isn't St.Patrick's Cathedral gorgeous?!!! My grandparents renewed their vows for their 50th anniversary there last May and it was amazing.

I had no idea there aren't any characters at the WOD anymore! The last time I was there was last July and I brought my cousin to take pictures with Goofy and Statue of Liberty Minnie. We usually only went in their for the characters so I probably won't bother going back for a while. Crazy!

That little band is so cute... but I can't imagine someone sending their kids out onto the street to collect cash. Oh lord

Can't wait to hear about Ellen's! I know Kristen hated it but we always loved it and thought it was fun. Granted we haven't been there since 2007 so I hope it didn't go downhill!

 

[scottny]

Loving the report so far. I use hopstop when I need to go somewhere on the subway and have no clue. Thankfully now we have a car so I use that more.

I have never been inside the cathedral so thanks for posting.

I want to try Bobby's restaurant one day. We ate at his other one but it has closed down.

Love our Disney store only becuase we can get park merch, though now you can get it online.

H&M is not for me. I just never liked that store.

Looking forward to more.

 

[AussieAngel]

Oooh, now I feel bad!!

Our hotel in January was about a block away from St Patrick's Cathedral, and we walked past it 6 times a day! I am Catholic and we didn't even think about going in to visit!!! I remember stumbling past it after having too many cocktails on New Years Eve, but ummmm, whoops!!! We never went in!!

We did go into the Disney store though!! Yayyyyy!! Except when we went, we had to line up to get in! That's how crazy busy everything was over New Years. The line didn't last long though, so it was okay. But inside were so many people, you could hardly move. It was nuts! Still fun, but nuts!

Also, we went into Trump Tower, just to use the bathroom!! Hehee!

Your hot dog looks delicious!! Sorry to hear about your voice, what a bummer!!

(Gosh, I used lots of exclamation marks in this message, didn't I!?)

 

[disneybound2010]

I made it over from the Christmas TR! Looks like you 3 had an AWESOME time! I can't believe you got to see the Naked Cowboy!!! I've been to NYC a few times and I'm always on the lookout for him,but no luck so far(I'm easily amused by the strangest of things)

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

i think it is funny that in the band the youngest is the drummer and he is the closest to the road, looks like he was almost out in traffic.

 

[MagicShell]

Your pictures of NYC are great. They make me really want to go see it all for myself. One day I will.