The Big Apple

What an amazing trip it was! Tuesday morning Kora and I got on a plane to New York City. It was my birthday present a little early- because who has time to do anything on the 22nd? When we arrived, we checked into our hotel, which was literally at the doorstep of Times Square. Kora knew of a place where you could get discount Broadway tickets, and we just happened to bump into it as we got there. Here we are, waiting in line to get our amazing tickets in Times Square.

We still had about 3 hours before our show started, so we decided to do a few other things we knew we wanted to do. We saw some really neat Christmas decorations- the whole city just looks so different during this time of year!

We went to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and such but here's who we saw first: Access Hollywood, anyone?

We saw the tree and the ice,

but it absolutely could NOT compare to seeing Kora on ice skates. It was so much fun...or so funny...one of the two! Of course, I'm no professional on ice skates myself, but we managed to skate for quite some time without ever falling.

After all that excitement, we still had some time to kill before the show. Here's my newest favorite thing about New York City...Magnolia Bakery! Martha Stewart, Oprah, and Kelly Ripa are all SOOOO right: these are the best cupcakes you will ever eat! Not to mention the best hot chocolate I've ever had. This is a must if you ever visit NYC- and PLEASE, bring me back one!

Next stop: Radio City Music Hall to see the Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes. If you know anything about Broadway shows, you know how pricey the tickets are. Since we bought the tickets at the discount booth, we were able to get orchestra level seats for $40. The upper level seats were around $100 each at the box office! Yea for good deals and smart friends! :)

I promise I didn't zoom in on the stage. That's exactly where we sat! I know, I'm all excited over good seats. It's just that last time I went to a Broadway show, the people looked like ants, and the Rockette's looked like people! After the show, we had a yummy dinner at Rosie O'Grady's...lobster ravioli is the recommended dish so I just had to try it!

Wednesday morning's mission:

Unfortunately, this is all we could see of Rachael Ray on this trip. Apparently she had no idea I was going to be in town; she isn't taping again until January! That's ok- one day we'll get tickets (Kora applied for them at the beginning of October) and even if it's a day trip I'll go back to see my Rachael Ray!

No harm, no foul. Without the Rachael Ray taping, that meant more of the day to do more things. We went to ground zero (last time I was in NYC, the World Trade Center was still standing). We also went into Jersey City to see some sights. In order to see all this, we did something I hadn't done before: rode the subway! Other than being confusing with all the colors, streets, and routes (Kora was a great navigator) it was a positive experience! I think you have to do it to get an authentic idea of New York.

Among all of the fun we had, of course you know we shopped! Ladies and gentleman, if I could have an earthly example of what heaven will be like one day, this would be it for me:

Macy's! With, of course, a Magnolia Bakery cupcake (vanilla on vanilla, please) in one hand and their hot chocolate in the other! Oh wow! Is it wrong to say I got chills as I entered? It is true; even though I've been shopping in that Macy's before, it just isn't the same at Christmastime.

We did tons more shopping and ate dinner at a authentic Italian restaurant. Picture a tiny space (I think Kora and I counted a max of about 50 chairs) that's really crowded, extremely loud, and filled with true New Yorkers. Not to mention the absolute best Italian food I've ever had in my life. I now know why Rachael Ray always is talking about a healthy alternative...I'd weigh in at 500 pounds if I ate like that every day! We each ordered one entree and split a dessert and here's what they served us: Bread, then bruschetta (told you it was real Italian), then salad, then more bruschetta, then our large portioned entree (mine was the best Parmesan chicken EVER) and sauteed zucchini, and then we finished out with tiramisu. Oh...Nanni's...it'll always have a special place in my heart!

After dinner and getting back to the hotel, Kora received a phone call from her brother saying that he and wife were heading to the hospital in hopes to have a baby. We began looking for flights home and caught the first flight out this morning so Kora could be here when Cole decides to come (he isn't here just yet...but mom's a four as of the last update I got). So our trip ended a little premature, but we really had done everything we wanted to do- it's amazing how much you can accomplish without babies in tow! What an amazing time we had!

After an extremely early arising and flight this morning and going from cab to airport to plane to airport, and then finally home...here was my homecoming...

And suddenly I remembered there was, indeed, no place like home.