Housekeeping Love

Everyday the wonderful Marriott housekeeping crew comes by my room to empty the waste bins, replace the towels, and make the beds. I'm always amazed at how nice the room looks with the beds made- it makes all the difference. From now on, I mean once I'm no longer living in a hotel, I'm going to make my bed everyday :)

Rockefeller Center

Saturday Tyler and I wandered around Manhattan for a while and ended up at the "Top of the Rock." A friend suggested we check out the views from Rockefeller rather than the traditional Empire State Building, and I understand why now. Having done both I can honestly say that I think "Top of the Rock" is a million times better than the Empire State Building. I loved learning about the historyof Rockefeller and the building, seeing the open views at the top, and enjoying the atmosphere of the building and area. Definitely worth it.

Pret A Manger

Lunch at Pret today next to the NYC stock exchange. Love it.

NYC Photo Tour I

Medieval gardens at The Cloisters.

The arch at Washington Square (NYU).

Wall Street.

Rockefeller Center.

Lincoln Center.

Columbus Circle.

Columbia University.

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial.

Grom Sweet Grom

My friend Allie brought me to this wonderful gelato shop, Grom (sounds like home, so no it is not referring to small beach bums with rasty hair), 3 years ago when I came to NYC. It is soooo good and was definitely at the top of my to-do list when we got here. They have one shop here in Manhattan, one in Paris, one in Tokyo, and over 30 in Italy- totally legit. And I just found out they will be opening a new shop in Malibu soon so, YAY!! Not too far from home :)

Top 3 flavors:

• Crema di Grom
• Limone sorbet (lemon)
• and Nocciola (hazelnut)
  

Good Morning Beautiful

Why I love the weekends-

• waking up to this
• shnuggling :)

Museum Day

Tyler and I spent Pioneer Day perusing some of the famous museums of NYC. We're pros at blitzing through all the crap ("some people call it art") to find the good stuff by now. Luckily our first stop, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, had very little crap, but unfortunately it was also mostly outdoors and about 100 degrees. I spent a good amount of time melting on the flight deck while Tyler was busy actually learning about the collection of planes, but I did enjoy seeing everything. Other than touring the Intrepid we also got to tour The Growler, one of the first submarines to carry nuclear weapons, and British Airways' Concorde, a supersonic passenger jet.

Later we spent a grand total of 15 min. in the NYC Guggenheim. The building was much smaller than I anticipated and I thought the architecture wasn't as great as it's hyped up to be either. The art was way below par, but at least they had a Monet and a Van Gogh to redeem themselves a bit.

Governor's Island

I spent some time out on Governor's Island today. I had never heard of the island before, but it is about a 5-7 min. ferry ride from lower Manhattan and had been used by the U.S. military and Coast Guard until 2003 when it became a National Monument. It has some interesting history and is home to Fort Jay and Castle Williams, both of which served various roles in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Civil War, WWI and WWII. From the island you also get beautiful views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Liberty Island, Ellis Island and New Jersey.

While I was on the island it started to rain and I captured a picture of these two Civil War soldiers (southern and northern soldier, respectively) waiting out the storm at Fort Jay together. I like the photo because the tour guide had told us how during the Civil War Fort Jay was used as a prison for southern officers. Many of the southern and northern officers were trained and went to school together and had become good friends, so the southern prisoners were allowed to roam the island and do as they pleased, as long as they gave their word that they would not leave. So, this photo isn't completely improbable- except that the southern soldier still has a gun :) Below is an officer's home in Nolan Park on the island.

The Rockaways & Coney Island

I finally found my retreat from the city- The Rockaways. Every time I see the ocean, and more specifically the beach, I cannot help but smile. A part of it is how much it reminds me of home, but I also just love, love, love the ocean. The Rockaways is a small beach on the southern peninsula of Queens. Although a good part of it is still very much city, a small portion has been saved for me! There is the sweetest little east coast community (complete with street names like Coral Reef Way, Meridian Blvd., and Catamaran Way) just across the street from the beach and there were almost no people on the beach. I loved it and I loved the way the sounds of the waves crashing on the sand lulled me right to sleep.

A day after I discovered The Rockaways, I decided to see what else New York had to offer in terms of beaches and headed down to Coney Island- failure. Coney Island is an awful beach. Not only is it packed with tourists, but it is an incredibly dirty beach. I know I'm a beach snob (I blame Hukilau), but it was REALLY bad. The rides are nothing, even when compared to the Haleiwa Beach Spree, the food is expensive and soooo unhealthy, and the water/shoreline are just plain dirty (notice I didn't even bother to post any pictures of the actual beach).

What I'm trying to say is, if you need a beach retreat from the city, go the extra mile(s) and head out to The Rockaways :)

Williamsburg

Today I wandered around the streets of Williamsburg (north of Brooklyn Heights) looking for some antique/vintage goodies and found some real treats. I popped into Moon River Chattel and loved it. If I actually lived in NYC I would definitely want to decorate my home with some of their treasures.

Other shops I loved were Sprout Home- a darling plant boutique, Flying Squirrel and Sweet William- two adorable baby boutiques, Ugly Luggage- an antique furniture and home decor store, Aurora- a sweet little Italian cafe, and Whisk- have you ever heard of a fruit jacket? Cute.