Our Anniversary Trip to New York City

It started on Valentine's Day.  My hubby sweetly gave me tickets to see Les Miserables... IN NEW YORK CITY!  The tickets were for the week of our wedding anniversary, which is in June.  So we set out planning our trip.  My husband, who is a restaurateur and a bit of a foodie immediately started looking up restaurants to visit while on the trip.  Forget the sights, bring on the FOOD!!!  

The day after arriving in New York, we set out to find two of the places he had on his list.  For breakfast his choice was a biscuit shop, which is no surprise considering his restaurants are biscuit shops.  Empire Biscuit Shop on Avenue A in East Village was a quick subway ride from our hotel. 

Scott ordered the sausage gravy biscuit.  It was definitely different then our gravy biscuit, but it was yummy all the same.  They also let us try a biscuit with their own delicious brown butter lemon curd.  YUMMO!!!  Sorry, I was so busy licking my fingers, I didn't get a picture.  But you can believe me when I say it was delicious!

After we were fueled up on biscuits, we set out to walk around and see New York.  We headed toward the Brooklyn Bridge (primarily because Scott's second restaurant choice was in Brooklyn!)  

On the way, we went through China Town.  We spotted our dinner spot for the next day while there!!!

China Town is very interesting.  A lot of markets with unusual produce, sea food and spices sold on the sidewalk.

After about a 2 hour walk (no exaggeration!) we made it to the Brooklyn Bridge, which by the way, is over a mile across.  When it was built in 1870, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world!

 One tradition people have when walking across the bridge is to leave something so others who come behind you will know you've been there.  You will see hundreds of locks, tied ribbons, shoe laces, and just about anything that can be attached easily to the cables of the bridge.

 From the bridge, you see an amazing view of the city, including the recently finished trade center building.

Also a great view of the Statue of Liberty.

After crossing the bridge, we set out to explore New York's borough of Brooklyn.

One of the great things we came across (partly because we had been walking for three hours and were feeling it!) was this park, set right in the center of Brooklyn's downtown.  A great place for people to take their lunch break or a rest from the work day.

After our little break, we set off to find where we would have our next meal.  Scott read about this amazing pizza made by a 70 year old gentleman who had been making his home made recipe for over 40 years. Of all the places Scott had scouted out, this one was by far the restaurant he was looking the most forward to.  One of the things he had read about the place was, "this pizza will change your life!"  It was in the far end of Brooklyn, so after walking a bit further, we decided to take a cab since it was still over three miles away.

You can imagine our disappointment!  After walking over 3 hours and taking a 30 minute cab ride, the place was closed!  A sign on the door said it was due to a family emergency. 

So we walked around the neighborhood, seeking another place to dine.  Nothing could meet our expectations, so we headed back to the bridge and had a bite there while enjoying the beautiful views of the bridges before taking a ferry back to Manhattan.

Manhattan Bridge.  The lower part of the bridge perfectly frames the Rockefeller Building in the distance.

 View of the Empire State Building from the ferry.

What an amazing first day, huh?  We were pooped, disappointed about the pizza place, but we covered a lot of ground, saw a lot of the city, and still had 5 whole days left of our trip!

Day two was equally enjoyable.  We set out to find a restaurant called Buvette.  It's a highly rated French restaurant in the West Village.

Scott ordered scrambled eggs and prosciutto on top of home made brioche toast.  

I got their house made honey almond butter on brioche toast, topped with fresh raspberries.  Let me just say, I will be dreaming of that honey almond butter for the rest of my life!  SO good!

 After our delicious breakfast, we set out to see the West Village, the close by Greenwich Village and SoHo.

In Greenwich Village was the Washington Park with the arch and fountain.

How cool is it to have the chess tables all set and ready for players in the park.  Almost makes me want to take up playing chess!

We also enjoyed the SoHo area.  Beautiful architecture.  All cast iron.

All this walking around makes one a little hungry!  We couldn't resist stopping at this bakery.  The cookies were as good as they look.  You can't tell it from the picture, but they are at least 6 inches across.  Plenty big enough to share!

After exploring these areas, we headed back to Brooklyn via taxi to try Scott's pizza place, Di Fiona's, one more time.  His trip would not have been complete without this "life changing" pizza.  Thankfully, they were open.  It's not a fancy place.  Folding tables set up in the back of the store for seating.  The elderly gentleman was busy making pizzas as the orders came in.  We were told prior to coming it could take an hour or more to get your pizza, which was accurate.  We waited 2 hours after ordering!

Did it change our lives after eating it?  Well, I guess it did because no other pizza will ever compare!  The sauce was so fresh.  The crust was amazing.  For us, it was worth it.  More then likely our only opportunity to have pizza made by this man.  

We headed back to Manhattan, this time taking the Q train.  This subway took us within 2 blocks from our hotel.

Day three was a bit more low key.  We decided to stay close to the hotel, which was located just a couple blocks from Central Park on Park and 61st Street.

We walked to the west side of the park, and had our breakfast in a small deli.

We both got breakfast sandwiches, which fueled us for our day of exploring the park and surrounding areas.

Roosevelt Park

Statue of Theodore Roosevelt outside the Museum of Natural History.  Roosevelt served as Governor of the state of New York from 1899 to 1901.  Prior to this, he was the police commissioner of the city of NY.

 Strawberry Fields memorial on the west side of Central Park.  In memory of John Lennon.

On the northwest corner of the park is Columbus Circle.

Scott, taking advantage of my photography obsession to check in with the business.  He was very mindful not to be on the phone any other time.  I was very proud of him for that!

After our time around Central Park, we got on the subway and headed back to China Town for dinner.  We found the little place we had spotted a couple days before.  It was worth our trip back to China Town.  Scott ordered a Sichuan noodle bowl.

After dinner, we walked around China Town.  I was very tempted to have a foot massage there!  But time would not allow it.  We took the subway back to our hotel to get ready for our evening.  For my birthday prior to heading to NY, Scott gave me tickets to see the musical, Finding Neverland.  It was fantastic!

It really is hard to describe the brilliance of Times Square when you come out of the theater at night.  All the screens light up the square and it looks almost as if it were day.  It is late, and yet there are crowds of people all around.  When they say it's the city that never sleeps, it is true!

 We were able to experience the night life again on Friday night, when we went to see Les Miserables.  It was amazing.  My hubby got fantastic seats.  4th row, center!  

Friday, it rained all day, so we spent the day shopping.  We did find a neat place for dinner.  The Brindle Room.  They are known for their burger, but we ordered something we couldn't get in Jacksonville, their potato chip frittata.

  

They also make their own cake donuts.  They brought out the Hazelnut Almond doughnut while it was still warm.  YUM!

Riding the subway is a great (and inexpensive) way to get around the city.  But it can be confusing.  There are a LOT of different subways that run throughout the boroughs of NY.  Scott downloaded a handy App before the trip that helped a lot.  It is called Hop Stop.  You punch in where you are and where you want to go, and it will tell you which subway to take to get there.  VERY helpful!!

This is a little coffee shop we found right around the corner from our hotel.  Birch Coffee Shop on 62nd.

On Sunday, after attending church at Redeemer Presbyterian on the West Side, we headed back to Brooklyn.  This time on the southeast side.  Scott indulged my fascination of brownstones.

We were hoping, while in Brooklyn, to visit Di Fiona's again, but after calling, we found out they weren't open so we found an adorable bistro, Boccdino's, that made delicious brick oven pizza.  Maybe not life changing, but still worthwhile.

After dinner we took the subway back to Manhattan on Wall Street to see the  9/11 memorial and museum.  So moving.  Definitely worth seeing.  I can't think of a better way to end our time in New York.

The new Trade Center stands tall over the memorial.

As we went back to our hotel, I couldn't help but reflect on our day, our week in New York and our lives.  We have so much to be thankful for.  The wonderful opportunities to indulge in simple pleasures like pizza, and appreciate a beautiful city like New York in all it's grandeur and splendor.  But also just spending time together.  Time not afforded to everyone.  What a sobering reminder after visiting the memorial.  By God's grace may I spend the time He gives me on this earth, thanking Him for these blessings, but also serving this gracious, giving God who has blessed me with so much when I deserve absolutely nothing.

Picture taken from our hotel room, the night before we left NYC.