And that was NYC baby

I'm here, I'm home. Back on Canadian soil. I got back at about 1:30 AM last night after our very hefty drive home - thanks Lisa! We made it, and we had a great time! I've loved this birthday trip. Wow. And now, the details:

Friday morning, we hit the road at the "ass crack of dawn", as Sue would say, and by crack, we do mean that the sun had not yet risen. I was picked up just after 6 AM, we got coffee and were on the Gardiner at 6:40 rolling allong. We hit the border about 10ish, and we were off through Buffalo and into upstate New York. From here we had a good adventure seeing as our lovely navigator Robby J had a fun route mapped out for us along smaller highways through the countryside. We ended up seeing the likes of town like Fishes Eddy and Owego among others, and the scenery was great. We passed the Finger Lakes, and at one point we were even straddling Pennsylvania. We made good time, and we hit close to the destination around 4:30ish, making it into New York City without a stitch of traffic thanks to Robby J's "secret" ways. Awesome! There were were riding across the George Washington bridge. Hello New York!

Our first stop the hostel that Rob and I were staying at Jazz on Lenox at 128th and Lenox, which is basically in "deepest darkest" Harlem. I know, I know, most people are thinking we're nuts to be staying there, but really, it's a great area. It was clean and friendly, and it's a place that's got such history. Imagine, we were around the corner from the Appollo theatre. Luckily the place seem safe and clean, and we were all set. Then we dropped off Sue in Morningside Heights to stay with her friends and we got dressed there for an evening out. Now, this was also an adventure. Really we spent more time being cranky girls in heels in the rain than sociable at the club. This is because it turn out that the street we were on was quite long, and to get to our intersection was too far to walk. No cabs were coming, and we didn't know what subway stop to hit and ended up walking in and out of the subway about 5 times. Gah! Finally we got to our destination, met Lisa's friends, and had a drink (which I couldn't finish as I was falling asleep - this was hour 20 of being awake!) Eventually we left, made it home safe and crawled into bed.

The next morning, Rob and I decided to have breakfast together before I headed out to meet my friend Andrei for the day. We picked one from his book, it was reasonably close (83rd and Broadway), and it was the same place where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks meet in You've Got Mail. Very cool. The breakfast turned out to be AMAZING! I'm still dreaming about it! Rob had a shitake mushroom quishe and I ate a "British breakfast" which consisted of steamed eggs and a raisin scone with Devon cream and fruit preserves. So good. After breakfast we walked from 83rd to 59th and I met Andrei for the day. That was fun. Andrei was very good at showing me around the city and making sure I saw interesting places and quirky things. We walked and talked a lot. I saw Studio 54, Zigfield Theatre, the Theatre District, Times Square and he took me to see some interesting things in Greenwich Village. It was nice. Really nice. Especially because sometimes it seems interesting that Andrei and I ended up friends. Most people thought we wouldn't ever be friends. But we are, and I think he's fantastic. ;)

Later on in the afternoon, Andrei went on his way to see his friend, and I ventured on the subway to meet up with Lisa, Sue and Rob in Brooklyn. Little did I know they were going to be late and I was going to get stuck in a rather sketchy seeming area of town with a full bladder! Luckily I found a decent looking establishment, made a lame excuse about meeting friends, used the bathroom and left. Ha! Well played, I say. Once we all got together, we hit up Grimaldi's Pizzeria for dinner. Another great meal. The place is one of two remaining coal fired pizza places left in NYC, both of which boast of being the oldest. Either way, it was fantastic! We ordered two large pizzas and two carafs of red wine to start. The owner, a very gregarious Italian, took a liking to our table and especially to Sue, so he kept coming over and visiting us. We then were convinced to order dessert and coffee. Again, so good! It was a great meal.

After dinner, despite the cold, Sue, Rob and I decided to tough out the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was so windy that it almost felt like we were going to blow off, but it was definately worth it! The view is very cool, especially at night. And were weren't even the only ones trying to cross. I can't believe we made it! Check out some pics:




Sunday, my birthday, was packed with church, brunch at a great place called Chumley's in The Village, and then lots and lots of walking. We headed to SoHo, NoHo, The Village - everywhere. It was awesome. I got myself a great pair of boots (I've been looking for some new black ones) and also a necklace from a vendor on the street. After a brief rest, Sue, Rob and I headed to the main event of the day: Evil Dead the Musical. Wow - now that was a crazy experience. I started out working with Chris Bond about 5 years ago on Pirates of Penzance for QMT, and now him and some other boys that I know have written their own musical and landed on Broadway. Really. Although it wasn't necessarily their taste, both Rob and Sue made the best of their first Broadway experience and they got to meet Chris, George and Frank (director, librettist and composer respectively). Then it was dinner and home. Special props goes out to George "Tough Guy Tequila" Rienblatt for stopping by to help me celebrate my 25th.

Monday, our last day, was a nice day for all of us to get out and do our own thing. We had breakfast together and then we split off to get a few things done. I wanted to explore Central Park, and after a brief wrong turn to Riverside Park and a lot of walking, I was proud to say I'd spent some time sitting in the park, taking in a gorgeous day. Then it was a sneaky pit stop at the Museum of Natural History, and I hit the subway to get to Magnolia Bakery in The Village to get me some lovely, lovely world famous cupcakes. (And yes, they are the cupcakes featured here). After that we met up and faced the long drive home - but of course not without a stop to the Duty Free to get scotch for the girs and port for Rob. Lisa drove like a pro, and there we were, back in Toronto.

Happy Birthday to me!