New York- Part 2

Walking through the snow-kissed streets of Brooklyn with Andrew was a dream. We no longer felt like tourists, but a happy couple, walking hand in hand in a place that felt like home.  We traversed the streets, enjoying all the nooks and crannies our new favorite borough had to offer. Our time in Brooklyn ended with lunch at what was acclaimed by our ferry guide to be the best pizza in Brooklyn- Juliana’s. The pizza was absolutely delicious- a soft and chewy New York pizza with lots of fresh mozzarella, thin slices of prosciutto, and crowned with arugula.

With full bellies and happy hearts we made our way back to the city. An exciting evening awaited us!

After getting all dolled up, we headed to the Theatre District to meet some family members for dinner. The restaurant was in an old brownstone- it was too cute! Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name. Anyone who knows me well knows how incredible my dad’s cooking is, especially Italian, so I am a tough critic when it comes to Italian food. This place was good, but haha apparently not the best since I can’t remember the name :D. However, it was at this restaurant that Andrew discovered his love of Prosecco!

After dinner we were off to one of the most anticipated parts of our trip, the Lion King! My parents purchased the tickets for us for Christmas and we had been counting down the days. The singing, dancing, costumes, sets, everything was fabulous! We were especially amused by the Lion King themed sippy cups which we were provided to enjoy our wine and cocktails. We were truly blown away! We had high expectations, but they were far-surpassed. We very highly recommend the Lion King to anyone interested in seeing a Broadway show!

On Sunday morning we made our way to another highly anticipated landmark- St. Patrick Cathedral. I have always dreamed of attending mass at this cathedral and coincidentally we were married at St. Patrick Cathedral in Fort Worth. The expansive scale of the cathedral and the Neo-Gothic style are jaw dropping, as are the details.

We spent the remainder of the morning walking across town and stopping in any cutesy shops along the way as we anticipated the arrival of our friend Kevin from Long Island. We stopped in the West Elm by Central Park and discovered that they promote local artists. We purchased a print by, Claudia Pearson, of adorable brownstones in a blue and green color scale.

After a delicious lunch from a local deli, we took a long walk back through the park to meet Kevin at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Met is possibly the largest museum that any of us have seen- we spent 3 or 4 hours enjoying the exhibits and I don’t think we even covered half of the museum. The museum has been beautifully curated though and they have art from every culture and time period- we even saw Paul Revere’s spurs.

I wish we could have spent the entirety of every day taking in the city, but when Monday came I was off to training for work.

The majority of our excursions during the work week involve yummy dinner locales. Here is a list of some of our favorites:

• Penelope’s– another wonderful recommendation from Andrew’s sister, Lindsay! The hummus, the warm brie and green apple sandwich, and sweet peas mac and cheese were delicious- the perfect blend of gourmet and home cooking!
• Lombardi’s in Little Italy is the first pizzeria in America and was definitely our favorite of the trip! After dinner head next door for fabulous cannoli and tiramisu.

We did however find that the absolute, best cannoli can be found at Caffe Palermo on Mulberry Street- we would have taken them home with us, but we would have eaten them all on the plane!

While in Little Italy we stumbled upon a shop with all-original photographs by New York artists- the prints were on phone cases, canvases, wood, you name it! Andrew also found the perfect little driver’s hat that he had been searching for in Texas and New York.

Wendesday night we were lucky enough to see Kevin again at the Brooklyn Nets game! We are now fans of the Brooklyn Nets- we even have shirts to prove it :). Unfortunately, the Nets lost but we had a wonderful time with Kevin and seeing a game at the Barclays Center was really neat! The stadium is unlike any stadium I have even seen- it is so sleek and modern- the hallways almost seem more like a hotel than stadium tunnels. Barclays Center even has a Shake Shack across the street :).

Our last night in New York was spent enjoying time with family over an Italian dinner at another quaint restaurant in the Theatre District. We thoroughly enjoyed catching up with many family members and our trip couldn’t have ended with a better evening. Well- there was actually one more stop after dinner which was pretty wonderful. We took the Subway, one last time, to highly touted Gramercy Tavern in the Flatiron District. The décor and vibes of Gramercy Tavern are mesmerizing- you have to see it to believe it. We definitely felt like we were hanging out with the swankiest and trendiest of the district- the hot chocolate martinis sure didn’t hurt either!

Just like that- we woke up and it was Friday. After a morning of training, we made our way to Eataly for one final and delicious meal, strolled the streets a little longer, and then dragged our feet to the taxi that would take us to the airport.

New York you are truly spectacular! We will be back so very soon and perhaps even permanently one day! The 9 days we spent in the city are days we will never, ever forget.

If you have any New York stories, we would love to hear!

Love,

AH