Girls Trip 2019 - Part III: Manhattan Uptown

Friday, September 20th:

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise over Manhattan!

After getting ready we headed to Pick a Bagel to get some breakfast. I got a sesame seed bagel with cream cheese and salmon, Emily got an egg salad on a wheat bagel, and Katey got chive cream cheese on a plain bagel. We then walked up to Central Park where we ate our bagels. They were all delicious, but mine was the BEST 😜

After eating our bagels, Emily and I headed into the Park to see some of the famous sites, while Katey rested.

First we went and saw the John Lennon Memorial.

After paying our respects to one of the greatest song writers of all times, we headed to Cherry Hill to see the Cherry Hill Fountain. Apparently a lot of FRIENDS fans flock here because they think this is the fountain that is in the opening credits. But, sadly, that fountain is at the WB studios in CA. This one kinda looks like it though!

We then walked over to Bethesda Terrace.

Then we strolled to the Loeb Boathouse and tried to get some ice cream, but the service was TERRIBLE and no one would take our order. Oh well.

We then walked over to the Glade Arch.

From there we walked to the Alice in Wonderland statue.

Our last stop was the Conservatory Water where we watched people driving (sailing?) miniature sailboats on the water.

We then left Central Park and headed down 5th Ave where we met up with Katey.

The three of us walked over to The Plaza and the Solow Building.

[Solow Building on the left and The Plaza is in the front]

The Solow Building is Chandler Bings (yes, from FRIENDS) office building so we took pictures in front of it doing the "Chandler smile!"

[Pulitzer Fountain]

We were able to get a late check out (perks of being in the suite AND being a Gold Elite Marriott member), so we were in no hurry to get back to the hotel, which was nice. We took our time and walked down 5th Ave passing all the fancy shops, St Patrick's Cathedral, and Rockefeller Center, before cutting over to Broadway.

[St Patrick's]

We went back to our hotel, said goodbye to the spectacular view, and headed to baggage check.

[View from the top] 

We then jumped on the subway and headed to the Chelsea Market.

[Doughnuttery]

[Dicksons]

[Creamline]

[Filaga]

We wondered through the Market and then got fresh doughnuts from Doughnuttery and macaroons from Bar Suzette. 

I wanted pizza, Emily wanted tacos, and Katey was craving a burger, so we split up, got our food, and met back at Creamline to eat.

[Pizza from Fliaga, tacos from Los Tacos, and a burger (and shakes) from Creamline]

After eating, we hopped back on the subway (for the last time) and headed back to the Marriott Marquis to get our luggage and Katey's SUV.

BUT we had one more stop to make! Juniors!

We all got cheesecake, which Emily and I froze (once we got back to Katey's) and we were able to take them back home to Chicago and Vegas! Josh was so happy when I surprised him with chocolate swirl cheesecake from Juniors!

We then made the 5 hour drive (it seemed like it took FOREVER to get through the Lincoln Tunnel and down the Turnpike) to Katey's house in Delaware!

I had SOOOO much fun exploring Manhattan with my Hohos! It's seriously a dream come true! Just going to the FRIENDS apartment with Katey and Emily made me so happy!

I really want to thank Katey for being such a trooper and letting us take her to NYC. I know it wasn't easy walking around when you are 8 months pregnant!

Girls Trip 2019 - Part II: Manhattan Downtown

Thursday, September 19th:

The next morning we got up, grabbed breakfast from Juniors, and went over our plan for the day. Since we have all been to Manhattan before we decided to take it easy and hit some of the hot spots that we haven't been to before.

[I always have a plan!]

After eating breakfast we headed over to GMA so Emily could see her celebrity crush, Michael Starhan. I watch GMA every morning, so I was excited to see George!

["Deals and Steals" segment] 

[You can barely see Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts, and George Stephanopoulos through the plastic and glass, but trust me, they are there!] 

[I'm the navigator]

[On the subway]

After GMA, we hopped on the subway and headed to Greenwich Village to see the FRIENDS apartment! The three of us are obsessed with FRIENDS, so being here all together was very special!

We then jumped back on the subway and headed to DUMBO (down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass) in Brooklyn. We walked from the subway station to the Archway under Manhattan Bridge and then to the intersection of Water and Washington St.

[Archway under Manhattan Bridge]

[Manhattan Bridge] 

The reason why so many people come to the intersection of Water and Washington St is because you can get a cool shot of the Manhattan Bridge with the Empire State Building under it.

After getting our pictures we walked over to Pebble Beach.

[Brooklyn (left) and Manhattan (right) Bridges]

From there we took an Uber to the One World Trade Center and 9-11 Memorials. 

[First Uber ride!]

[One World Trade Center] 

[9-11 Memorial]

[The Oculus]

Since we had all been to the Top of the Rock and the top of the Empire State Building, we decided to go to the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere (7th tallest in the world): The One World Trade Center.

When we got to the top we had lunch at the ONE Dine. The food was great and the view was magnificent!

After lunch we walked around the One World Observatory.

  

After taking in the view we walked to St. Paul's Chapel of Trinity Church to find Alexander Hamiltons grave. We had a hard time finding it because it wasn't there! It was at Trinity Church just down the road. Duh. I knew that! But St. Paul's Chapel was beautiful so we enjoyed our little walk around the church.

Katey decided that she needed a nap, so she headed back to our hotel while Emily and I walked to Trinity Church.

We found Alexander Hamiltons grave! He was buried next to his wife, Elizabeth, and his son, Philip.

After paying our respects to the great Founding Father, we headed to Battery Park. On the walk we passed by the Federal Hall, the New York Stock Exchange, and the Charging Bull of Wall Street. 

[Federal Hall where George Washington was sworn in as President]

[Trinity Church from Federal Hall]

[New York Stock Exchange]

[Charging Bull of Wall Street]

[Katey relaxing at the hotel]

We then got to Battery Park where we took some pictures with Lady Liberty! 

Emily and I then took the subway to SOHO where we visited Dominique Ansel Bakery!

[Emily with her frozen s'more]

We got a bunch of delicious treats from the bakery and then headed back to the hotel where the three of us feasted!

[Treats from Dominique Ansel Bakery and Juniors cheesecake]

We then took some time to relax before headed downstairs to Times Square to get dinner. We got lobster rolls, lobster quesadilla, and lobster tater tots from Cousin's Maine Lobster and a couple of empanadas from Nuchas. Everything was delicious!

We then walked over to the Music Box Theatre where we saw Dear Evan Hansen. 

Emily loves the music and she wanted to see the musical, so we did! I had no idea what to expect, but the music was great and the story was very moving. I loved it and I would recommend it, especially if you have teenagers.

On our way back to the hotel we saw a poster for a play called "Betrayal" which stars TOM HIDDLESTON!! Why didn't we go see that?! Maybe next time!