New York, New York... a conversational blog. :)

derek: happy early anniversary to us. and as some of you know, we treated ourselves to an anniversary trip to NYC.

summer: and we are in love. with each other. and nyc.

derek: it was an awesome week, and we made it the whole week without getting on each others nerves at all. as long as summer got to read the maps. :)

summer: i realllly love maps.

derek: it was a pretty smooth trip up, aside from the 10 block walk through harlem early monday morning. we got off the bus at the wrong stop. right street... just 10 blocks too soon.

summer: we had decided before we left we weren't going to take a taxi the whole week, but i wanted to take one to the hotel when i realized we had so far to walk. but we persevered. i am also obsessed with subways fyi.

derek: and maps. of the subways. i think i maybe saw the subway map twice, when sum asked if she had something right, which she did. I was just trying to remember it all in my head...  after dropping the bags at our hotel (www.hudsonhotel.com) we headed down 9th ave to grab some lunch. couldn't find too much that interested us in hell's kitchen...

summer: it sucks there.  don't go.

derek: lunch didn't suck, just not so nice down there. hell's kitchen sucks, and movies about hell's kitchen suck (daredevil).

summer: moving on. i signed up online to get free tickets to letterman to hopefully give to derek for christmas, but seeing as how they called last thursday, they didn't make it in time for christmas.  BUT, we did get free tickets and we were supposed to pick them up at the box office on monday between 4:30 and 5:30.

derek: and we DID. just barely. because i'm stupid and thought it was 4:28 when it was actually 5:28...

summer: i think i should be in charge of maps AND time.

derek: ouch. we made it, we were just the last two people in line, which meant the last two people to get a seat, which ALSO meant we had to sit in separate sections. I sat by an old couple, and a foreign couple that smelled a bit funky like certain parts of the city. ew.

summer: and i sat by a cute little chinese man who laughed at all the wrong parts because he didn't understand a word. poor thing.  also, one thing that is annoying about going on a trip with 2 people, is that you have to put your camera in someone else's hands and they always take crappy pictures.  so, we have like 3 pictures of us from the trip and they suck.  (i.e. this picture to the right).

derek: dinner monday night was fantastic... we took the subway down to SoHo, in search of a restaurant called Blue Ribbon. which was packed. and a long wait. so the nice host guy sent us down the street to one of his favorites, shorty's 32.

summer: i bet you can guess, i am also in love with this place. the decor was fabulous and the adorable british host was a delight.  the only annoying thing was that it was so small and...

derek: the douchebag with the bike helmet that kept falling on summer. he was the seventh of an annoying party of six that was sitting next to us at a table for four. but the meal was incredible and the wine was good. after finishing there it was time to head back to the hotel and end day 1.

Day 2:

summer: # 782 favorite thing about new york- bagels.  we went to the museum of natural history. it rocks. derek was really obsessed with taking pictures of fake animals in their habitats. i am sure he will want to share them with you, but i have put a limit on his number:).

derek: i can't read maps, tell time, or take pictures. :)  i wasn't OBSESSED, 

summer: haha. "krissy i'm not obsessed".

derek: i took like 3 pictures of animals... just to see what the pic would look like. geez.

derek: and it looks pretty cool huh? COMMENT ON MY AWESOME LION PIC. oh yeah the bagels were awesome too. just agreeing with summer. yum.

summer: so day 2 was tuesday, american idol day.  i was a little worried that we might not get to watch it, but we were so exhausted from taking pictures of fake animals all day, that we stayed in the room and watched it.  i love it so much. um, hello, david cook is awesome.

derek: 3 frickin' pictures, and a guy gets a bad rap. we didn't even see david until we got home on tivo. but we did (at least i did) fall dangerously close to idol worship at this point earlier in the day:

derek: sooo day 2 was awesome, and bookended by an amazing dinner at rosa mexicana. guacamole made tableside, chicken enchiladas, and a pitcher of sangria. yum. so good we went back. check day 4. ha.

day 3:

summer: we walked across the brooklyn bridge and almost got swept away by the wind, and we visited the world trade center site. we had done so much already, we weren't sure what we were going to do that evening.  we were having lunch at a diner in the meat packing district, florent, and i got a text from a random number.  it was emily's dad.  her parents were in new york and had bought tickets to see Jersey Boys, but couldn't go, so they gave them to us.  we were so pumped!

derek: thanks steve and christy! it was my first broadway show, and i thought it was awesome... great songs and talent, and it got me even more excited for our big show on thursday night (wicked). the show was at 8, we had eaten lunch at 3, so decided we would eat dinner after the show. which was late. so who is gonna be out eating dinner at 11:30? Should be empty right?

summer: i bought derek a book for christmas called NFT (not for tourists) guide to NYC.  i actually bought it for me, but gave it to him.  oops. they recommended this place called, the spotted pig (thespottedpig.com) and said that it was the hippest place to eat in the city. and of course, i want to be hip:).

derek: ha. my gift. kinda like when dad bought me the nintendo games HE wanted to play when i was a kid. :) so i did what a good husband would do, and gave the book to summer to hold all week. with the maps. :) back to dinner... we got there at 11:30, and it was packed. no room to move, and barely room to sit. amazing dinner though, and even the 6 dollar beer tasted great. :)

day 4:

derek: met a friend for lunch, shopped, visited rockefeller center, checked out the MoMA. kinda a wrap up day, doing everything we didn't get in days 1-3... which wasn't much. relaxed before our big night at the show. summer's dad got us a great gift to one of the best restaurants in the theatre district, Sardi's, and we ate a good meal there, then walked through Times Square to the theatre where Wicked was. 

summer: i had been wanting to see Wicked for a long, long time. kevin bought us tickets for christmas, and we were really lucky to get them because it always sells out months in advance.  it was everything i had hoped it would be. i think my mouth was open for like 3 hours straight because i was in awe. really, you should go if you have a chance. we think it is worth a plane ticket and a night's hotel just to see it!

derek: yeah, everything was amazing about it, from orchestra, to voices, to story, to the set (wow). go check it out... After that incredible show it was back to Rosa Mexicana for more guac and sangria, a perfect last night in NYC.

summer:  day 5 basically consists of packing and leaving. it was like a week long date in nyc and it was perfect. sorry this blog is kind of long, we just really loved it.  it was a really great break for us to get away from everything that is so difficult here and take a break from reality for a week.  i am really thankful.

derek: as am i... everything about the trip was wonderful, especially the company. thanks em, for picking us up and dropping us off at 6 in the morning on your day off. hope everyone enjoyed this long-ass blog. :) and if anyone's interested, next week i will hold a clinic on clock reading, map reading, and animal photography... :)