NYC ILY

Although this was not my first trip to New York there was something about this time that was so much unlike the others. For the first time I truly felt the magic of the big apple. The tall skyscrapers, the dog walkers, the nannies - I soaked in all the elements. Truly taking in each moment.

 

As you know my mom and sister and I took a redeye flight to NYC on 9/11. Not the best date to fly but everything was alright. We flew Jet Blue so having a TV screen helped the time pass some. I also was able to catch some shuteye while flying. When we touched down we met up with my other sister, Jennifer, who had flown in on a redeye from Orange County.

My aunt & uncle live on the Upper East Side and were kind enough to offer their apartment to us while they were vacationing in Italy.

 

Once we arrived we took a quick nap to recharge for the day. This day turned out to be very hot and very humid. We grabbed lunch at J.G. Melon which receives good reviews but I was not that impressed to be honest. We then stopped at a local bakery and indulged in some macaroons.

 

Right after lunch it started to

d.o.w.n.p.o.u.r

So we decided to head back to the apartment to wait out the storm. It quickly passed and we decided to head over to Central Park.

We stopped and took some photos by the famous Loeb Boathouse Restaurant and I was imagining 27 Dresses all the while. Since it was still a little muddy in places we walked only a short distance and headed back to the apartment. We were meeting my cousin for dinner and dancing later that evening so we needed to go home and spruce up.

We headed out to the Meatpacking District (which quickly and fiercely stole my heart!) and had tapas at Flor De Sol. The ambiance was awesome and the other plus was a major storm had begun outside. Lightning, thunder and pouring rain!

 

After dinner my sister Danielle, my cousin Kathy and I all headed Gaslight Lounge. We had a drink there and then decided to head to somewhere more lively. So my cousin led us to STK and we had a blast! We danced (and drank) until late into the night. When we cabbed back to the apartment I fell asleep on an uninflated mattress! Thank you alcohol.

 

The next morning I woke up rather grouchy and slightly hungover. But I had no option but to rally. So one Gatorade later we were on the subway.

We spent this day at my grandpas house in Maspeth, NY walking to his house I saw this

Squad 288 and hazmat 1 lost 18 firefighters on 9/11. 12 years later there are still reminders all over the city. It's truly heartbreaking. These same men are the men who saved my grandfather when he had a heart attack all those years ago. 

The following day we would be visiting the 9/11 memorials and those were absolutely incredible.

More to come tomorrow!