New York City

I received the coolest assignment back in April because I got to go to New York. I had only been to NYC once before, for two days, and I definitely wanted to visit again. While the downside to the assignment was that I had to work and couldn’t spend all my time out on the town, the upside was that work allowed me to visit Manhattan in style. Here is a breakdown of the trip:

I stayed at the Millennium Hilton which is located in the Financial District. My room overlooked Ground Zero so I got up close and personal to the construction site. It does not bear any resemblance to the Ground Zero (thank heavens) that I saw in October 2001. It looks just like any other construction site that also serves as a tourist attraction. The restaurant in the Hilton, Church & Dey, is unremarkable. The food was on par with an Olive Garden. What really angered me is that they used Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup on my ice cream. For heaven’s sake, spring for some hot fudge people!

Monday night one of my students recommended a restaurant called Brasserie Les Halles. I have since learned that there is one located in DC (and is owned (?) by Anthony Bourdain). It was wonderful, although too dark to read (I know, I know but what are you supposed to do when eating out by yourself?), and I would highly recommend the steak, the amazing French fries (soooo good), and the chocolate mousse. I am told that the service at the Les Halles on Park Avenue is better than the downtown location (I went to the Park Avenue café).

Monday was also my first solo foray onto the NYC Subway. I have lived to tell that it is a very convenient and accessible mass transit system. That being said, I found it to be dirty, especially in comparison to the DC Metro system. I only took the wrong train one time (to which I received applause from my students). I also saw a small child fall between the platform and a departing train. Luckily his mother was able to pull him onto the platform before he was hurt. The child was totally fine, but I think his mother lost a few years off her life. She was sobbing and hugging the boy like crazy. I was glad to see so many concerned citizens try to help as I expected that New York apathy. I have also decided that the grossest dare in the world would be to lick a step on a NYC subway station stairway. I gag just thinking about that.

Tuesday I got tickets to Young Frankenstein. It was hilarious, smart, goofy, and very well acted. Roger Bart, who you have all seen but don’t know by name, played Frederick Frankenstein and Megan Mullally (of Will & Grace) played Elizabeth. Both are excellent comedians and wonderful singers. I had 3rd row center, orchestra seats that blew my mind. Good times!

I had a pre-theater dinner that night at a place called Barbetta. It was okay, if overpriced, with very good polenta. Apparently it used to be one of Sinatra’s old haunts and the restaurant is housed in home at one time owned by the Astor family.


Wednesday I went to Serendipity (yes the one from the movie) and had a lovely ham and brie sandwich. The highlight was the frozen hot chocolate, which was very refreshing. Be warned that it causes severe brain freeze and the serving is too large for one person. Otherwise I just walked all over Midtown, stopping at Bloomingdales, the Plaza, and Rockefeller Center. I walked down 5th Avenue and looked at all the amazing clothing and jewelry that I cannot afford. I really want to participate in wanton consumerism (at times).

Thursday I saw Mary Poppins. The two leads in the show are so talented. I enjoyed the story and the child actors we much better than I expected. They had some lame back story about Mrs. Banks and her attempts to find herself and reconnect with Mr. Banks. I found it boring and longed for the suffragette Mrs. Bank singing “Votes for Women.” There was one number in Mary Poppins that freaked me out a bit. It was like a combination of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer’s Island of Misfit Toys and Dumbo’s Huffalumps and Woozles. I didn’t like it at all. Although I had front row seats, I had no leg room. I am not tall and I was dying. I don’t know how tall people can sit that long in seats that are worse than economy class.

Before the theater I had pastrami and corned beef rolls at Junior’s off Times Square. I also had some of the best cheesecake ever at Junior’s. I guess they are well known for their cheesecake and it is not without reason. I was going to go to Roxy's but all the online reviews said the staff was rude and the restauarnt was unclean. Junior's was the exact opposite, go if you want good food, although it is very busy.

On Friday I just walked around the Financial District until I had to catch my flight. I went to St. Paul’s and saw George Washington’s pew, Trinity Church (of National Treasure fame), the Stock Exchange, and to the Federal Hall museum which is a national park.

I had a blast and I would love to go there again. I would happily live there, if I had the paycheck to make living in Manhattan fun and exciting. For now I will just let work send me.

Philadelphia

Back in April our ward planned an activity with the Philadelphia singles ward. I normally don’t participate in ward activities (I am lazy and would rather be home watching a movie) but Shelley and I decided to go. Now the plan was to drive up to Philadelphia and stay with people up in Philly, doing some urban camping. Now I am far too old and far too pampered to sleep on someone else’s floor. So I talked Shelley in splitting a hotel room with me. Now that I am in my 30’s I have gone totally soft and I want a comfortable night’s sleep. I am worried that I am about two years away from having a bed time of 9:30 pm and nodding off while reading Reader’s Digest Condensed Books.

Shelley and I arrived in downtown Philly on a Friday night so we could do a little sightseeing on our own. When we arrived at the hotel, we were informed that the hotel had given my reservation to another Jennifer Davis from West Virginia. To make up for it, they gave Shelley and I a Junior Suite, which was like a regular hotel room except that it had two TVs. It was awesome.

Now I warned Shelley that Philadelphia is kind of gross, but I don’t think she really believed me. Luckily the city hadn’t changed much since I was there seven years ago and I did not come off looking like a liar. That being said, we had a great time wandering around Old City. We ate a place called City Tavern which was very cool. City Tavern offers “authentic colonial-style cuisine that is served in this historically accurate reconstruction of the original 1773 tavern. There are three floors with colonial décor and staff in period costume.” It was surprisingly good and I gladly wasn’t freaked out by the living history performers.

Shelley and I spent Saturday wandering around Philadelphia with our friends Kasey and Justin. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin’s grave and ate cheesesteaks at Jim’s. I had a great time and I think Shelley really enjoyed all the historical buildings. I really liked the cheesesteaks.

Cherry Blossom Festival

Despite having lived in the DC area on two separate occasions before moving out here last November, I have never lived here in the spring. I don’t know how I managed it, but I always seemed to miss the famed cherry blossom season. I was excited to finally be able to go and see what all the hype was about.

Seabreeze thought that we should go to the Cherry Blossom Festival for Shelley’s birthday. It became a bit dicey as it had rained the day before and was supposed to rain the day of her birthday. Miraculously, it stopped raining just in time for us to go to the festival. I stand by my claim that God really likes Shelley, as the day turned out to not only to be rain-free but was also beautiful, warm, and sunny.

Amber, Shelley, Seabreeze and I spent a lovely evening in DC. We headed to the Mall and the Tidal Basin to enjoy the cherry blossoms. I must admit that the cherry blossoms were far more impressive than I imagined. They are so soft, light, wonderfully scented and are the epitome of spring.

Later, we headed for a nice restaurant called Rosa Mexicano. They had great food, including awesome guacamole. Seabreeze sure knows how to pick a restaurant.

I have been enjoying Spring this year for the very first time. It was a long winter, and I love watching the blossoms appear on the trees and then the leaves return. I understand now why people look forward to Spring. Good times!