Thursday, in NY

Thursday morning we got a little later start in the Big Apple. We left the hotel around 10 a.m. and went to a restaurant called Norma’s where I had quite possibly the best food I’ve ever had in my entire life. We all decided to get something that sounded good and eat off each other’s plates. I got the best meal by far. It was called chocolate banana waffle napoleon, and it was divine. It was waffles covered with a chocolate syrup, bananas and macadamia nuts and on the side was a cinnamon butter that was soooooooo good. Shelley ordered bacon and egg quesadillas that were nothing like quesadillas in Texas. They were so good that I even ate them with guacamole in them. Pam got chocolate French toast with strawberries and whipped cream on top. Like I said, the meal was divine.

After breakfast we got our tickets for the bus tour and headed out on the city. The first and only stop we got off on that day was Chinatown. The moment we stepped off the bus we were bombarded with offers to buy Coach bags. So we followed this little man down a street, into an alley and into a minivan. We didn’t like what he had to offer so we kept going down the little shops. Shelley and I both bought some Lovely, the fragrance by Sarah Jessica Parker. I bought a necklace and a bracelet, which broke later that night, and I got a bag that I could potentially use for my laptop. After Chinatown, Shelley and I headed to Little Italy, where we found a nice bakery that Shelley wanted to stay in and smell for ten minutes. After we got our cannoli and fruit tart, we stepped across the street for gelato. Too much dessert??? Never! After I finished gelato, I booked it to NYU for an informational session with an admissions counselor.

I had no idea where I was going, but I decided to walk there, and oh what a walk that was. The city is beautiful that time of day with the sun setting (at 4 p.m.) and the temperature was perfect. Not too hot and not too cold. I felt like an official New Yorker walking the street by myself instead of what I really was an imposing tourist. After my brief meeting, I decided to walk back to the hotel. About halfway to the hotel, I decided that I had walked enough so I started looking for a cab. Because of rush hour, I never found a cab, so including my walk from Chinatown to NYU, I ended up walking about seven miles. My feet still hurt.

I got back to the hotel with enough time to relax and take a shower before we went to The Producers. It was funny and not really what I was expecting, but it was good. I wish that we could have gone to see Wicked, but maybe next time. It was 11 p.m. when we got back to the hotel and we decided to try and skate at Rockefeller Center. We sped walked and got to the ice rink at 11:45. As we were walking around the corner, we heard the crowd moan and then we heard people shouting “why did you turn it off?!?!” Apparently, as we were turning the corner, they turned the lights off the Christmas tree. Well that sucked the joy out of ice skating; so I decided to wait until I could do it right.

We leisurely walked back to the hotel, and I passed out. It didn’t feel like we got a lot done that day, but looking back I guess we did more than I thought. Whew.