So, he flew in last Thursday. After his nap, we walk towards Little Italy looking for a place to eat. We just happened to stumble upon Lombardi's, which is the first pizzeria in the US. I think it's been there since 1907 or something like that. Needless to say, considering they have a reputation to uphold, the pizza was SO good.
After dinner, we decided to go to Times Square so he could see what it's like at night. I was pretty excited about seeing his reaction... I wondered if he'd be as amazed as I was the first time I saw it. Well, he was. He LOVED it. We walked around for a while, went to Toys R Us (which by the way, has a carousel inside?) and the Hershey store, ran into the jerk from "Pretty In Pink", then found the building where Tupac got shot. We snuck inside to see the elevator he was near and so Tyler could throw up the westside gang sign (probably a bad idea in a crowd, huh?)
After taking a few minutes to relax inside the restaurant near the Tupac building, we decided to go get some sleep so we'd be ready for the next day. We took a detour to Union Square, I showed him where I worked and a little bit of the East Village (my hood). He was totally in love with all of it.
The next day, our first stop was the Dakota. (He got to see where Tupac got shot, it was my turn to show him where John got shot.) We took a couple pictures, then walked across the street to go see Strawberry Fields. Tyler was amazed at how big the Imagine monument actually is. We sat there for a little while because, wouldn't you know it, it was Paul's birthday and this hippy/huge Beatles fan was playing "12 o'clock Beatle Power Hour" on the radio.
We walked around Central Park for a while. It was a BEAUTIFUL day- perfect for a first time Central Park-er. We then went to the Met and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon. Tyler loves history, so it was like a playground to him. For dinner, we went to Serendipity. It turns out that Serendipity has a lot more history behind it than just the movie named after it. We were downstairs reading little things about the restaurant, and it turns out that we actually sat at the exact table where John & Yoko used to always sit. Pretty ironic, huh?
After dinner, we met up with Amber and Jeremy at an Irish pub near the Empire State building (another thing that Tyler was just blown away by. I think he made me take about 15 pictures of it from different locations in the city.) Jeremy wanted to go to an Irish pub in the city, and it turned out that I actually knew of one because my mom and I ate there during both of our visits to NY. Later, we went to the lower east side for a little while and walked around a bit. After a while, Tyler and I were both ready to pass out after our long day, so we decided to be old people and leave early so we could get some sleep.
On Saturday, our first stop was Greenwich Village. I read that the bar/restaurant "Cafe Huh?" on Across The Universe was actually based on a real place in Greenwich called "Cafe Wha?" It's actually a bar where Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Bill Cosby (random) used to do shows. It was closed for lunch, so we just got a few pictures and walked to this other place called Groove Lounge (did I mention Greenwich is awesome?) Oh, and by the way, if you ever go there, go to a coffee shop called Cafe Reggio and just drink one latte. It will change your life. True story. But don't get the capri salad... it's just ten tomatoes circling mozzarella and basil in the middle of the plate.
Jimi and Tupac on the same wall=happy Tylerissa.
After Greenwich, we walked to Chelsea so he could see the other place that I work (well, sort of. ha. All 4 hours of the week.) We walked around Chelsea Market. Again, Tyler loved it. By the time we were done in Chelsea, both of us were pretty wiped out. We went to my dorm to relax for a bit (as much as you can in a room with no AC.) Later, we met up with Amber and Jeremy again for another lower east side night. And again, we left early because we were so tired!
Sunday was the day we planned to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. First, we went to Steamer's Landing (my favorite restaurant in New York.) It was SO beautiful outside. Steamer's Landing faces the Hudson River, so there are tons of sailboats around and it is absolutely gorgeous.
It was so good that we ended up canceling our dinner reservation in the Meatpacking district and making a reservation there for dinner. We had to rush after lunch to get ready for The Lion King (thanks, Mom!). We made it to the show just in time. It was really, really good. We got out of the show earlier than we expected, so with time to kill, we decided to take a little walk to Hotel Chelsea. I tell Tyler that we can go inside, but they only let you see the first floor. Being the adventurer he is, he says, "and what's stopping us from going upstairs?" Nothing, of course. You just have to act like you live there. So, he asks what floor Edie lived on, and we make our way towards the elevator. It was SO cool. The building is very old looking and hasn't been updated whatsoever. It's very charming. There is tons of crazy art all over the walls and the. most. beautiful. staircase you will ever see. We walked up the stairs, stopping on pretty much every floor to take pictures and hiding the camera when we heard the elevator beep or a door open. We went all the way to the top, where there is a skylight and a bunch of portraits hanging from the ceiling. Upon reaching the top floor, we realize that we are actually very very late for our reservation (in New York, it literally takes 45 minutes to go 2 miles away.) We leave Hotel Chelsea with every intention of coming back later that night. Because that's just how Tylerissa does things.
Andy Warhol pose. Very appropriate given the occasion.
We arrive at Steamer's Landing and to my surprise there is a bottle of champagne and candles at our table. That sneaky Trick Tickler. Dinner was amazing, and we sat near the window so we had an amazing view of the sun setting over the Hudson.
After dinner, we go back to Chelsea because, thinking we were eating in the Meatpacking District, I bought tickets to the Chelsea Cinema for Toy Story 3. The movie was great but we both fell asleep towards the end.
The next day was Tyler's last day in the city, and we had some big things planned. First, we were supposed to go to Good Morning America (again, thanks mom!) but we didn't wake up in time because we stayed out so late the night before. Oh well. We actually didn't get a move on until around 1 PM. First, we had to go to the Ed Sullivan Theater to pick up our tickets for David Letterman (for those of you who don't know the story, Tyler won us tickets to the show). We actually didn't have as much time as I thought, so we just stuck around near the theater until the show was about to start. The show was really good. Salma Hayek was the guest that day. I think we were actually the youngest people there.
After the show, we walked to 5th ave so Tyler could see the Rockefeller Center. We stuck around that area and met up with Amber and Meagan for dinner. After dinner, Tyler, Amber, and I went to Greenwich for the night. First, we went to some really expensive Mexican place (on accident) because it said that NY Magazine rated their margaritas (one of 6) of the BEST in the city. Yeah, they were good. No, not $10 worth. After our very expensive drink, we stumbled upon this sort of hole in the wall place that had $2 beers and 20 cent wings. My kinda place. Amber was sweet enough to pick up the tab of the broke college students, then we all left to get some sleep. Unfortunately, I had to work the next morning.
Tuesday morning, Tyler walked me to work then went to Grand Central to catch the bus to the airport. Well, as I'm sure you all know, he was asked to be an extra in a movie. Of course. He's here for 4 days and he gets to be an extra in a movie. :) I must say that was probably a great way to end a first time New York trip!
Whew. Okay, so that was pretty much the whole trip. If anyone is still reading, let me just add a few things from this week:
1. NYU dining halls have it figured out. I had an omelet for breakfast yesterday morning. First omelet in about 2 months. Yum.
2. I have a sinus infection and everything smells and tastes funnny. :(
3. I laid out in Central Park today, but couldn't last for more than 45 minutes. It's SO hot!!
Great writing; what an adventure. I tried to get tickets to Letterman a few years ago...couldn't score.
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