We started the day with leftover pizza and Starbucks, which is the best way to start a day in my books. I swear I gained back all 10 of the pounds from my unintentional (thanks kidney stones) pre-wedding weight loss in pizza alone on our trip! After “breakfast” we spent the morning in SOHO to further explore the area and do some more shopping. I could spend hours wandering around SOHO and I highly recommend that everyone does the same.
We popped into the MoMA store across the street from Balthazar which was so much fun because Museum of Modern Art stores always have the coolest stuff, from giftware to housewares to jewelry, books and gadgets galore! We then went on the hunt to find a vintage secondhand store and stumbled upon A Second Chance, and I found myself the one item I allowed myself to splurge on…an Hermès scarf! Originally I thought I would come home with a pair of Louboutin shoes, but an Hermès scarf is much more versatile and can even be framed as art if I want to do so down the line. All I can think of is how my future daughters and grand daughters will be lucky enough to inherit this beautiful silk scarf that was purchased by their mother / grandmother in New York on her honeymoon. I’m setting them up for a great story! And in the meantime, I get to bask in its glory and hoard it all to myself. I went for a very traditional equestrian style scarf in classic colors that can work with a variety of outfits…and I love it!
After dropping our shopping bags off at our apartment (there were plenty of them) to give our arms a rest, we went for lunch at L’asso for more…you guessed it…pizza! We literally couldn’t get enough New York pizza because it was so affordable and so thin-crust-floppy-delicious. L’asso had a great lunch special where you could sit at the bar and get 2 slices of pizza and a beer for $7. I left Canada a Ham & Pineapple girl and I came home a classic Margherita girl. Ooey gooey mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and basil – HEAVEN! Top it off with a healthy dose of parmesan and you’ve got yourself a prize pizza fight champion.
After lunch we caught the subway to the World Trade Center. We had the intention of visiting the memorial site, but had no idea where to get the tickets and couldn’t find a way to get in. So much for spontaneity! This visit is on our list for our next NYC trip for sure. The One World Trade Center that is being built is quite impressive, and Husbie took a few great architectural shots.
We stopped in at Century 21 for a quick shopping trip. I say quick because I wasn’t really in the mood to shop a 5 story high city block wide department store crammed full of people getting amazing deals on designer goods. “WHAT?!” you may ask…Nicole not in the mood for shopping?! That’s right. I wasn’t feeling it. I’ve heard amazing things about this store, and Husbie did score a pair of John Varvados boots for a fraction of the original cost, and I did load up my shopping-tired arms with treats for my niece including adorable Stewart Weitzman camo booties with satin bow ties, but I found nothing for myself because I simply didn’t have the patience. It’s like Winners – you need to be in the mood to sift through racks and racks of random clothing to find the deals of the day. I’m sure if we had gone to the store first thing in the morning I would have had all the energy in the world to do so. But we did SOHO instead, and I’m glad we did.
We explored Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange afterwards, because we were within walking distance, so why not? It was after office hours so it was rather deserted and eerie, quiet, creepy.
We made our feet carry us a little further south towards the water and the Staten Island Ferry Terminal! We had heard that you could take the ferry for free and travel past Lady Liberty, then turn right around on Staten Island and once again travel past Lady Liberty for free on the way back to Manhattan! We decided quite spontaneously to do this instead of the tour to Liberty Island which costs money. Our timing couldn’t have been better as we enjoyed the sunset from the water.
On the way back from Staten Island the sun had set and Lady Liberty’s torch was lit!
It was the perfect end to our day…almost. On the way home we caught the wrong subway train (thanks Husbie) and ended up in Brooklyn after a longer train ride under the river, turned around and took a train back to Manhattan, and our apartment! We ended the night at Bread for a candlelit pasta dinner and dessert, which consisted of nutella and banana crostinis, YUM!
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