A trip to New York city

As many of you know John and I LOVE New York city. So, when my company decided to have a departmental summit in Times Square John and I decided to extend my stay by a few days and get in some good shopping and some great dining. It's been a few months since either of us had been there so we were excited to see some of the new shops and restaurants we'd read about. My summit was a one a half day event. We arrived on Wednesday and the summit finished at about 5 pm. John wasn't due to arrive in the city until the next morning, so knowing that John doesn't love most Asian food, a couple of my friends and I arranged to go to Tao (www.taorestaurant.com). Tao was great, and in retrospect I think John would have really enjoyed it as well. The environment was almost surreal - very modern, great lighting, and a giant Buddha in the middle of the room with a water fountain at it's base. One of the center tables had a giant glass top which was held up with a tub full of water, rose petals, and floating candles. Needless to say it was extremely beautiful. The food was good too - we had a sampling of sushi and various other Asian dishes. The sushi was among the best I've ever had.

On Thursday John took a mid morning flight and spent most of the day shopping by himself. The summit wasn't due to end until 3:00 pm, and par the usual it ran a little over. By four o'clock I finally made it out of the summit and made my way to the W Hotel Union Square (www.whotels.com) - where John and I were spending the rest of the weekend. I really enjoy most of the W Hotels. They have a very modern feel, nice bathrooms, and great service. Anyway, we checked in to our room and about two minutes later John's cousin's wife, Jessica called us. Jessica was in the city for an interview so we got to meet up with her. We didn't finalize our plans until about a week before the summit, so Jessica didn't have a chance to change her flight, but she did have just enough time to meet with us for about an hour. It was great to see her! She said that her interview had gone pretty well, and as it turns out the company made the right decision, because about three days later we got a call saying she'd got the job (congratulations!!!!). Naturally, a lot of our discussion involved our plans to adopt. Everyone, including Jessica, is curious as to how are search is going. We can't wait for the day that we can tell her (and everyone else) that we're matched and going to have a baby in the house soon!

Thursday night John and I went to Craft (www.craftrestaurant.com). My friend John-Paul had read about it. It was decent, but not great. They had somehow misplaced our reservation, but since we were eating fairly early they we're able to fit us in. The food was pleasant, and the environment was nice - but I have to admit that we probably won't go there again. Not only was it over priced (which is to be expected of a lot of NYC restaurants) but the service really was lacking. If the food had been amazing it might have made up for it. Alas, the food was just good and didn't make up for there inability to provide friendly service. It was very close to our hotel... which was a definite plus.

John had managed to get to most of SOHO on Thursday so we spent much of Friday shopping on 5th Ave, or Madison Ave. It was great. Not only are the shops great, but it's amazing to see the thousands of people that are there. If you haven't been to NYC before then you might not really be aware of what the term "melting pot" means. You figure out what it means very quickly in NYC. The people on the streets of NYC are from everywhere. Every state, every city, every country.

At some point on Friday I started to realize that I was coming down with a cold. I should make a point of saying that I NEVER get sick. I really, don't. I mean, yes I get the occasional upset stomach from eating the wrong thing... but I really don't get colds, or the flu, or anything like that. In fact, I've never even had a headache... although I'm told that I'm not missing anything. Anyway, since I never get sick I'm acutely aware when my body isn't working the way it should. Being that it was cold, and I was in the middle of million people on the streets of New York, I should have told John that I wasn't feeling well, and gone back to the hotel to rest. Well, I didn't. I was having too much fun in the city, and decided that it was just the beginning of cold and I'd be fine.

Friday night we went to see a off Broadway musical called The Evil Dead (www.evildeadthemusical.net). For those of you that are 80's film buffs you've probably heard of this before. It was a not so great movie about a man and his friends who discover a book that releases deadly spirits into the world that they later decided to turn in to a musical comedy. It ended up being very funny. Before the show we ended up going to dinner at this great, little, hole in the wall, French restaurant called Chez Napoleon (www.cheznapoleon.com). It had maybe eight tables. When we walked in most of the tables were empty, and the French bar tender asked if we had a reservation. We said "no", and he rolled his eyes. He asked us if we had a show to go to and after we said "yes" he rolled his eyes again and said he could probably fit us in. He showed us to a small table next to the door. John had decided that he wanted pasta, and this being a true French restaurant there wasn't a pasta dish to be found. He ended up ordering the Cornish hen, and I had duck l'orange. I loved it, and John found it acceptable. The entire staff was French, so that added to the authenticity.

When we woke up Saturday morning, I new I was very sick. Even though I had slept the entire night I felt exhausted - BUT being that we were in New York city I rallied and John and I went to breakfast at The Mercer Kitchen (www.mercerhotel.com). The Mercer Kitchen is the restaurant in the Mercer hotel. John went there once several years ago.... and we've made it a point to have breakfast there every time we've gone to NYC together. We essentially order everything on the menu - and leave completely stuffed. It's SO good! Unfortunately, by the end of breakfast I was exhausted... but again I managed to continue on with only a little complaining. We spent the rest of the day shopping in SOHO.

Saturday evening we flew back to Atlanta. My friend John-Paul from work was on the same flight, so it was fun to hear about his time in the city. He's spent a considerable amount of time in New York, so he has several friends who live there. It was great to hear his stories of the city - he always manages to have an exciting time. By this time my cold had taken over.. and I managed to spend the next several days in bed recovering. I guess, I've learned my lesson.

John and I have made many plans of trips with our future child. Although this trip was more of shopping and eating trip, there are so many great museums in the city. The last time we were in NYC we spent half the day in the Museum of Modern Art (www.moma.org). The city has so much to show children! I think there are literally 6 children's museums in Manhattan alone. It goes without saying that we won't be without fun, educational, places to take our child.

~W