NYC

It's hard to believe that it's already been 2 weeks since Matt and I left for our Christmas Weekend Getaway to New York City. Well, it was more like "Matt has a conference and I'm along for the free ride", but 'getaway' sounds so much better, doesn't it? We left on Thursday following Thanksgiving weekend, so I had no time to even think about our trip or plan anything. But that turned out to be a blessing rather than a curse.

We arrived in New York City on Thursday night and after checking in to our hotel, Matt already had a plan. We headed to Cafe Lalo on the upper west side. It may look familiar to you--and it should. It was the sight of the first meeting between Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox (Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks) in the movie "You've Got Mail".

When we were trying to determine if I'd be able to join Matt in NYC, he said, "Babe, you do realize that I will have meetings all day on Friday. Is that okay?" and my answer? "That's great!" Anyone who knows me knows that I love my husband and my children more than anything, but an entire day to myself in the city would be so amazing! And that is exactly what I had on friday--a day to myself to wander the city with just my camera and iPOD. It was so wonderful! I would have loved to have gone shopping, but that will come someday. For this day, I walked from 10am-4pm without even stopping for food or to sit and rest, just walking through the city taking pictures (which I LOVE) and going wherever I wanted. Here is just a sampling of what I saw during the day.......

(note: the ice rink is much smaller in person!)
Famous fountain in Central Park

It was as if this man decided to row his little boat across the lake so that I could get an amazing picture!
View of upper east side and The Great Lawn from Belvidere's Castle in Central Park
Central Park--it never gets old! Strawberry Fields in Central Park--tribute to John Lennon who was shot outside his upper west side apartment in 1980, just across the street from Central Park. Being such a big Beatles fan, I immediately turned my iPOD to my Beatles Favorite Mix as I walked through this area.
Literary Walk in Central Park

Ice Rink in Central Park (seen in movie "Serendipity") with The Plaza in the background
Probably my favorite spot in Central Park--The pond reflecting The Plaza Hotel

Tree at Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock

By the 5pm on Friday, I was anxious to see Matt and get to see the city with him. Everywhere I went, I thought, "I wish Matt could see this!" So on Saturday, he was able to leave some of his meetings early and we headed to the upper west side again. We stopped at this bakery (Levain Bakery) per the recommendation of a good friend of mine who was recently in the city visiting a friend. As you can see from the picture, it's kind of a 'hole in the wall' kind of place located below an apartment building with not much atmosphere to speak of, but the food was amazing! I can't even describe how incredible the cookies were---definitely worth the hike up to that side of town!
Rockefeller Center Tree--together this time!
As we were walking around on Saturday night, it started to snow--big, beautiful, white flakes--it was picture perfect! You have to love the city this time of year!

My token pic of Times Square

On Sunday morning, we headed down to the village to meet one of Matt's best friends from college and his wife and daughter. We met them for breakfast at a great little cafe called "Schiller's" and then joined them in picking out their Christmas Tree and decorating it. It was quite the experience and much different from our life in the Midwest. We walked a couple of blocks to a corner deli that had christmas trees lining the sidewalk outside their store. They picked their tree right out of the cinder block and carried it home, to their 400sq ft apt. We loved the experience of getting to see what life lived in the city is like and getting to spend some time with Dave, Monique, and Mirabelle.
Matt and I had an incredible (and much needed) time together in the city without the kids. Much thanks to my mom for flying down here to watch the kids for us. The kids had a great time as did we. And when we took my mom to the airport on Monday to head home, Sadie started crying and continued the entire ride home (about 20 minutes). She kept saying, "Nani! Nani! No airplane!" She did recover :) but it was so precious!