The Central Park Tale

One thing I quickly learned here in the city is that while everything is expensive, there are actually a lot of places to go and things to do that cost very little or nothing at all. There is a catch to this, however -- you give up your precious sleep time.

Leaving at 7:30am yesterday morning, Amy, Stef and I headed to Central Park for a 5-hour wait in line for Shakespeare in the Park tickets. I had done my research before hand, thinking it was best to be prepared -- I found that many people waited in line overnight for these tickets. The three of us decided that would not be logical, nor fun. Upon arrival we were told we had come on the perfect day -- the show we would be seeing is The Winter's Tale and because Al Pacino was staring The Merchant of Venace (the other production being put on this summer) -- the line was significantly shorter than normal and that we would definitely get tickets!

Post-line waiting, our threesome went to H&H Bagel for a snack and then proceeded to walk the Manhattan Bridge -- that is, after we made a quick stop in Times Square for a free Slurpee at 7-Eleven (it was 7/11!!) and a visit to Tudor City (the city above the city). And while the experience of walking the bridge and seeing the city from a different point of view was great, it was nothing like walking the Brooklyn Bridge -- especially since I had recently walked it at dusk, which was beautiful.

That evening we arrived back at the Delacorte Theater -- took a picture of the Romeo & Juliet Statue -- and sat down to see the stage lit by candles with the Belvedere Castle in the distance as a backdrop for the scene. It was perfect. The play was wonderful, too -- and I wouldn't expect anything less from a Shakespeare performance.

For those that don't know the plot of The Winter's Tale, it is a story of two boyhood friends (Leontes and Polixenes) who come together for a visit. After nine months, Polixenes wishes to leave and only Leontes' (pregnant) wife was able to convince him to stay. From that point Leontes believes Polixenes to have had an affair with his wife. After the baby is born, Paulina (a lady of the court) attempts to convince Leontes that the child is his. Instead he alienates himself and he ends up alone after his wife passes on. The baby, however, is safe and raised by an old shepherd. The second act tells the story of what happens...but I won't give any of that away.

Going GaGa

Until this summer I had thought the Summer Concert Series was something that only Good Morning America did. Little did I know that some 40 blocks away from the GMA concerts in Central Park, the Today Show was putting on some amazing shows in Rockefeller Plaza.

This morning -- around 3:15am -- two of my roommates, Jenna and Stef, and another friend of ours, Amy, headed over to Rockefeller Center to stake a spot for the Lady GaGa concert. The line was surely the longest that I'd seen this summer -- significantly longer than the lines from the Justin Bieber concert a few weeks back. There was tons of people dressed up for the event -- some of them I honestly thought could have been Lady GaGa herself.

Although I came along for this fun, early morning experience -- I had to leave my group of friends for what has become my favorite experience thus far in NYC! What did I do? I called Ashley, with the Today Show, to meet me outside Dean & Deluca in order to give me a PRESS PASS to stand in the FRONT ROW of the Lady GaGa concert. Being the first of the press outlets to arrive, I get the best spot in the press pin and was able to watch Lady GaGa as she practiced for the concert. The PR agents that were standing by me said that she has been the only artist to rehearse and sound check all of her songs beforehand.

When it came time for the concert to begin the Today Show hosts, Ann & Meredith, announced that more than 20,000 people had showed up for the concert (which is nearly double what the expected).

The lights, costumes and of course Lady GaGa's voice was phenomenal -- she truly is the performer that everyone says she is. I was blown away and will never forget this experience. Even as the rain began to fall, she continued to perform. And, to be honest, when she sang "Teeth" in the midst of the rain -- it only made the performance better and more dramatic. That, of the four songs she sang, was by far my favorite!

A special thanks to my internship, for giving me this opportunity and a memory I will remember forever!

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Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue

Last Thursday, after a half day of work -- which included a visit from Lindsey's yorkie, Hendricks -- I headed back to the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison Avenue for a little relaxation before a wonderful four (and a half) day weekend! This hotel is very pretty -- renovated and we lucked out by being upgraded to a suite on the fourth floor after a little mix up with the rooms!! And, by we, I mean my dad and I -- he came in town for a business trip and extended his stay to spend some time with me :)

After all of his meetings Thursday, we went to Carmine's (the Upper Westside Location -- which happens to be the first location in Manhattan)! According to their Web site: "Restaurateur Artie Cutler created Carmine’s with one goal in mind: to open a restaurant that would serve every meal in the style of an Italian American wedding feast, featuring extra large portions of home-style antipasto, pastas, seafood and meat entrees served on extra large platters designed for sharing. Carmine’s is the perfect place to casually enjoy friends and family over great food and wine, with excellent service, the way it used to be at grandma’s house."

Following the AMAZING spaghetti and meatballs we went to Max Brenner's Chocolate Bar!! I told my parents about it after I went with friends the first time and it was must-have repeat! There I had a white hot chocolate and the "dark" cookie; which is a chocolate cookie with chocolate chunks and chocolate syrup drizzled over it! Talk about CHOCOLATE-Y!

Friday was spent doing a variety of things -- starting with a walk along 5th Avenue and a stop at TIFFANY & CO where my dad spoiled my by purchasing the Tiffany & Co. "NYC Address" Ring!! It's SO beautiful and I got to bring home my first Tiffany & Co. 'Little Blue Box'! Following my little celebration in the store we stopped by the Apple Store and then had lunch at Aoki for sushi (yum!). Plus, after a quick look around Hershey's & M&M World, he took me to the new 4-story Forever 21 on Times Square!

From there we took a little break at the hotel before going over to Washington Square Park :) I wanted to go to visit the arch featured in August Rush -- however, it was also to my dad's liking because the arch is also featured in one of his favorites Barefoot in the Park. And, before walking back to the hotel to change for dinner, we stopped at Rocco's bakery for chocolate covered macaroons and Magnolia for a cupcake. :)

For dinner we went to Keens, which is a steakhouse -- it was DELICIOUS!! The story behind this place was SOOO cool -- I'll add the menu's story soon.



Saturday was a chill day -- catching up on some sleep and planning out my last five weeks in the city!!

Independence Day was a BLAST! Before heading over to the Hudson River the roomies and I spent a little time in Central Park. Then began the 4 hour wait for fireworks right off of Pier 84. We definitely melted in the sun -- but the experience was irreplaceable! There was food and music and talking with the girls!!

When the fireworks started I was awestruck! Six different barges displayed the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks! It was AMAZING! I love fireworks and this display definitely lived up to my expectations.



Today Stef and I went to the American Museum of Natural History! This place is beyond huge and also has a planetarium. We saw mammals and the evolution of man and ton of miniture displays.



We finished up this amazing weekend with The French Connection in Bryant Park, complete with a visit to Crumbs for a cupcake :)

Happy Birthday America!