Sunday, November 14, 2010

In New York Where Dreams Are Made Of

While we were in NYC I had lunch with Christy, Kat, and baby Ila. Kat and I were in the same pledge class when I joined Kappa, so it was great to catch up and meet cute baby Ila.We ate at this really good restaurant for lunch that I forgot the name of (It was that good). The salads
and sandwiches were both delicous.
I window shopped at Bergdorf Goodman
I got to see where Christy works in Columbus CircleThe very odd statue at The Shops at Columbus Circle
Some marathon posters in the mall
We went to this really cool Thai restaurant called Room Service in Hell's Kitchen.
The decor was beautiful
and the food was fantastic

I was entertained by all the mirrors on the ceiling
Afterwards we went to a Knicks game!!
They played the Wizards and won.
Yay for a Sports game I actually understand.
After the Knicks game we met up with Christys mom, aunts, and grandma and went to the top of the Empire State Building.I've only been to the top during the day and I must say it was much cooler at night.
It was soooo cold and windy at the top we could only look for a few minutes before we went back inside.



One day we met Al's dad at Ground Zero and went to the museum and took the tour. The tours are done by people that were affected by 911. Our tour guides brother was one of the firefighters that died in 911.

This is the building next to Ground Zero that is still standing perfectly and wasn't affected at all.
The tour was so touching. I highly reccommend it.
This is our tour guide.
If you look in the distance you can see the store Century 21. He said the rubble and ashes were as high as that store after the towers fell.
Later that day we went to Soho where I could spend a week and saw the new Dash store. Unlike the one in Calabasas there was actually people there.
Al's dad with Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe

The best lululemon store yet
Al's dad had his laundry done while he was in NY. He was a little worried it might have gotten lost since that heaping pile of laundry sitting outside is where you drop off your clothes.
He got permission to pick up his clothes 2 hours early and was scolded for doing so. It was just like the Soup Nazi Seinfeld episode.
Having a yummy vanilla vanilla cupcake at Magnolia Bakery.
and the amazing Banana pudding.
Originally Jace and Al were supposed see American Idiot with us, but got out of going. Christys mom and Aunt joined us instead which was so much fun.
American Idiot was definately one of the more interesting Broadway plays I've seen. The Green Day music was awesome and that's about it.
One last stop after American Idiot was the Shake Shack which I think is totally over rated. Their frozen crinkle fries and hamburgers were just eh.
On our way home we got to see Al Pacino

Sunday was the marathon
I went to Riverside Park with Christy's family while she was at work and while Al was resting his feet.

Christy and Jace live by Gray's Papaya which is a famous hot dog restaurant.
We went there almost every night.
Our last day in NY we had breakfast at Sarabeth's with Al's dad.
We saw the Natural History Museum in one hour.
Lots of dinosaurs and history
Whitney Memorial Hall!!
The coolest planetarium ever
and the tallest dinosaur ever
and me not wanting to leave NY. Hopefully we will be back soon with little Al.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

2010 NYC Marathon

Last weekend we were in NYC for the marathon. I was only a spectator and I've never seen anything like this race. The marathon goes through all five boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. There are more than 130 live bands along the course to entertain spectators like me and motivate the 45,000 runners. Here are some cool pics of the Verrazano Bridge close to where the race startsI was lucky enough to have Christy be my tour guide and take me to a few points throughout the race to see Al and his dad. Our first stop was in Brooklyn at mile 3. Here is one of the live bands.When we saw how many runners there were I was like I'm never going to see Al and his dad and problem #1 I needed to be on the opposite side of the street.
Luckily it came in waves and we were able to get to the other side. One of the cool things about this race is that the runners take off their warm clothes at the start and leave them on the grond and they donate all the clothes to Goodwill. In Brooklyn spectators would run out in between runners and grab the clothes they threw off.
It's so funny to see all the runners that dress up. I have no idea how they run in some of these outfits.
Yay I spotted Al and his dad in their cute matching shirts that say Al the 4th and Al the 5th.
Looking good at mile 3.
After Brooklyn Christy and I went to mile 16 where the runners start in Manhattan. I want to go on this Gondola ride across the Queensboro Bridge.
There were sooooo many spectators at this point. There was no way I was going to be able to squeeze my way to the front and once again I was on the wrong side (Al told me he would always be on the right so I could find him). Luckily I made friends with this random guy from Brooklyn that brought a bench to stand on (they are regulars so they knew exactly what to expect). He was nice enough to let me stand on it with his daughters. It was great because I could see above everyone.It was kind of like looking through a Where's Waldo book. I must have been really good at finding Waldo because I spotted Al and his dad again.
If you don't see them they are on the far left in both pictures. Unfortunately they didn't see or hear me screaming over the thousands of other spectators.
Our last stop was mile 25 and we found the perfect spot to watch, but once again I was on the wrong side.
There were a few guys running in these orange body suits.
Then there are the people with disabilities that amaze you and made me feel guilty for standing there, but I'm pregnant so I have a good excuse :)
I have no idea how this guy ran in underwear because it was freezing.
Unfortunately Al and his dad split up at mile 18 because a runner stepped on Al's foot that was already hurt before the race. What are the chances of that? When I saw Al IV at mile 25 without Al V I was worried he hurt his foot so I forgot to take pictures. Anyway Al V made it to mile 25 shortly after and he looked great for being in pain.
Congrats to everyone that ran that marathon including Al IV and Al V.
WAY TO GO!!