Friday, March 16, 2012

Taking a Bite (or Two) Out of the Big Apple - Part 2

My second day in NYC started out perfectly - enjoying a bagel and coffee outside (and people watching).


We decided to walk up to Bryant Park for breakfast, and I had a delicious whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and a vanilla hazelnut coffee.  It's been awhile since I had a bagel and this was ahh-mazing.  


I thought it was cool how these trees were all growing slightly to the left.  Bryant Park is where Fashion Week is held, and while we were there, people were working on clearing out the center area of the park where the tents had been set up, and it looked like they might be planting something right now.  


Bryant Park is right next to the New York public library, and although we didn't go inside this time, I've visited before and it's amazing!  There's nothing quite like a gorgeous, huge reading room with dark wood tables and accents, surrounded by books.  

After breakfast, we walked up Fifth Avenue and did some browsing on our way to get some treats and visit Central Park.  


We got two macarons and split them, but were very excited and forgot to take a picture of the first one.  We went to Macaron Cafe and got a lavender and honey macaron, then to Laduree and got a cherry macaron.  I had a Laduree macaron in Paris and was very excited to get the chance to have another one in NYC.


The cherry macaron definitely won flavor-wise, but the lavender and honey one was so pretty!  It kind of tasted like perfume, though - too much lavender.  


Our view - pretty amazing.  I'm still in awe that Central Park has these huge boulders.  We climbed up on one to enjoy our macarons and soak up some sun - I almost felt like I was at the beach!  


Failed attempt to center us, but at least you can see the boulders we're sitting on.  


After a slice of pizza (it's NYC, pizza is pretty much mandatory, and I had an amazing slice with black olives and mushrooms -so good!), we did some more exploring and went to another store I had been wanting to visit - Joe Fresh.  Joe Mimran is the creator of Joe Fresh, and well-known for launching Club Monaco.  I had my eye on a pair of red jeans I had seen online beforehand, but alas, they were nowhere to be found in the store.  I did get a few tops, though (a gray open-front cardigan, a yellow t-shirt, and a new workout top).  Grand total: $25!   Pretty exciting.  


We had one more treat on our list: Bouchon Bakery.  


I got a ridiculously decadent fluffer nutter cookie - two perfectly crunchy peanut butter cookies with a creamy peanut butter filling.  It was fantastic.


We ate our treats in Rockefeller Center.  I was hoping to spot Tina Fey, but no such luck.

After a day of indulging, lots of walking, browsing, and spending tons of time outside, we grabbed some salads to take with us for dinner on the bus ride home.  I also got some honey-roasted cashews - have you seen those Nuts for Nuts food stands?  I tried some last time I was in NYC and was amazed by how yummy they were, so I couldn't pass up the chance to enjoy some on our trip home.  


I also went home with a new ornament (I collect them from places I visit).  


And I forgot to post this yesterday - I picked up some tea samplers in SoHo the day before:  buttered rum, creme brulee, and "read my lips" (chocolate mint).  Can't wait to try them out!

Overall, it was a fantastic trip and made me fall in love with NYC even more.  Can't wait to go back!  I'm hoping next time I'm there (whenever that might be) I can try out a Physique 57 class.  

This is my last day in DC and then I'm driving home tomorrow.  I've packed a lot in, but the week has flown by!  

Reader question:  Do you collect any specific type of souvenirs when you travel?  I started collecting ornaments while I was studying abroad and I think they're perfect - I get them out once a year and have fun reminiscing while I'm decorating my tree, but I don't have unnecessary clutter out all year long.  

Song of the day:

"Barcelona" by Plastiscines.  They're an all-girl group from France and they're super cool.  I got to see them in DC and although I don't usually drool over girl bands, they were definitely girl-crush-worthy.  


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