New York: Part 3

Day 3

The morning started later than the first two mornings.  We ate breakfast and then left the hotel about 10:00.  Jennica recommended our next stop, the New York City Highline.  It is the oldest part of New York City that was originally a train track and where a major part of New York Cities trade and business happened.  Now it is just a beautifully landscaped walkway that allows you to see much of the city from above.  I saw one bird (besides pigeons) the entire time I was in New York, and it was here.   

The building down here were so cool!  I have so many pictures of old buildings!  I won’t bore you with them all. 

All along the Highline there were places to stop and and sit.  Many times the places to sit and rest were over top the city streets. 

A view of Jersey…

Jill and Jen bought ice cream sandwich cookies from a vendor on the Highline…they claim they were the best thing they ate in New York.  They did look really, really good! 

Next we were off some purse shopping on Canal Street and in SoHo.  I am not a “purse person” and I shop out of necessity, so this was not my favorite part of the trip, but an experience non the less!  Shopping with Annie is always a trip, and then in New York City…all I have to say, is hold on tight!!!

We started out following this lady who is walking next to Annie.  She was going to bring us to her secret stash of purses.  I gathered that she was talking us on a rat race, and didn’t want us to buy them from anyone else near her store.  After following her for several blocks, and never producing any purses, Annie got fed up with her, and found another street to shop on.  Long story short, the ladies found purses!

This is what Allison and I (the two most frugal people in the world) did while they were buying purses. Stared at people and took selfies! I actually took this selfie to send to my dear hubby.  I wanted to assure him that I wasn’t spending all his money while he was at home working. 

I also took it as an opportunity to sit back and just observe the city.  I took lots of pictures this day.  Here are just a few that I think scream “New York”.   

All of the store owners got merchandise/food into their stores through these street doors.  I am assuming that because all of the stores are so small, they store all the extra merchandise in the basement.  Every store had one.     

We ended our last full day in New York City eating in Little Italy.  There were so many places to choose from!  My only request was that we pick a restaurant that made their own fresh pasta.  Every restaurant had their menu on a stand outside the door, and a server advertising and trying to entice you into their restaurant.  So much pressure for me.  I am such a people pleaser, so I felt terrible walking away to check another option.  Good thing Annie was there, or I would have walked into the first restaurant I saw. 

The Sangria at this restaurant was SO good! 

All the roads in Little Italy are closed to through traffic, so it feels more like a festival and not so much like the city.  It’s the one place in the city that people walk slow and seem to just enjoy a slower pace. 

I think that locals see it as their job to photo bomb tourist.  We were photo bombed several times, this time by a really funny Italian man, while his wife was taking the picture.  Side note:  see all the black garbage bags?  They are full of purses.  It find it comical that they put them in garbage bags.  They do that, because the sale of them is really illegal.  As if the cops in NYC don’t know what all the women walking with garages bags have been up to all day! 

After dinner we found an Italian bakery and bought a variety of pastries and desserts.  We brought them back to the hotel and sat in the breakfast area with a cup of coffee and relaxed for a couple of hours.  Some of us changed clothes and cleaned up a little bit before heading out for the last night in New York. 

We decided that before we left the city, we needed to see the sky-line at night.  There are many places that you can pay to see the sky-line, but we really didn’t want to have to pay.  So, we took the advise of one of Jen’s friends (Suzanne) who lives in NYC and found a hotel that has a roof top bar.  She knew of one close to our hotel and met us there.  She said that we needed to be very nonchalant and just act as if we were guests at the hotel.  We hopped on the elevator and took it right up to the roof top.  She said she and her friends do it all the time…she is an opera singer and performing off Broadway right now.  Annie treated us all to a drink and Suzanne the view.  It was a prefect way to end our last night in NYC!  

The Empire State Building at night

Back at the hotel for a good nights sleep. 

This was our view from our hotel window…not bad! 

Jill and I took a little walk the morning we left.  We walked down to a near by Starbucks for a coffee.  When we arrived back at the hotel our limo was waiting…that might be the last time I ever say that last sentence.  Limo’s really aren’t all they are cracked up to be.  I don’t get car sick, but by the time we reached the airport I was feeling sick.  Hard to believe, but the airplane sounded good to me!