New York!

For Christmas, Daniel "gave" me a weekend trip to New York. The catch? It was for just the two of us, Carver had to stay at home.

It was difficult for me to agree to leave him for the very first time. Really difficult. But, I knew that Daniel and I would have an incredible time, just the two of us, and that an opportunity like this would not happen again for a really, really, long time.

So, about a week ago we kissed the boy goodbye and headed off to the airport. We arrived in New York on Friday afternoon and got settled into our hotel. Which was right in Times Square and super nice. After settling in we explored the surrounding area a bit, sampled some street food, and headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

The view from our hotel room-- Friday

Times Square

Street Food!

Empanadas

For our first night we followed a recommendation from our concierge and went to the Italian restaurant, Tramonti, on "restaurant row" not a far walk from our hotel. The restaurant was very good, and non-kid-friendly, which was perfect. The interior was dimly lit, with dark wood floors and beams, white linens, and excellent food-- we loved it. The exterior had some random, sort of breezeway of sorts added with a somewhat tacky yellow sign that seemed so out of place with the style of restaurant. But, otherwise it was a great choice. We had bruschetta, salad, and pizza (of course).

After dinner we grabbed a taxi and headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We had about 2 hours until closing and I could have literally spent the entire day there. We headed directly to the most important areas-- Greek and Roman sculptures, medieval art and artifacts, etc. It is an enormous and absolutely incredible museum. I think Daniel even liked it.



On Saturday morning we woke up to falling snow and freezing temperatures. We bundled up and braved the elements in search of FAO Schwarz. We did a little shopping for the boys, found a Starbucks, and explored the incredible shopping establishments.

The view from our hotel-- Saturday

Lunch was at Junior's (also a recommendation). They had really good sandwiches, burgers. etc.

I really love places that bring out random starters. Here it was pickled onions and beets, and slaw with pickles.

Creative parking solution...

After lunch we rested at the hotel for a bit before getting ready for our last night out. On Saturday night we ate dinner at Stecchino, a bistro in Hell's Kitchen. Another not-kid-friendly establishment. We had salad, pork chop (me), ribs (Daniel), and a chocolate tart for dessert. It was fabulous.

Heading out to dinner and the show.

My grilled pork chop with potatoes, spinach and cherry peppers.

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart

After dinner we walked across the street to see Wicked! The seats were about 3 rows from the front in the orchestra section and they were expensive but oh-so-worth-it. I loved the show, absolutely loved it.

Our hotel is behind the sign-- the tall building in center (top) of picture.

Sunday we headed home. Which I was actually a little sad about. I was super excited to see Carver but I sort of wished I had agreed to one more day in NYC. Our flight home was great-- we flew business class and I am now convinced that it is the only way to fly :)

Just look at this view on Sunday-- it was a gorgeous day. Seriously, I almost begged Daniel to stay one more day.

I am so grateful to Daniel for setting up this extravagant gift. It was so much fun to be a "couple" again and not just parents. (Though I don't plan to leave Carver again for a really long time). It was a perfect trip, an incredible memory, and I am so incredibly thankful for that time we got to spend together.

I'm already daydreaming about where we should go next :) In a year or so...