The Big Apple ... Part Deux

OK, so where was I in my NYC story? Oh yes ... we had just finished having breakfast with my super-cool french parents. After that ... let's see ... oh, of course ... this will be no surprise to you, given my previous confessions of my addiction ... but you know, no trip to Manahattan would be complete without the obligatory frappucino in Times Square. Now, I must tell you that it was cold in Manhattan that day ... I think the high might have been 38. Being from the south, this is indeed very cold. But, as any of my good friends will tell you, it is never too cold for a frappucino. I gladly sipped my frappucino while walked through Manhattan decked out in my wool coat, warm scarf, and red mittens.

This was the perfect occasion to induct Joy into the coffee cozy club.

After our caffeine-infusion, we headed down (via subway) to Soho to take in the boutiques and - we hoped - some star sightings. We hopped into a few shops, including one for designer Catherine Malandrino, whose clothes - I must say - are exquisite. The detail is incredible. If I were wealthy, I would definitely shop there. We also made the obligatory stop at the MAC store (not to be confused with the Apple Store), where we saw their new line of Hello Kitty cosmetics. Yes ... that's right. I said Hello Kitty cosmetics. Who would have ever known??

It was necessary to take a picture of Ann with the gigantic Hello Kitty head in the window.

On the way out of Soho, while we were lamenting the fact that we had not seen any celebrities during our brief jaunt there, our luck changed when, to our surprise, our new BFF Mikhail Baryshnikov passed us on the sidewalk. He looked directly at both me and Joy, as if he were daring us to recognize him. I knew him immediately ... not because I am a ballet fanatic, or even because he once played the golf course I work at, but - sadly - because I had seen him while (in a moment of weakness) watching Sex in the City reruns on TBS. Yes ... I admit it. I have watched that show. And, I kinda liked it ... mostly for the fashion (particularly the shoes). And, I must say that my brush with fame in NYC was on a much bigger (albeit older) scale than my recent brush with fame in Charleston.

After Soho, we made it up to the Upper West Side, to roam around some other boutique-y places and eat a Gray's Papaya Hot Dog. Apparently they are famous. Who knew?? Ann & Joy informed me that the specific Gray's Papaya Hot Dog joint that we visited was the very one in You've Got Mail (you know ... where Tom Hanks & Meg Ryan go to grab a bite to eat before he reveals to her that he loves her). There's nothing more romantic than eating a hotdog and then confessing your love for someone. I mean, really. So ... the whole hot-dog-eating thing can be chalked up (once again) to my whole out-of-the-box in 2009 resolution. I never eat hotdogs, but I ate one for the whole experience, and it wasn't all that bad - not that I'm going to start eating them every week or anything, though!

This sign cracked me up ... the Big Bad Recession even affects hot dog prices!!!
Oh ... and since when do we put the words "gourmet" and "hot dog" in the same sentence??

After our hot dog dinner, we made our way (again, via subway) back to Times Square to pick up our car and head out of the city for Dover, Delaware, to see Ann's brother and his wife. I snapped this photo in the subway ... there was this band playing incredible music for tips. It so much reminded me of the Metro in Paris, where you could always count on seeing talented artists trying to make a living. I could have stood there listening for hours ...

That pretty much sums up our whole adventure in The Big Apple ... I intentionally left out the part about the man who was yelling obscenities while being pinned to the floor by the police in the subway, and the part about the high-speed police chase we witnessed on the New Jersey Turnpike ... oh and also the part about how we realized how bad mapquest directions are after having crossed the same bridge three times within a span of 10 minutes while trying to get out of the city. No need to mention these unpleasant parts of the trip ... let's just remember it for what it was - a super-fun out-of-the-box adventure that I will never regret!