Day 2 & 3: Bulls, Beauty, Brews, and Buses

Our second day in the City had us sleeping in a little bit later nursing our pains from the first day. We planned to go to a local bakery around the corner from the hotel but got distracted by the idea of dulce de leche pancakes at a diner across the street. Unfortunately, they weren't that good. Next time, I think we'll stick to a bakery. 

After, I dragged Ryan to the Charging Bull in Bowling Green. It's right in the heart of the Financial District and I had been dying to get a picture with it. Why? I couldn't tell you. The guy was huge! While I was taking a picture with his head, other people were taking a picture with his other anatomical parts. 

A couple of metro trains uptown and a brisk walk outside brought us to the Met! The bull wasn't the only big thing that day. Have you ever seen a map for that? It's massive! We spent about three hours there and only got through a couple exhibits. We saw the magic of Rodin, the finesse of Degas, the rolling landscapes of Dahl, and the unique carvings and metal work of armor and arms. 

We took a lovely walk through Central Park to travel back downtown while we waited for Ryan's friend Josh. Josh lives in Yonkers so he took the metro north in to meet us for dinner. My mom had given us a gift certificate to Heartland Brewery while we were down in the City. After Josh checked out our swanky hotel room at Club Quarters, we traveled to Union Square to hit up the Brewery. The food was pretty decent but nothing that you couldn't find at any burger joint. As per Ryan, the beer was nothing special. 

We parted ways with Josh and headed back to the hotel to wait for my mom got back to the NYC. I made it through our weekly Sunday night show and then promptly feel asleep. So much for a big night out. 

Monday, our third and final day, was much too short. We packed and got ready to head back home. I dragged Ryan to the Container Store where I begged for glass containers, much like this one. After another slice of mediocre pizza we picked up our bags and then picked up our bus home in this part of town.

There's a reason I had always heard it referred to as the Chinatown bus. 

Day 1: Brisket, Brooklyn, and Blisters

Our first full day in the City had us ready for a nap at 2:00pm and we woke up at 9:30am. 

After purchasing shorts for Ryan, since it was over 50° today, we headed to the Lower East Side to meet my mom for lunch. Her job today? Watch a man hole and make sure no one went down in it. Sounds rough, right? She was working just down the street from the famous Katz's Deli. Going there at lunch time on a lazy Saturday, we had to elbow some people to get to the counter and find a table. But after all the hustle we enjoyed some fantastic brisket sandwiches and knishes. My mom, not having eaten pork in about eight years, picked up a beef salami, which can be shipped all over the world - not needing to be refrigerated until opened. She's pretty excited about having it when she goes home today.

In case you don't know why Katz's is famous, check out this YouTube clip. 

And there's just the sign there too.

In the same area, Ryan and I found a restaurant supply store. It. Had. Everything. Literally, bowls the size of my husband. We ended up buying a bread loaf pan, a huge grain scoop, and a couple smaller scoops for under $35.00. Check out some of the stuff.

A quick subway ride uptown took us to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum near Times Square. With discounted tickets pre-paid we skipped the line and saved about $9.00. We met schlepped with actors, canoodled with presidents, posed with legends, were terrified by monsters, saw the avengers, and hung out with some great artists. The NYC museum also has a 4D show where you get splashed and poked watching it. It's pretty neat. I would suggest it to folks of all ages. And buy your tickets ahead of time because you can save money on their site. 

Onward we went to Brooklyn, taking the L train to Bedford. After a short walk we saw line. An epically long line for the Brooklyn Brewery. Fast forward through a forty minute wait to get inside the brewery, we find out that there's another line to purchase beer tokens. Then another line to get said beer. If you want to go on a brewery tour, make sure you get a ticket when you first walk in those warehouse doors, otherwise you'll wait some more for the next tour. 

Despite the cool hipster vibe and charming personalities of the Brooklyn Brew Crew, the beer on tap and the tour was a little disappointing. With aching feet, we set off to find the Best Pizza in Brooklyn. I'm not kidding when I say it's the Best Pizza. 

It's not only called Best Pizza but it has the best pizza I have ever had. EVER. With a brick oven, the pizza comes out crispy but chewy with amazing flavor and fresh ingredients. They also make a grandma piece of pie that has the sauce on top of the cheese. The hubbs and I wanted to box this place up and take it home to Troy with us. Literally, if they moved to Troy they would make a killing. I should talk to them about franchise opportunities. Here's what we got:

fresh basil = love

the grandma slice

he literally couldn't wait to try it - that's not your average pepperoni slice

A quick subway ride back to Manhattan and a transfer to downtown led us back to the hotel where we are. Resting our aching, blistered feet and apparently chafed butt cheeks for the past four hours. Too much? Yea, I thought so too. 

But alas, it's 10:00pm in the City that never sleeps and we're hungry. Off we go into the bright lights. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.