New York, part 1

Ok, let's get going on my enormous photo pile! First things first - I went with Lena and Dagmar, and we stayed at the Bedford Hotel which was right near Grand Central Station. Great location really - we found that it was easy to get to, easy to get to where we wanted, and the area felt safe in general. The first night was super cold, so we all bought warm pajamas and blankets, and got them to turn up the heat. Other than that, we were happy.


Our ride from the airport

We took a shuttle from the airport. I expected a mini-bus, but ended up in this - a huge, white Hummer limo. Complete with flashing lights and make-out music. It felt surreal but was kind of fun.


The Chrysler building - just a few blocks from us.


Lena, I and Dagmar, at Rockefeller Center

Main purpose of the trip? Shopping. Just shopping. And eating, but that took a backseat to... shopping. I really, REALLY recommend going to Woodbury Commons Outlet, if you're as shopping-minded as we were. We had a great time. You need to take a bus there, but it was well worth it for us.


Lena, with most of our bags at Woodbury Commons.


Yummy - Cherry Yogurt Parfait, and Peppermint Mocha Latte.

As for food - well, we all agreed to skip fine dining on this trip. We did want to eat at several places, but ended up eating pretty much where we were, rather than making trips across town. (Like I said, shopping came first!) We had breakfast at Starbucks twice, at Dunkin Donuts, and at Lily's which was a pretty expensive restaurant attached to a hotel. Overpriced for sure (at least their breakfast menu) - but tasty pancakes. Service was just ok - we waited for a long time. Sadly, we had to do that at the majority of places we went.


Lena's French Toast at Lily's.


My pancakes.

We ate at several other places - but let me tell you about some of them in another post!