NYC: Little Italy

While I'm on holiday in the hot, sunny Shuswap region of British Columbia, I'm sharing more photos from my fabulous trip to New York City this past March. The two vacations couldn't possibly be more different, but I adore them both for so many reasons. I'll tell you more about Sorrento when we're home and settled in again next week, but for now, I give you NYC!

In between an afternoon at Ellis Island and an evening at the Top of the Rock {for a breathtaking night-time view of the city}, we went to Little Italy for dinner. Needless to say, I loved it. It was bustling and noisy and just like something out of a movie. And the food was deeeelicious!

Gelato and goodies galore at Ferrara's

A waiter crossing the street with more chairs for his crowded restaurant

"You come-a in here!"

Our cute waiter

Chicken parmesana to die for  {Amanda's}

I had the canneloni

We picked up dessert from Ferrara afterwards. So, so good!

NYC: Living the high life

While I'm on holiday in the woods by the lake, I've got a few posts scheduled about a different holiday of mine... the trip I took to New York City in March. I can't believe it's been 4 months already since I was there. It's all so clear in my mind, every fabulous little detail!

NYC is known {among other things} for its glamour, and we managed to have a teeny taste of it in our five days there with trips to Tiffany & Co. and the Plaza Hotel.

Tiffany's on the corner of 5th Avenue

Elevators that look like bank vaults

A few little trinkets I indulged in {truth be told, only one of those bags is mine...}

Further up 5th Avenue is the Plaza Hotel

The front entrance is fancy {and we totally recognized it from Home Alone!}

The lobby is too!

My mom took us for drinks in the tea lobby. I could get used to this...

I bought myself a pendant from Tiffany's and kept it in the little blue box for days. Doesn't every girl dream of having one of these?

My current vacation may not be as exciting as the one I spent in NYC {and it is certainly not fancy}, but it's just what I need after a long, stressful couple of months. Sorrento is gorgeous. And a hot, sunny summer holiday where my boys are free to run and play all day, where Alan can finally take a break and have some downtime from his crazy work schedule {and constant list of projects in and around the house} and I can sit by the lake and read books for hours on end? One where every meal is provided and the kids are in summer camp 4 1/2 hours a day? Sounds pretty perfect to me! As for New York, I will definitely be back one day {tied in first place with London for my favourite city in the world}. In the meantime, I've got more photos to share throughout the week... Stay tuned!

Souvenirs

The boys were playing with these on the kitchen table yesterday. I liked the juxtaposition of my two favourite cities' famous modes of transportation side by side.

If only I could hop a double decker or hail a cab right now... In London, I think I'd take a stroll from Trafalgar Square to Covent Garden {where I'd shop for fun stationery, grab a sandwich and a cup of tea, and listen to the street musicians}. In New York, I'd like to wander the Upper West Side and pop into Zabar's for a bagel and cream cheese, then take it to Riverside Park and have a little picnic.

What would you do, given the chance?

The best thing about blogging

I can't believe I missed my blog's 5th birthday! It was on Monday, and I was busy doing our taxes & cleaning out closets & focusing on getting a million things done, and before I knew it, April 16th was over. It was a good, productive day. But there really should have been cake. Because what's a birthday without cake, right? Cake and friends.

Cakes at Magnolia Bakery, Grand Central Station, NYC

I love this little blog. It's become a pretty huge part of my life over the years. It's been a place for me to document my hopes and fears, and thousands of photos of the goings-on of my little family. I love to write and take photos and share all the awesome things I've found online, and to get feedback about the things I've written. But the best part about having a blog is all the amazing friends I have made. I got to spend some time with a few of them on my recent trip to New York City, and I couldn't have been more excited...

The Sunday of our stay in NYC was all about the blog friends! Sunday morning, I headed out to Alice's Tea Cup on the Upper West Side to meet up with my lovely friends, Brandi {who came to visit me in Victoria last July}, and Kayla {whose blog, Exquisite Banana, is a daily-read and one of my very favourites}. We had a delicious brunch and spent several hours talking about pretty much everything over many, many cups of tea, just like old friends. It was perfect.

 I had the breakfast tea... and oh boy! was it ever good!

 Kayla, who is every bit as charming in person as she is on her blog

 Bloggers who brunch

After brunch, Brandi and I hit up a flea market and wandered around a bit, and then made a promise to meet up again soon, maybe on the West Coast next time? I headed for Central Park to meet my mom and Amanda for a horse-drawn carriage tour {yep, we were full-on tourists, and it was so much fun!} When our ride was over, I finally got to meet another dear blogging friend of mine. Karina lives just a few blocks from the hotel where we stayed, and we kept missing each other on our regular trips to Zabar's Deli and the Starbucks at 81st and Broadway, despite being on the lookout for one another constantly! So it was especially exciting when we finally met at Columbus Circle. She brought her adorable son Miguelito along and we all went out for a fantastic Mexican lunch.

 Kary and me at Chipotle, with matching smiles

 Me & Miguelito near Columbus Circle- isn't he a cutie?

I can't say enough good things about Karina. She is just about the nicest person I have ever met, and I can't wait to see her again one day {and New York City! oh, how I miss it...} We had a lovely lunch and lots of fun, and she sent us off in the direction of the Plaza Hotel later in the afternoon {more on that in another post}. We spent the next morning together as well, when she met my mom, sister and I for breakfast, midway between our hotel and her apartment. I still can't get over how close we were to each other! In a city that huge, what are the chances? We didn't have much time, as it was the day we were flying home, but we had a lovely visit over breakfast, and then she took us for a walk to Riverside Park, brought gifts for all of three of us {and for my boys and Amanda's!}, and treated us to cupcakes from Baked by Melissa. She also showed us the gym where Matt Damon works out {alas, despite our best efforts, we didn't actually get to see him...} Thank you, Kary!

A really big breakfast at Sarabeth's on Amsterdam Avenue, before a really long flight home

And thank you, Pughs' News, for filling my life with so many fabulous new friends whom I adore! 

I miss you, girls. Let's do it again soon, shall we?

A few of New York's "must-sees"

I'm pretty sure that every guide book would recommend seeing and doing the following things if you've got just a few days to spend in New York City. We jam-packed our days full of fun, and yes... we did every single one of these touristy things {and enjoyed pretty much every minute}.

1. A Broadway show 

We saw Chicago and  it was fabulous.

Front row balcony, baby!

2. The Empire State Building

 From street level {above}, and from the observation deck on the 86th floor {below}

 The views are breathtaking

But it's a wee bit breezy up there!

3. The Statue of Liberty

 We took the ferry to visit the museum at Ellis Island. There was a quick stop at Liberty Island for some photo opps of the lady herself.

4. Times Square at night

What's that they say about the neon lights on Broadway?

 Oops! Sorry, sis.

Bright as day, 11 o'clock at night.

Next time I'm in New York {oh yes, there will be a next time}, I definitely want to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, and get pizza on the other side at Grimaldi's. I'll be sure to visit the High Line. I'll spend more time in Central Park, and will drink coffee in Bryant Park in the sunshine. I'll wander Chelsea Market and shop the Brooklyn Flea. I'll go to the Shake Shack! And I'll hang out again, and for longer, with my lovely blogging friends {a post on them is still to come, I promise}. But for now, I'll relish all the memories of everything my mom, sister and I did manage to do in those five fabulous days in March.

Have you been to NYC? And did you hit all the tourist hot-spots, too?

NYC: The You've Got Mail Tour

I had a lot of reasons to be excited about the trip my mom, sister and I took to New York City last month. One of them was my great love of the 1998 film, You've Got Mail {I may have mentioned once or twice how much I adore it}, which takes place on New York's Upper West Side. Well, it just so happens our hotel was in the neighbourhood and I had a marvellous time searching out and photographing just about every film location I could think of! Won't you join me on a tour of Kathleen Kelly's and Joe Fox's New York?

First up is Café Lalo, where Kathleen waits to finally meet her online love, Mr NY152.

Imagine my delight when we walked past Café Lalo our first evening in NYC, purely by coincidence!

Me! Sitting in Kathleen's spot!

Zabar's Deli {where Joe and Kathleen bump into each other at the checkout} was a block and a half from our hotel. We went to stock up on bagels and cream cheese on a regular basis.

Kathleen tries to avoid Joe

 We could actually just see Zabar's from our hotel room window

"The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee... So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on Earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self. Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino!" - Joe Fox

A favourite hangout of the main characters is the Starbucks at 81st and Broadway

My lovely sister indulges my enthusiasm for the movie and poses in front of the very same Starbucks

 Verdi Square, from the beginnging of the movie when Kathleen and Joe pass each other on the street

Autumn in the movie

 Springtime in real life

At Gray's Papaya near the end of the movie {they're finally friends, and falling in love, though Kathleen still doesn't know that Joe is NY152}

These two are just so adorable together, aren't they?

 Sunday morning, not open yet

This was probably my favourite spot to visit, Kathleen's brownstone apartment on 89th Street! Isn't it pretty?

Again, autumn in the movie

 Springtime for me

Finally, the 91st Street Garden in Riverside Park. I walked from Kathleen's apartment to this very spot, just like she does at the end of the movie. It made my sentimental heart so happy...

A lot bloomier in the summertime

But definitely the same spot. And see? Pretty happy!

all film captures via warner bros/starbucks collage via here

Scenes of Central Park

It's been a beautiful weekend here so far {don't you just love a four-day weekend?} We've spent much of it outside, gardening and watering flowers, washing the van and having an impromptu water fight! Tomorrow's Easter egg hunt should be pretty much perfect, with blue skies and lots of sunshine.

The only thing we still need to do on this gorgeous spring weekend {maybe Monday?} is go on a picnic. I love a good picnic, don't you? And now that I've been to New York, when I think of picnics, I can't help but think about Central Park. Next time, we'll go in the summer. And we will picnic up a storm. In the meantime, enjoy these  recent photos and imagine yourself there, picnic basket in hand. That's what I'm going to do.

 Happy Weekend! And Happy Easter, if you celebrate it. May the sun shine down on your part of the world, and here's hoping the bunny fills your basket with oodles of mini-eggs.