New York, New York

Well, I'm still feeling like poop. But I've downgraded my diagnosis to a cold and determined I'll be fine by the end of the week.  Even so, I'm not sure I'll be able to find the words needed to talk about my long weekend getaway in NYC with Kelly.

So I'll try to do so with photos. Please note, I vetoed an insanely large number of photos from this trip because they were blurry or something is wrong with my camera. It's weird, and I'm sorry, but you'll get over it.

Day One:

The first day of the trip involved waking up at 4am and driving to the airport in Chicago. That is super freaking early. But the flights were crazy cheap so that's what you get. Once in NYC, we made our to our crash pad for the weekend in Queens (Thanks again, Toni!).  Despite being tired, we went the push through it mode of travel and went napless. Opting instead for pizza (sadly not Sbarro's) and a trip to Central Park (I literally just typed "Central Perk" - oh Friends).

That park is huge. In fact, EVERYTHING in this city is huge. I don't feel like I got a full grasp on it's largeness last time. But coming home to Chicago felt small, homey and manageable. (Slap that on a postcard).

This was also the longest (best) day because we headed out to JC (That's Jersey City) for a party with the hugest tree ever. And the best friends ever. And the best DANCE PARTY IN A KITCHEN EVER.

It was a late night.

Day Two:

The second day in the city was spent getting lost on the way to the Brooklyn Flea and then overwhelmed by it's amazingness. There is a whole section just dedicated to food truck type foods. I stuck with a tasty grilled cheese (and later a donut) but my boof Sasha had a famous Ramen burger. 

After the flea, we headed to a German beer hall and soaked in the snowy evening with friendly conversation and beers. All of which I miss dearly.

Day Three:

This is the point where the photos turned to shit. But day 3 was pretty epic. It involved wandering through Chinatown looking at cheap american wares. Which was a little disappointing until I googled a mall where I could buy the most kawaii shit available (if only I was smart enough to buy that creepy Totoro neck pillow!). 

We also met up with some new friends (old friends of Kellys) at this tasty Puerto Rican restaurant, Sofrito. Yum town, party of four.

Day Four:

The fourth and final day was a little intense. We traveled to MoMA after eating at a crazy diner with singing waitstaff in Time Square. The museum was amazing, but overwhelming for day 4. There were aching feet and beautiful exhibits. It was just a lot to take in with so little time left in the trip.

After a few hours gawking at the inspiration. We headed to Rockefeller Center to gawk at the type of inspiration I love most - Christmas. Damn. Dat tree! I took the time to stop in at the NBC store (which was a little lacking this year) and the Nintendo store (which was not) before heading back to Queens to catch our (delayed) flight back home.

And there you have it!  A weekend trip widdled down to a few photos and a few paragraphs. I love it. You love it. Merry Christmas!

Oh god. My cough medicine is kicking in now. (please note I wrote this post last night when I was indeed at home drinking cough syrup. but posted it at work where I'm not. Sadly.)

xoxo

Amanda