garyandpearl

Saturday August 23, 2014

Got up late! Enough said.

We made our way to the edge of Central Park. Destination? The Metropolitan Museum of Art. We spent a few hours seeing a small fraction of the available exhibits. The arms and armor exhibit seemed to be the favorite of the 8 of us. Other favorites were the Egyptian exhibit and European decorative arts. We left the museum as the crowds really started to grow.

We tried to check a few things off of our bucket list today. I have always wanted to visit the Waldorf Astoria in New York. It seemed so glamorous to me as a child, and today we fulfilled that dream. I gracefully entered the hotel through the revolving doors and took a brief tour. The ceilings and walls are so beautifully and elegantly decorated. Al decided that Sam and I must eat some famous Waldorf salad, and so the eight of us sat at a table in the Peacock Alley Lounge and shared a $19 plate of salad. What a memory it was, and what a sight we were amongst the millionaires!! Ask us about the restrooms sometime!!

A visit to New York would not be complete without a visit to Saks on 5th Ave. As the boys headed to the Lego store, the girls entered Saks via the perfume area. Wow!! This area is not for those with fragrance sensitivities!!!! We toured a few floors. The girls each found dresses that had several thousand dollar price tags on them. Laura found one for $11,000. It was gorgeous!! Each designer had his/her own section of the store with their name posted above the area. The elevators had elaborate carvings and embellishments.

By this time we were ready for supper, and what better place to be on a Saturday night than Mulberry Street in Little Italy? The streets were blocked off and there were many vendors selling their wares. We ate at a delightful restaurant called “Amici II Ristorante”. We enjoyed rigatoni, ravioli, fettuccine, penne, spaghetti, gnocchi, and pizza!! This was preceded by delicious fresh bread smothered in garlic and herb soaked olive oil. We smell awesome!!

Afterwards we tried cannoli and deep fried Oreos from the street vendors. It was delicious!!

After photo-bombing some wedding pictures with a professional photographer, we took the subway to Penn Station where we found the Cake Boss Cafe. Keanna enjoyed watching their bakers at work and checking out their products. However, we decided to head to Grand Central Station to purchase some dessert at Juniors. We picked up a strawberry New York cheese cake for bed time snack, and it was very good.

After being up until 2:30 this morning, we were glad to get back to the condo before nine tonight and we were heading to bed by 10.