Our first task was to check into our funky loft apartment in Midtown & do some grocery shopping to fill the cupboards. The apartment was gorgeous, quality furnishings & linen....just typically New York! (translate: small) Some homemade pumpkin soup & warm rolls later & it was time to head to JFK to pick up Bec.
Firstly the estimated 45 minute subway ride took over an hour & a half (due to traffic - huh?) so we ran into the arrivals hall about 10 minutes late. The place was empty. The baggage carousel wasn't even going around anymore so a quick check of the board & sure enough her flight was EARLY!! When does that ever happen?? Well, after an hour of pacing, going upstairs, going downstairs, asking at information (damn privacy laws!!) & finally convincing some poor, harangued lady at the first class check in counter to page said missing person......still nothing!! Uh-oh......we hadn't even met up with Bec yet & we had lost her!
After over an hour we started to think..."Hmmm, maybe she arrived early, saw we weren't there & got a cab into the city?".....so back onto the subway we got & back to the apartment. BUT there was no Bec at the apartment. By now panic had set in so all I could do was sit in the lobby of the apartment building & wait. Over 3 hours after she was due I finally saw Bec pull up in a shuttle van outside & we spent the next 5 minutes jumping around & squealing on the sidewalk (yes, I did just say sidewalk!!). What a relief :)
So we all settled into the apartment, happy to be one big happy family again, & bec & I talked & giggled into the wee hours. Next morning there was a knock on the door....Shawn had arrived too!! You guessed it, more squealing & jumping around (mostly from me) & the last member of the family was here. The adventure could now begin.
First stop was Times Square. I will never get tired of the sight of Times Square. SO many annoying tourists though ;) Actually it wasn't too bad. We were accosted about every 5 steps by some other random asking us if we "like comedy??". "Of course" we would answer, "We're Australian!". So 4 x $10 tickets later we were promised a great night out...oh, & did I mention happy hour with $3 cocktails?? Sweet, activity 1
booked!
The next couple of days were spent walking around the city, drinking lots of Starbucks, shopping, visiting Borders at Penn Station (Note: the most disgraceful excuse for a store I have ever had the displeasure of shopping in!), eating & shopping some more. We also traipsed across town to the Dakota Building, You see, Bec had make the fatal mistake of uttering possibly the most unbelievable statements I have ever heard....."Who is John Lennon?" What the?? How is it possible to live in the 20th or 21st centuries & not know who John Lennon is? Now, Bec will probably regret that phrase for the rest of her life (you can just imagine the curry she got for many, many days to come) but it did mean that we had to go to the Dakota Building to show her where the legend died.
A brief walk in Central Park & it was time to go back to the apartment to defrost, literally. We did have fun that night though when we decided to order pizza online. Not only could we order it online & have it delivered, we could watch the live progress of it online & it only took 25 mins from the order being place to it arriving on our doorstep. Impressive.
So the shopping continued.....5th Ave with Victoria's Secret, Tiffany & Co, Henri Bendel, Trump Tower....& the list goes on! We even managed to to fit in some 2am shopping at Macy's...cos you can! By the way, I love Macy's.....in a slightly unhealthy way & I love even more that as an International Visitor you get a 10% discount card. Woot!! Another thing I forgot to mention was the most amazing hot chocolate I have ever tasted.....on the top floor at Tiffany's of all places. They had a table set up with blue tablecloths, blue napkins, blue iced Christmas cookies & cups of homemade hot chocolate....all served on a silver platter. Delicious!
Oh, & how could I forget Bloomingdale's & their fabulous, FREE facials!! Bec & I enjoyed being pampered & preened while the boys looked on. Andrew, however, made the fatal mistake of sitting in an empty chair at the Clarins counter & before he could blink a busty, Hispanic woman had lathered up his face with cleanser & was talking to him about dry patches & a skin care regime!! Priceless ;)
Next on the list - one last day with the Char's, some comedy & Christmas.....New York style.
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