Wednesday in NYC

By now, we're getting the hang of the subway and Melia is our official pathfinder. Once we get out of the subway station, it's hard to know exactly where we are and what direction to walk, so Mel plugs stuff into her phone and helps us find our next destination. The longest ride to upper west side is about 40 minutes from Liz's place. It's only about 15 min to Financial District. Other places are in between. The shopping really began on Wednesday. We hit 5th Avenue and there was a Zara, H & M, Forever 21, Bloomingdales, Saks, Tiffany, FAO Schwarz (huge toy store), American Girl Store, and (drum roll please) Dylan's Candy Bar. That's all Melia wanted to see.

We had arranged for a pedicab ride through central park on Wednesday, too. We had great guides. They took us around for over an hour. They took pictures of us and told us great stories. It was another highlight. Worth the money.

Now, we had to go to Bloomingdales and there was a story behind that. On Tuesday night, we went to eat dinner at Avlee, a Greek restaurant in Liz and Jeff's neighborhood. It was delicious. When we had barely sat down in a pretty empty restaurant, a lady and her gentleman friend sat right next to us. The woman began to bark orders to the server, telling him that she's friends with the owner's mother in law and to have the owner come say hello. She had a very strong NY accent. At one point, I called Kamiko and just sat the phone on the table so he could hear her talk. She talked on the phone with someone and was loud. Near the end of our meal, she engaged in conversation with us. We found out that she had lived in Las Vegas and "worked in the industry as a dancer" for years. She asked us how we liked NY and we told her we were loving it. She cautioned us to be careful and for me and Keenan to "watch out for your girls." Then she asked what we had planned for the day. When we said 5th Ave, she said to the girls: "You gotta go to Bloomingdales. How much money does your fathah have?" She was a character. We parted. She said "God bless and say hello to Donny and Marie for me." That was a very memorable dinner. I can still hear her in my head. If only voices could be transferred via written word.

Melia and Allie finding their twins at the American Girl Doll Store

Waiting for our pedicab

Allie and Melia settling in for an hour tour of Central Park

The only picture of all of us, taken by our pedicab driver

Melia plays the Big Piano in FAO Schwarz

 

Barbie is so fabulous that she has her own section in FAO Schwarz

Picture taken just for Rachel. How glam are these barbies?! Even the backdrop is a gorgeous view!

At Dylan's, I learned I'm not the only crazy one who likes circus peanuts and tootsie rolls. Billy Crystal does, too.

finishing the day with laundry. Clean clothes coming soon!