Easter Parade!

New York has a parade for everything.  I had planned on spending the day catching up on homework but when I found out that the Easter Parade was going on just a few blocks from my apartment, I had to take a break and go check it out.  It was hardly worth it!

All it consisted of was people walking down 5th Avenue in their homemade Easter hats.  There were some crazy hats-don't get me wrong-but there was no formal processional or anything.  If I would have known this, I would have made a hat!

The girls above had boys in line to take pictures with them all afternoon!  All they did was put on cute dresses and make matching hats and suddenly they were celebrities for the day!

Yep, definitely making a hat next year....

Empire State Building-Best thing yet!

I've been wanting to go the Empire State Building since I got here in December.  No one ever wants to go with me but my mom promised she would accompany me on my journey.  We had heard that if you go early in the morning, you can beat the lines.  We ignored that and went late at night.  I wanted it to look just like the scene in Sleepless in Seattle--so of course we had to go at night! There was hardly a line--we ended up waiting for about an hour total but that included both elevator rides up to the 86th floor.  You could pay more and go to the 102nd floor, but we figured 86 was high enough.

When we finally got to the top, it was magical.  I finally got to see "the lights" as they were meant to be seen.  Everyone up there was in awe.  It was one of my most favorite moments of New York.

It's Springtime in New York!

When the sun comes out in New York, this place is a whole different city! People come out of their hibernation and actually start interacting with each other! The flowers are in full bloom and suddenly the place doesn't look dirty anyone--it looks absolutely beautiful.

When my mom came to visit, we took a bus tour with GrayLine tours (located in Times Square-1560 Broadway) so that we could see all of the city without having to walk as much.  While some parts of the tour were lame (depending on who your guide was) we really enjoyed getting to see so much in so little time.  We rode down to Wall Street and found this beautiful little garden.  It's the oldest garden in New York and it was put here by the Dutch.  The tulips were so beautiful, we just had to get off the bus and take a picture!

Last Weekend in Brooklyn

The weather is finally nice--thank goodness!  My roommate and I decided to go for a walk by the water since the temperature had hit 70 degrees.  We started at the bottom of Brooklyn--on 100th Street and 3rd Avenue.  We walked all the way up to 77th street where we found an amazing pier that you could see the city from.  I had to be a tourist and take a picture pinching the Statue of Liberty!

There were many people jogging, biking, playing with their kids--it was a great day to be outside.  What amazed me the most was how far I can walk now and not be worn out!  We walked from 100th Street up to 70th Street and back down to 100th Street and I didn't even complain! I guess I finally have gotten broken into the city.

This weekend we moved to 36th Street and 7th Avenue in MANHATTAN! It's pretty much real estate heaven.  Pictures will soon follow with awesome stories about living in THE CITY!

Carmine's-A Place Everyone Can Love

For the most part, I try to try new things every chance I get.  However, Carmine's keeps calling me to revisit.  It's an excellent, semi-fancy Italian restaurant in Times Square.  My sorority advisor, Heather Adams, took my friends and I here on our first night in NYC.  Since then, I've taken everyone who has come to visit me to Carmine's.

It's "family-style," so you get a HUGE plate of food (enough for 4-6 people) for $25.  It's REAL Italian food and it's delicious!  Carmine's is right in the middle of the Theater District, so it's a perfect dinner option to try before a Broadway play.  I made reservations for when my mom and her sisters are coming up in April & I don't have to be nervous about whether they will like it or not because I really think it's a place everyone can love.

I feel bad for people who have to wait in line....

I've found the secret (or not so secret) way to enjoy New York nightlife: KNOW SOMEONE!

A co-worker of mine has a friend who is a club promoter.  This means he gets paid to invite his friends to awesome nightlife spots.  We recently attended the opening of the Hudson Terrace-a new rooftop club overlooking the river.  It was freezing outside & I was so relieved when our whole group of about 10 people (guys and girls) got to bypass the huge line & ride right up to the top of the roof and then receive our own lounge area free of charge.  We had a fun time feeling like VIPs.

 I also learned a new clubbing word.  Apparently, if you describe a club as a "zoo," that means there are a lot of random people there.  Hudson Terrace was definitely a zoo--a mix of old, young, foreign, cute people, not cute people, etc.

The decor was cute-white couches, curtains, small tables, and a huge dance floor.  It will definitely be more fun in the summer when it will be open air.

An AOII Day in NYC

AOII was founded at the Barnard College library in 1897 by 4 incredible women.  Every year, all the AOIIs in Manhattan get together to celebrate Founder's Day at the beginning of the new year.  I was VERY excited to be able to join this outing and see where AOII was founded.

The day started off with the famous New York brunch.  We enjoyed ours at the Arte Cafe on West 76th street.  There are many cute cafes all over the city that offer excellent brunch menus accompanied by unlimited mimosas and champagne.  Ours was no let-down.  I enjoyed a HUGE waffle and was able to network with fellow AOII New Yorkers.  They even let me read a portion of the Founder's Day message.

After a wonderful brunch, we rode the subway up to 116th street to Barnard College only to find that THE LIBRARY HAD BEEN TORN DOWN!! But we took a picture at the entrance anyway.

Even though the library wasn't there, it was still a magical day for me knowing that the AOII founders had walked on the same sidewalks I walked on!