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| It’s probably not a bad thing that this is the only middle school photo I had access to. |
I apologize for being MIA the past couple of weeks. Last week, my childhood friend, Ricky, came to New York for a wedding (I wish I had some awkward middle school dance photo to insert into this post, but I only have a group shot from our eighth grade retreat in North Carolina…). Since he’d never been to New York City before, he decided to extend his trip from a short weekend to a week. I didn’t waste any time playing tour guide! After he had settled in, I gave him a taste of this fine city with a trip to the original Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. Not only is Shake Shack a deliciously fun experience, but it’s also a great way to hit up some of New York City’s best landmarks – Grand Central Terminal, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and the Flatiron Building.
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| Holding up the milkshake didn’t have the same effect… |
It was late (and of course the line was long), so we just ordered a chocolate milkshake and a ShakeMeister Ale from Brooklyn Brewery. While Ricky and I went to middle school and high school together, we probably haven’t seen each other since Halloween four years ago. We had a lot of catching up to do!
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| Tourists! |
The next morning, we visited Rockefeller Center. Unfortunately, the NBC Studio Tour is closed until early 2015, but we were able to take a historical tour of the buildings on the property and visit Top of the Rock (one of my Top 3 Favorite Places in NYC). The tour was extremely informative and entertaining. Our guide, Brooks, taught us all about the Rockefeller Family and the drama that went down between the family members during the construction of the Rockefeller Center buildings. Basically, John D. Rockefeller (who was extremely traditional) butted heads with his wife, Abby, over the types of artwork she chose to decorate the buildings with. He wasn’t a fan of all the modern art and nakedness, but we all know the saying – happy wife, happy life. Abby got her way! After learning so much on the tour, I’d love to read biographies on Abby and John Rockefeller. Their philanthropic and entrepreneurial ventures are fascinating!
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| Top of the Rock |
Later in the week, I dragged Ricky along to aerial yoga at The Om Factory at Union Square. While I don’t do it as often as I’d like, I think aerial yoga is a lot more challenging and more fun than regular yoga. We got to hang upside down and do flips! I could do shavasana (corpse pose) in a hammock all day/every day, let me tell ya! We topped off the evening in true, New York fashion – ordering takeout from Seamless and watching a movie.
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| chilling in my aerial yoga hammock |
The highlight of the week was getting to experience the Book of Mormon. I’ve been wanting to see this show for almost three years now (since I was living in Atlanta!), and Ricky made it happen! Over a casual conversation with a new friend I work with, I discovered that her main gig is acting in this show! My friend, Marja was absolutely amazing on stage (as was the entire cast), and it was so neat to witness someone I know perform on Broadway. After the show, we got to slide past the metal barriers, go through the stage door, and get a behind the scenes look at a Broadway show…after getting Ben Platt’s autograph! That evening made the list of My Top 10 Coolest NYC Moments.
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| Book of Mormon Fun! |
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| “I’m like Tinkerbell, Finn. I need applause to live.” – Rachel Berry |
I left Ricky and the Big City behind on Friday in order to travel down to Atlanta for two weddings. Drama and adventures ensued, so check back later this week for my weekend recap!
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