Central Park magic!

Ok, Let me be completely honest here... Since living in NYC (and moving away) I have been so excited to blog about my FAVORITE place in the city... CENTRAL PARK. However, each time I would try and start, I got stuck. Today I finally decided enough was enough.... 

As much as I love the energy and buzz of New York City, it gets a little overwhelming and exhausting the longer you stay. There are the people bustling down the streets at all times of day and night, the honking, the yelling, the subways crammed full of people. I love Central Park because it's an oasis of relaxation right in the middle of the city hustling on around it. 

There are heaps of things to do here in the Park everyday. You can run, layout, take a walk, take a bike ride, grab an ice cream from the street vendor, hit up the Zoo, go Ice Skating, watch for wildlife, look at the memorial for John Lennon, go swimming, take a carriage ride.... all in a breathtakingly beautiful atmosphere

For me, I did most of my long runs for my marathon training in Central Park. I created quite the bond with my surroundings running miles through the trees each weekend. I knew I loved Central Park the first time I stepped into it and I knew I would miss it the last time I left it. 

It represents strength, love, beauty and community. Each time I ran, I saw something new and different and each time I left I felt renewed and happy.

Even when Geoff and I would come to lay out in the summers afternoon, it was always a wonderful time. Central Park is one of those places that when I think of it, it makes my heart sing! 

Failed run and cupcakes

Ok, so I'm going to be honest here... I'm really good at getting my training runs in. However, sometimes a run just isn't meant to be. I've had them before and this one was no different.

I had a busy weekend planned. Apartment hunting in Detroit on Saturday, catching the evening flight to Seattle to visit with Geoff's family, flying home to New York on Tuesday and then back to work on Wednesday. I decided to move my long run (6 miles) to Friday. Normally, I would lace up, head into the city and get my miles in around Beautiful Central Park. Since we have this move coming soon, I decided to finally hit up another park I was looking to run in. It was between Riverside Park and Hudson River Park.

I chose to run Hudson River Park... and it was not such a good idea. I am not quite sure what I really expected from this run except a green pretty park, with great views of the Hudson. Instead what I got was a slab of concrete running along a road, occasionally the river, past graffiti, buildings and more buildings. There was also two different sides, one for "bikers and rollerbladers" and one for the runners/walkers. I ended up running on the bikers path because all the walkers pretty much meant tourists and good luck trying to really run weaving in and out of people.

I decided to start at the top of the park (59th street) and run until I reached Battery Park. I officially started my run in this park.


I was pretty happy as I passed the Intrepid!

I started to see less river and more this...

I passed a pretty tree covered pier and then it all fell apart after that.

To be completely honest, I will be shocked if I actually got 3 miles in. It's not that this park was really so horrible but for me, compared with Central Park (which is beautiful and a pleasure to run miles and miles in) it was boring and I was really struggling.

So, when I saw a street sign for Perry, I jumped off the Park trail and headed to see something else that was on my list to see before I left NYC.

I love Sex And The City. I had to look up where "Carrie's Stoop" was located. The article I read also gave SJP's address. (Pictured here) Not only is she a girl after my own heart, but also grew up in Cincinnati. (YAY Homegirl!) The address it gave was just around the corner and SJP (sorry for being a stalker) but if this is your brownstone.. I am one jealous girl! Gorgeous.

I recognized the stoop right away and I was glad to see that I wasn't the only sucker there taking photos. (There were about 5 other people when I got there).


Of course, as I left and tried to find my way back to the park to finish my run, I can across Magnolia Bakery. I caved, bought two cupcakes and ran to the subway so Geoff and I could eat them once I got home.


Sometimes a run just isn't meant to be. Mine was a HUGE Fail, however, the cupcakes were not. Delicious! :)

Tropical Oasis in Manhattan- New York

This is one of the many reasons I love New York City... you never know what you are going to find on any street, at any time.



Geoff and I were walking to dinner and we pass Rockefeller Center- which we have passed many many times. I look down the way and see this wonderful Tropical Oasis set up for everyone to enjoy.


A little bit of tropical for the hot hot city summer.

Museum of Natural History- NYC

We finally did it! This was pretty much the top thing Geoff and I wanted to do before leaving NYC (Yes, I know, we are DORKS! I'm OK with that fact)... we went to the Museum of Natural History! YAY.
(Isn't the stop from the subway so cute?!? You can access the museum straight off the B subway)

We had a lot of fun in this museum, 4 floors and a few hours of exploration and we pretty much covered the majority of it. We opted to splurge for the planetarium show 'Journey to the Stars' to start our day, which was very cool, before heading to the Dinosaurs exhibit and working our way down.

I really think this is a 'must see' for anyone coming to New York (especially with kids). It's just a really fun way to spend the day and you get a lot of exercise from walking around. :)
Here are our photos from the day-






Geoff was really excited that they had a dinosaur named after Edmonton (his hometown in Canada). I wanted to know where the "Cincinnatisaurus" was! Didn't anyone ever find dinosaurs in Ohio??? (haha)









Entry is $16 but they also take whatever 'donation' you can afford. I hear that if you come for the last hour you can also get in for free- but you will not get to see everything in one hour, the museum is much too big. (so maybe just head upstairs and check out the dinosaurs- best exhibit there!)

Serendipity- NYC

So back in 2005, my friends Courtney, Anne and I wanted to try the Frozen Hot Chocolate in Serendipity (Yup, like in the movie Serendipity- don't hate, I am a closet John Cusack fan). The wait then was 3 hours. 3 hours??? We couldn't do it, it was January, cold and we had more touristy things to do and see. Fast forward to July 2010. Geoff and I spend the afternoon in Central Park and decided to give it a go. We arrived and were told the wait was 1.5 hours. We were hungry so we ran across the street for some NYC pizza (apparently cooking pizza in a coal oven is the NYC way). After we finished, we walked right back across the street and got right in for desert.


Serendipity could be called a tourist trap. Long waits, $8.50 per person minimum and a small and cramped inside.

The menu is huge but we were only there for the desert (I've read mixed reviews on the food). The special is the Frozen Hot Chocolate and let me say that I personally thought it was worth the wait. We also ordered the Trader Wic’s: pineapple coconut which was also really tasty and was a great balance to all the chocolate in the other.

While I think close to $20 is a lot for desert, this is NYC and it was fun to finally get this tourist stop checked off my list. We were pretty happy to end the hot day with some cold yummy drinks!

Rooftop Bars- NYC

On a beautiful summer night, there is nothing better than gathering with a few friends and heading for a drink or two especially when that drink overlooks New York City from one of it's many rooftop bars. With heaps of choices around the city, we decided to try 230 Fifth which has close views of the Empire State Building. It has a penthouse lounge and rooftop bar which is open year round.

After standing in line for about 20 minutes, we were looked over by the bouncer (dress code enforced) and pointed in the direction of the elevator. One good thing about this bar is there is no cover charge. You enter into the lounge area with huge windows and ceiling to floor views of the buildings around you. Be careful where you choose to sit, some of the seating is for bottle tables only which will run you $250. Head up the stairs and outside to the rooftop bar area where you can find great views of the city along with enough palm trees to make you feel like you are somewhere in Florida. The music is blaring, the place is packed and the drinks are... well... expensive. This is NYC, what else do you expect? (Location is everything right? That should explain the $12 vodka cranberry?) We even found a table to sit at that didn't have a bottle and price tag attached.

Is this the best rooftop bar in the city? Probably not, but it was an enjoyable night and I would highly suggest checking it out if you are in the city and at a loss for where to go.













Having friends come to visit gives us all a good excuse to try places we haven't been before. Sad that we only have a few more months enjoying New York City!