NYC Part Dos: West Village Festival, Amazing Indian Grub, Secret Bar Crawl and SMALL World

Hope you’re not bored with my NY trip yet! :) Thanks for your sweet comments – here’s my second and final post about NY!! And BTW - I forgot to tell you something COOL! Tyson had hooked up his upstairs neighbor/co-worker before by letting him use his place when he was out of town. So, you guessed it, we were in his neighbor’s place (i.e. our own bed, bathroom, etc.) all weekend! Don’t get me wrong, I love some Tyson and obvi it would have been FINE, but a private bath is like OMG godsent. Anywho, backing up to Saturday…

We got up around 10, split the leftover half of my gyro from the night before, and headed out for coffee and a diet pepsi! When we were leaving the coffee shop we bumped into Tyson’s friend Micah from the night before! So funny! She told us that there was a festival down the block, so we walked over and low and behold – Austin, who had noticed the “beer truck and big flag” the day before, was right – a festival was starting and we were the first ones there! AMAZING! We were there for the welcome, the star spangled banner and were able to visit the booths and talk with the designers, artists, etc. before it got all crowded – I officially fell in love with the West Village.

Smoothie stop!

Me walking through - love the big flag! We got lots of video.

cheeseballs

Loved all of the puppers around!


And to think this place was on the same block as Tyson’s apartment – WOW! We walked around, bought some happies for our family, saw the building at Barrow/Grove that was shown in Friends when they show the outside of Monica's building, visited 75 1/2 Bedford Street (NY's narrowest house where Carey Grant and others stayed!), bought two pillows for our home and had a FABULOUS TIME.

Early on at the festival

The first of many bands of the day - this one was SO cute! Amazing clarinet player!

We walked around a bit and had to take a picture at Bleeker Street Pizza since I practically lived off of it while there!

Austie at the festival

Me in front of where they shoot the outside of Monica's apartment from Friends

We split a lemonade and then Tyson came to meet us around 4 for Indian food at Karahi! We each got a lunch special, served with Nan and my favorite – basmati rice! I got the Murg Shahi Korma, chicken in mild sauces and almond gravy. Austin got the Murg Moiley, chicken in coconut milk/curry spices. We absolutely loved it – fantastic!

Loved how it was nestled in between the buildings!

Yay - Tyson finally stopped working to join us!

Me leaving the Indian place - Austin was taking pics of me while I was filming!

It got c. r. o. w. d. e. d.

After lunch I went back to the apartment, had a cookie, and read/took a nap. Meanwhile Austin and Tyson got a GREAT 4-person table at the festival, Mark met up with them and they began having a few drinkies. Around 8 I met up with them, had some wine and a slice of pizza (Bleeker Street again!).

Can you believe this is the same area?! It got so packed and no one wanted to leave!

Then the four of us met up with Tys’s friend Paige at McSorley’s Old Ale House. Very cool – the city’s oldest bar! (i.e. 1854). We had a few beers (they give you two at a time!

Me and Austin at McSorley's

See what I mean - each "beer" is two little mugs, usually "a light and a dark." It's like the capital of double-fisting. Mark had fun pretending to taint them all.

Austie outside on a barrel - where else would he sit?


After the bar, we were off to Please Don’t Tell. Basically it’s a small hotdog spot, but if you use the phone booth it takes you to a speakeasy bar. However, there were 5 of us and they had no room, so we left to hit up another secret bar - Backroom. This one was really cool… like there was NO WAY to know this bar was there. Then you realize the guys standing at the top of the stairs are bouncers. You show them your I.D., walk down the stairs, walk about 30 - 50 feet through a hallway, up more stairs and you’re in this HUGE speakeasy bar that serves its drinks in coffee mugs with saucers. Nice!

Me and Austin in Backroom - not that you can tell as I look naked and we could be anywhere! LOL


The music was good and I loved the décor! It was just a little too packed for my taste – I wanted a chair! LOL We stayed there for a while, and then headed over to Grandma’s Basement – really cool – decorated like all 70’s with wood paneling and polyester – pretty funny!

Mark, me, Austin, Paige and Tys at Grandma's Baement

It was just WAYYYYY too crowded. We had a beer and then called it a night, getting in a cab, hitting up Bleeker Pizza (again!) and then going back to the house! I ended up at 2,412 calories, 256 carbs, 67 fat grams and 57 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Sunday we slept in until 11, packed/showered and headed over to another really cute deli for brunch. I had a roasted tomato, salami and mozzarella flatbread. I split it with Austin – fab! We walked around, hit up American Apparel and some other small shops and then I hear, “Kelly… Kelly!” It’s Katja! (the girl I met in Punta Cana from Germany!) She is on a double decker tour bus – I kid you not – and she happened to be at a stop sign at the intersection by us! We stood by her and chatted for a bit (i.e. yelling at each other) – then her light turned green and she was off! It’s officially a small world after all! Before we knew it it was 1 p.m., time to say good bye! We left and I was so sad to go – what a great visit! We headed to the airport, had a slice of pizza, boarded the plane, I finished a book (book review tomorrow!) and then got home to our little Reuben! Reunion – yay! We unpacked, ran laundry and got ready for the next day – me back at work and Austin’s first day at the new job- WOO! Whirlwind! I ended up at 1,232 calories, 117 carbs, 47 fat grams and 58 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

That pretty much ended my trip!! Tomorrow I’ll post a book review for Joanne Fluke’s Fudge Cupcake Murder – adorable! I’m not reading another Lucy Stone Mystery by Leslie Meier, Turkey Day Murder! These little murder mysteries are awesome!

What’s your favorite “small world” story? I LOVE small world stories – I’ll have to tell you another funny one from a few years back tomorrow!

Ever been to a “secret” bar?

NYC Part Uno: Biergarten, Sightseeing, Shopping and a 30th Birthday Celebration

Thank you all for your comments, advice and thoughts on our trip to NY!! You ROCK!! We are back in town now and had SUCH a blast. I miss the West Village.... I miss it a lot!! Backing up...

So Thursday was pretty much travel, getting picked up by Tyson’s car service, seeing his awesome place for the first time – LOVE IT! He’s like RIGHT at Hudson & Morton – I’m pretty jealous!! Anywho, within 10 minutes we were freshened up, changed and on the streets – heading to meet his friends Mark and Rich at the Standard Biergarten. LOVED the bar – so cool and outdoorsy, great drinks with this neat drink ticket system and a good crowd. It was pretty chilly but we still had SO much fun and were definitely enjoying the city.

Tyson, Mark, Austin & Me at Biergarten
On our way home we hit up Bleeker Street Pizza – fab – had a great slice of cheese! I ended up at 1,863 calories, 170 carbs, 42 fat grams and 79 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Friday we got up early and hit the streets! Tyson had to work, even though it was his big 30^th birthday! Boo! But he helped us map out the day. We left Tyson’s and went across the street to Out of the Kitchen. I got a bagel and cream cheese and ate about half (nibbled on the rest until lunch)! We walked down the river front through Battery Park, where we saw/passed the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Ground Zero. Then we walked through the financial district and saw Wall Street and an Express Runway show – random! Then we took the Subway up to Grand Central Station – SO cool! Then we hit up that little Strawberry store and I got a $15 dress, Lacoste and Austin got 4 shirts and Brooks Brothers. We walked up 5^th avenue and Madison Avenue to Rockefeller center, where we ate lunch at this really cool deli (forgot the name!). We faced out and people watched – beautiful day! I had half of a “mexican hoagie” (grilled chicken, avocado and roasted red pepper with salsa) and half a bag of chips. Then we hit up the NBC store, saw where they did the Today Show, toured the 3-story Anthropologie and stopped by a few more stops! Afterwards we walked to Timesquare, took some pics, saw the Naked Cowboy and then hopped on the Subway for Tyson’s.

Austin at Out of the Kitchen

Walking by the river

Ground Zero...

Austin by the State of Liberty

My turn :)

The walk into the city

Loved the flags everywhere - so pretty

Total tourists - love it

The fashion show

Austin in Timesquare

Me in timesquare

an insane amount of ads - I fondly called it the Panama City of NY

Naked Cowboy

Grand central - so awesome in person

Cheeseballs!

Beautiful anthro - I couldn't get over how much went into all of the stores. So well decorated everywhere.

Me by Rockefeller Center

Austie by Rockefeller - we loved all of the flags and colors - such a fabulously pretty day

When we got back to Tyson’s Austin mapped our walk – 5.5 miles total – crazy! Then we changed and hit up some boutiques courtesy of Eat, Drink and Be Merry, Manhattan. She lives in the West Village and was SO helpful! We appreciate you, Sara! We hit up Jesse James, Otte and Calypso. Loved looking but the sales weren’t enough to get me to buy! Fun to see the shops though. We also had a mini wine tasting and picked up a nice bottle for Saturday! I did have good luck at a pupper boutique on the way - Pa*ri*e*ro NY. We found Reuben 3 shirts we loved – ACDC, Rolling Stones and a cool NY pup tee- love!

Austin in the West Village

Me at the puppy boutique!

Time for wine

Loved this place

Reuben's new clothes!

Could this paper BE any cuter? I loved how they wrapped Reuben's wardrobe!

Then it was back to Tyson’s to get ready! We ordered in Mustache Pitza – SO good. I had hummus/pita of course and a Chicken Kebob sandwich – loovvveeeddd – I could only eat half again – the servings there were huge! Around 8:30 Tyson’s friends started coming over and then we had a crew to go to Rusty Knot for his birthday! Me, Austin, Tyson, Mark, Sam, Jackie, Danielle, Nick, Craig, Paige and Catherine had SO much fun! And guess what??! My friend Katja who I met in Punta Cana (who lives in Germany) was in NY visiting and her and her friend Luca came to visit too! We had SO much fun drinking, dancing and visiting – lots of Auburn people too so of course it was fun to talk college with them, and also fun to talk with Katja (Tyson’s friend Mark even spoke German – how convenient!). After Rusty Knot, Austin, Tys, Nick, Mark, Katja, Luca and me went to Automatic Slims for “one more drink.” Definitely a fun night and, most importantly, Tyson had a great 30^th birthday! I ended up at 1,805 calories, 178 carbs, 46 fat grams and 61 protein grams. Here’s what I ate and drank.

The boys before Rusty Knot

The girls - Jackie, Danielle and me

Auburn crew - Austin, me, Tyson, Paige, Catherine and Jackie

Luca, Katja and me at Rusty Knot - so good to hang out with Katja and to meet her friend!

Last picture of the night around 4 a.m. in the bodega - the boys were getting bacon/egg and cheese sandwiches

That’s Part 1 of 2 – woo! Tomorrow I’ll post about Saturday – which basically made me the number 1 fan of the West Village!!

Do you eat Indian food? If so, what's your favorite Indian dish? We loved it and only hope to find great Indian food in Atlanta!

Any vacation friends that you've kept up with? It was super fun to hang out with Katja again - we're Facebook friends and hope to keep up! Who knows? Maybe next time we'll meet up with her in Germany! LOL

Time for NYC

Guess who leaves for NYC in a few hours?

Yes, me and Austin are off to the airport yet again, but this time for a fun NY trip - woo! We're going to visit our friend Tyson at his place in the West Village! He turns the big 30 so we must celebrate - stat. P.S. The picture above was brought to you by my friend Mary's late night picture taking on her birthday - thanks for the unflattering shots, Mary T!

So all that's been up on my end is MAJOR catching up on your bloggies and MAJOR stomach issues. Like, there is a bug going around and I have it. No workouts for me - just pain. SAD. Hopefully it's passed - i'm on medicine today and am, fingers crossed, not sick anymore. So yesterday was just work... no gym... just packing and resting and drinking fluids. EW! I ended up at 1,750 calories, 235 carbs, 40 fat grams and 98 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

A note about weight: When I left town for Punta Cana on Wednesday I was at 121. Almost a week later, on Tuesday morning, I was at 123.5 (so 2.5 weight gain on the trip). Then Wednesday I was at 122, and today 121. So i'm back where I started, but wonder if it's just the stomach bugg - eek!

Do you typically gain weight on vacay?

Have you been to NYC? If so, what's your favorite thing to do there/place to visit/eat/etc?!

Also, wanted to say thank you, thank you thank you for all of your sweet comments on our vacay photo posts! We had SUCH A FREAKING BLAST and I really appreciate you popping over even though I wasn't able to visit you as much as normal!