The cool thing about flying with Icelandair is that they allow you to extend your stopover in Iceland for up to 7 days free of charge. It's also one of the cheaper one way ticket options. Regardless of where you're going in Europe, you'll most likely stop in Reykjavík if you are flying from the states with Icelandair. So...of course, why not take advantage of this wonderful opportunity?! That's exactly what I decided to do. I ended up needing to leave from NYC, so I also stopped there on the way.
It was so great to be back in NY! It had been a while since I had been there. Not to mention the fact that I was able to see my good friend Samantha. She picked me up from the airport. Really though, it looked more like she was picking up luggage. Seemed like too much for one person. I'm exaggerating of course. Can you tell I'm sick of luggage at this point dans ma vie? We made our way through the New Jersey highways until we got to the lovely Valley Cottage, NY. This is a bit outside of the city. It's right across the Hudson river from Westchester county. Nice place for sure! The first thing we did was stop at the deli to get the Italian special sandwich. YUMMY! I don't think I can ever have a Subway again. It's a shame not all sandwich places are that good. Anyways, I stayed here with Samantha and her family while I was in NY.
As there are so many details I could write out about NYC & Iceland...I think it's best to do just brief highlights/summary of each. Ça marche.
---NYC---
As I said above, it had been a while since I had been up to NY. I was so happy to go up for a quick visit. Slam picked me up from the airport in a big Denali...not exactly a practical car for NY, but it was nice to stretch out after traveling in a cramped plane for several hours. We drove through New Jersey on the way back to her parents house. The area surrounding the highway is sort of overgrown like crazy. It's a strange view of Manhattan, because you almost get the impression of being in the country...nope, just overgrown NJ. Some great things happened on the 6 days I was there. It's easy to get to central Manhattan from Slam's parents house. It's a quick and painless commute. However, this is the first time I've actually gone up to visit without rushing in and out of the city every day. It's not that I don't still consider myself a tourist there (trust me...I think I'd have to live there a long time to not look at everything in shock and awe...I absolutely love NY), it's just that I've seen most of the main tourist bits. I was just happy to be there and visit. I actually got to do some things I've never done before due to the fact that I wasn't running around like a crazy person in the city every day. Just a few highlights:
1) Seeing Slam of course. We always have the best time together. We spend an equal (& healthy) amount of time switching back and forth between bickering and laughing. Definitely a sisterly love. Wouldn't have it any other way.
2) We spent a full day in Central Park. We walked around and would break up our walking with people watching. We also rented a boat from the boathouse. I rowed us around the pond. My rowing skills were hit and miss. Just when I thought I was getting really good, I'd start rowing us in circles. Either way, it was a really good time.
3) The same day as the pics above (September 11th), we went to a karaoke bar and serenaded each other for a couple hours. Seems like a pretty typical event given the company. For such a sad anniversary date, I think we had an amazing day celebrating the great things about NYC.
4)Lucky Strike- We had an inside connection at the bowling alley (baller status...no pun intended). I was pretty bad for the entire first game we played. Samantha kept throwing out some crazy advice like "throw the suitcase" and "pick up the phone." I'm not so sure I can credit her words, but something magical happened during the second game. I actually played pretty decently.
5)San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy- Holy Cannoli! That is some good food. I drove into the city with Marco and Samantha. We spent a couple hours browsing all the food booths in Little Italy. It was all so good. I love NY pizza. You just can't beat it. I also had some gelato.
6) Nyack Italian festival- two for two. two days, two food festivals. Must be that time of year. This particular festival was much smaller and family oriented, but it was good. The highlight was seeing one of the actors from The Sopranos. We actually shared the table with him. Just going to point something out though...he asked to sit with us. Just saying is all. But on a serious note, I don't think you could get much more New York than that. Love the Italian culture up in that part of the country.
7) My little piece of Autumn heaven- I'm definitely a fall and winter person. We were able to find a pumpkin patch that was open a little earlier than the others. We spent the day in New Jersey doing a corn maze, having cider and a donut, and checking out the pumpkins. I was in heaven to say the least.
It was a great time in NY. Wish I had gotten to see Tiffany while I was there, but it just didn't end up working out this time. So happy I got to go and visit before leaving the country.
As I said above, it had been a while since I had been up to NY. I was so happy to go up for a quick visit. Slam picked me up from the airport in a big Denali...not exactly a practical car for NY, but it was nice to stretch out after traveling in a cramped plane for several hours. We drove through New Jersey on the way back to her parents house. The area surrounding the highway is sort of overgrown like crazy. It's a strange view of Manhattan, because you almost get the impression of being in the country...nope, just overgrown NJ. Some great things happened on the 6 days I was there. It's easy to get to central Manhattan from Slam's parents house. It's a quick and painless commute. However, this is the first time I've actually gone up to visit without rushing in and out of the city every day. It's not that I don't still consider myself a tourist there (trust me...I think I'd have to live there a long time to not look at everything in shock and awe...I absolutely love NY), it's just that I've seen most of the main tourist bits. I was just happy to be there and visit. I actually got to do some things I've never done before due to the fact that I wasn't running around like a crazy person in the city every day. Just a few highlights:
1) Seeing Slam of course. We always have the best time together. We spend an equal (& healthy) amount of time switching back and forth between bickering and laughing. Definitely a sisterly love. Wouldn't have it any other way.
2) We spent a full day in Central Park. We walked around and would break up our walking with people watching. We also rented a boat from the boathouse. I rowed us around the pond. My rowing skills were hit and miss. Just when I thought I was getting really good, I'd start rowing us in circles. Either way, it was a really good time.
3) The same day as the pics above (September 11th), we went to a karaoke bar and serenaded each other for a couple hours. Seems like a pretty typical event given the company. For such a sad anniversary date, I think we had an amazing day celebrating the great things about NYC.
4)Lucky Strike- We had an inside connection at the bowling alley (baller status...no pun intended). I was pretty bad for the entire first game we played. Samantha kept throwing out some crazy advice like "throw the suitcase" and "pick up the phone." I'm not so sure I can credit her words, but something magical happened during the second game. I actually played pretty decently.
5)San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy- Holy Cannoli! That is some good food. I drove into the city with Marco and Samantha. We spent a couple hours browsing all the food booths in Little Italy. It was all so good. I love NY pizza. You just can't beat it. I also had some gelato.
6) Nyack Italian festival- two for two. two days, two food festivals. Must be that time of year. This particular festival was much smaller and family oriented, but it was good. The highlight was seeing one of the actors from The Sopranos. We actually shared the table with him. Just going to point something out though...he asked to sit with us. Just saying is all. But on a serious note, I don't think you could get much more New York than that. Love the Italian culture up in that part of the country.
7) My little piece of Autumn heaven- I'm definitely a fall and winter person. We were able to find a pumpkin patch that was open a little earlier than the others. We spent the day in New Jersey doing a corn maze, having cider and a donut, and checking out the pumpkins. I was in heaven to say the least.
It was a great time in NY. Wish I had gotten to see Tiffany while I was there, but it just didn't end up working out this time. So happy I got to go and visit before leaving the country.
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