New York City! Part 3.

Early to bed, early to rise...more like late to bed, early to rise, to make the most of our time in New York!  As I look back upon our trip, a month after we've gotten back, it reminds me all over again, how much we did while we were there!  Even though I would have loved another week or two, we really accomplished a lot!

Our third day started out with a subway ride for Rachel and I past Greenwich Village, and then walked a few blocks to DO Cookie Dough Confections.  It's been very popular since it's opening a few months ago (made sense since it's right by NYU) so we wanted to be sure we wouldn't have to wait in line too long.  Just a few people ahead of us gave us time to decide on what we wanted.  I tried a couple things but ended up choosing the Salty & Sweet which was incredible.  I ate the leftover when I got back to LA and I wish I had gotten a bigger scoop. We took our DO to Washington Square Park where we sat and people-watched, including seeing Paul Rudd with one of his kids on a Field Trip to the park.  So many field trips, so many birds, so much fun.

Washington Square Park and Cookie Dough for Breakfast!

White Roses at the 9/11
Memorial signify that
person's Birthday.

After our early dessert we walked to SoHo where the scenery and people changed; definitely more upscale, even the shops.  We had Brunch reservations at Balthazar (I think the gals from Sex & The City went there) and it was beautiful.  They had a whole wall of wine and got us seated right away.  Rachel and I split the Avocado Toast with a Poached Egg and Tomato & Jalapeño Salsa and also Scrambled Eggs in a Puff Pastry with Asparagus and Mushrooms.  Both of them were delicious and decadent, and after the DO, my tum was filling up fast.  Talk about a neat place to check out!  I actually would have loved to have stayed to have a cocktail or coffee but there was more to do!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

That afternoon, Sam, Rachel and I made our way to the 9/11 Memorial.  It was really overwhelming to be in the presence of all the lost souls.  I didn't even try to hold back tears but found it really strange that so many people were taking photos at the Memorial and smiling.  I understand it's a tourist attraction but it just felt wrong.  Sam had done the tour recently so she was able to fill us in on all the info for the Memorial and I was glad to learn more about it.  Rachel had afternoon plans so Sam and I walked over to St. Patrick's Cathedral.  I stopped at every Saint, and took a few moments at the one that Mom prayed to most recently, St. Jude, the patron Saint of Hopeless Cases.  The Church was stunning and I know how happy she would be that I had gone to see it.  I was on my own after that so I took a stroll and totally got lost trying to find the Subway, but it was actually really fun because I was able to explore and had to figure it out myself.  Once you realize it's a grid and Avenues go North/South and Streets go East/West, it's much easier.  

Everyone had things planned for the evening so I decided it was the perfect night to take myself out for a fabulous steak Dinner.  After talking to the locals, everyone agreed on Keen's Steakhouse.  I actually walked there from the Hotel, sidled up to the bar, got myself a seat and ordered a glass of wine, the Potato Leek soup and a Filet Steak cooked Medium Rare with a side of Glazed Carrots.  The steak was good but I'm not sure if it would get into my Top 5.  BUT this will be one of my favorite dining experiences for a long time because a gentleman sat down next to me.  As Howard and I started chatting I found out his wife was from Little Shoot, Wisconsin, she is the love of his life, and he can't believe how lucky he is every day that they are spending the rest of their lives together.  We spoke about our parents, he lost both of his, I talked about Mom, and I felt like I made a new friend.  He suggested I join him in drinking a glass of Scotch (I had recently found that I actually like one) so I said the only one I like is Glenfarclas 25 but that I was happy with my wine.  He promptly ordered two, saying he liked that one but Bunnahabhain 25 was his favorite.  I like the Glenfarclas because it's a little sweeter, really smooth, a clean finish and ZERO peatiness.  After I finished the first one, he said I had to try his favorite (and let's be real, we all know how Lyndsey does when she drinks whiskey - if you don't, I get really sassy, start to swear like a sailor, and there's usually a badass side that comes out); I tried to decline but there was no saying no to my new friend, Howard.  

The Filet at Keen's Steakhouse in Manhattan

At this point, I knew we had reservations at Please Don't Tell, a Speakeasy in the East Village, so all the gals, and Rachel's cousin, Evan, met us over at Keen's, and joined us for a drink while I finished my Scotch.  I definitely still would choose Glenfarclas over the Bunnahabhain as that one had a stronger more complex flavor that lingered.  Howard was so generous and I'm so glad to have met him and look forward to my next visit to New York and grabbing Dinner with his whole family.  Our crew got over to Please Don't Tell just in time for our reservation.  You enter through a Hot Dog Shop into a back room and they escorted us to a nice big booth.  I ordered a Negroni that I sipped the entire time I was there and never finished.  I blame the Scotch!  Everyone else ordered specialty cocktails or beer and also some Tater Tots.  There needs to be more places like this in Los Angeles!

LA invades Please Don't Tell in the East Village

After PDT, Rachel, Giana, and I walked to Times Square from our Hotel (it was about 10 blocks or so) in search of a fun bar to grab one last cocktail before the night was over.  We were living it up for each and every moment because we may not ever have this opportunity again.  We found a bar and I got a Fruity Martini while G and Rach got beers.  It was us and a group of guys in the bar and they bought us a round of shots so at that point, we knew it was time to head back to the Hotel.  We still had one day left in New York and another action-packed time ahead of us!