December 30, 2014
Steps: 28,676
Miles: 14.4
The 30th was the day that everyone else arrived. We were planning on staying semi-close to the apartment so we could let them in when they got there. We walked to Best Bagel and Coffee to have breakfast. I found this spot on Yelp before we went and it definitely lived up to all the reviews. It was delicious. If you are ever in NYC around Times Square I would highly recommend this place for breakfast.
Ian had to do some work, so we went to the public library. First off, this place is gorgeous! The detail in the building is amazing. Ian found the computers while Jake and I walked around the library. We went into a photography exhibit. So cool! They had the first business cards, pictures from 9/11, the Great Depression and so much more. It was so neat. Just about the time we were finishing in there, Ian was ready to go.
We walked to Grand Central Station. It was really neat and it was filled with many people. We took our touristy pictures and walked down to the food court to get a snack. While we were trying to figure out what we wanted, three kids were walking behind us saying something along of the lines of just do it, and come on. Jake just had that feeling in his stomach like he should turn around, so he did. They started laughing and had that look in their faces like they were in trouble. We kept walking and they were still following us, so Jake turned around again. This time with more attitude. The kids stopped following us. What in the heck!?! If those little punks would have tried anything, oh lawd!!! haha! We ended up getting gelato. It was really good. After Grand Central Station we were walking to 5th Avenue to do some window shopping and we passed St. Patrick's cathedral. Wow. Absolutely gorgeous. They were doing work on it and it was still beautiful.
Walked down 5th Avenue and the windows at Sak's Fifth Avenue was so cool. It was a magical Disney Princess theme, but with a twist of glamour. So neat. There were honestly so many people that it was hard to just enjoy the views of all the shops and decorated windows.
After window shopping we went to Central Park. Ian wanted to see the John Lennon memorial and I am glad we did. It was neat. We also saw and took pictures on the famous bridge that is in so many movies. A lot of people were taking their wedding pictures while we were out there. Some of the brides were freezing their hinnies off, but the pictures will turn out amazing so it is worth it in my eyes.
After Central Park I was STARVING! The boys weren't (weird), but I was and needed food. We went to the Greek Place we semi-fell in love with and I got a gyro. We took it back to the apartment and it was delicious! We were waiting for the rest of the group to get there, so we were relaxing, catching up on social media and napping. We were tired.
Candice, Kali, Belinda and Scott arrived and we shortly went to dinner. They had been traveling all day and were hungry, but who isn't after traveling all day? We went to this Irish Bar close to the apartment. It was good. Jake ordered a burger and put this IPA mustard all over it thinking it was regular mustard. Yeah... nope. It is a hoppy and spicy mustard. Yikes! It was the laugh of the night because it was so strong tasting. After dinner we went to K-Mart so they could get their bedding stuff.
After dinner and K-mart we went back to the apartment and met up with Ronnie and his girlfriend Marcie. Well while we were waiting, Ian clogged the toilet so we had a non-working toilet for NINE people. Huh?! (Ronnie eventually fixed it, but talk about panic) It was semi-funny but not really.
Everyone wanted to go out, so we found a Korean karaoke bar to go to. It was pretty interesting because you walk up the stairs and then they take you into these rooms lined with couches, a big screen and a couple microphones. Each group gets a room to karaoke in. So. Funny. Ian and Jake were the stars of the night and sang many songs. Candice was so talented when rapping really fast lyrics. It was crazy! Jake and I sung Big Butts. Karaoke Classic. Ha!
After karaoke we went back to the apartment. Jake and I took an Uber because I was over walking.
Steps: 28,676
Miles: 14.4
The 30th was the day that everyone else arrived. We were planning on staying semi-close to the apartment so we could let them in when they got there. We walked to Best Bagel and Coffee to have breakfast. I found this spot on Yelp before we went and it definitely lived up to all the reviews. It was delicious. If you are ever in NYC around Times Square I would highly recommend this place for breakfast.
Ian had to do some work, so we went to the public library. First off, this place is gorgeous! The detail in the building is amazing. Ian found the computers while Jake and I walked around the library. We went into a photography exhibit. So cool! They had the first business cards, pictures from 9/11, the Great Depression and so much more. It was so neat. Just about the time we were finishing in there, Ian was ready to go.
We walked to Grand Central Station. It was really neat and it was filled with many people. We took our touristy pictures and walked down to the food court to get a snack. While we were trying to figure out what we wanted, three kids were walking behind us saying something along of the lines of just do it, and come on. Jake just had that feeling in his stomach like he should turn around, so he did. They started laughing and had that look in their faces like they were in trouble. We kept walking and they were still following us, so Jake turned around again. This time with more attitude. The kids stopped following us. What in the heck!?! If those little punks would have tried anything, oh lawd!!! haha! We ended up getting gelato. It was really good. After Grand Central Station we were walking to 5th Avenue to do some window shopping and we passed St. Patrick's cathedral. Wow. Absolutely gorgeous. They were doing work on it and it was still beautiful.
Walked down 5th Avenue and the windows at Sak's Fifth Avenue was so cool. It was a magical Disney Princess theme, but with a twist of glamour. So neat. There were honestly so many people that it was hard to just enjoy the views of all the shops and decorated windows.
After window shopping we went to Central Park. Ian wanted to see the John Lennon memorial and I am glad we did. It was neat. We also saw and took pictures on the famous bridge that is in so many movies. A lot of people were taking their wedding pictures while we were out there. Some of the brides were freezing their hinnies off, but the pictures will turn out amazing so it is worth it in my eyes.
After Central Park I was STARVING! The boys weren't (weird), but I was and needed food. We went to the Greek Place we semi-fell in love with and I got a gyro. We took it back to the apartment and it was delicious! We were waiting for the rest of the group to get there, so we were relaxing, catching up on social media and napping. We were tired.
Candice, Kali, Belinda and Scott arrived and we shortly went to dinner. They had been traveling all day and were hungry, but who isn't after traveling all day? We went to this Irish Bar close to the apartment. It was good. Jake ordered a burger and put this IPA mustard all over it thinking it was regular mustard. Yeah... nope. It is a hoppy and spicy mustard. Yikes! It was the laugh of the night because it was so strong tasting. After dinner we went to K-Mart so they could get their bedding stuff.
After dinner and K-mart we went back to the apartment and met up with Ronnie and his girlfriend Marcie. Well while we were waiting, Ian clogged the toilet so we had a non-working toilet for NINE people. Huh?! (Ronnie eventually fixed it, but talk about panic) It was semi-funny but not really.
Everyone wanted to go out, so we found a Korean karaoke bar to go to. It was pretty interesting because you walk up the stairs and then they take you into these rooms lined with couches, a big screen and a couple microphones. Each group gets a room to karaoke in. So. Funny. Ian and Jake were the stars of the night and sang many songs. Candice was so talented when rapping really fast lyrics. It was crazy! Jake and I sung Big Butts. Karaoke Classic. Ha!
After karaoke we went back to the apartment. Jake and I took an Uber because I was over walking.
Total in the day we walked 14 miles and we wanted to get back so we could take showers and get ready for bed. It worked perfectly because we got back, took showers and got out of everyones way when we got there.
Let's just say I am so thankful that we got a hotel because it looked like a can of sardines in there. Everyone's stuff was like a puzzle piece in the sense of making it fit. They all stayed up until 5ish getting their stuff laid out. I am one of those people, thank you Jesus, that can fall asleep anywhere no matter the brightness, noise level or place. With that said, I crashed around 3:30ish. I was exhausted. I felt bad for the people under us because we were all walking around, dropping things, moving luggage, furniture, etc. Yikes!!
December 31, 2014
Steps: 17,647
Miles: 8.81
NYE!!!! Jake, Ian and I woke up before everyone else and headed out for the day. We let them all sleep in, so we went to the bagel place again. Y'all. It's so good! The group met up with us after breakfast. They needed to go to the library to print something, so we headed to the beautiful library again. We just hung out while they did what they needed to do. I ran into a fellow group exercise instructor that I taught with at Texas State, Catherine. It is so good seeing old faces!
We were all getting hungry, so we went to Bravo Pizza for lunch. The thing with NY is that they have squeezed as many buildings inside the city and then as many things in a building as possible. Bravo was as a really small and tight place. We ended up standing to eat and then moved to a table when it opened up. Remember there are nine of us in our group, so when we go into a small place like Bravo we take up a majority of the restaurant. It was my favorite New York style pizza. Jake and I had a bacon, mozzarella and something else pizza. It was tasty!
After lunch we headed to the Rockefeller Center. There was a Lego store that looked really cool, so we all went in there to see the cool displays and warm up. The NYE plans were semi-decided, but not fully. Everyone but Ian, Jake and I wanted to go to Times Square and watch the ball drop. I am not a huge fan of being in a space like a sardine, so I wasn't too pumped about it. They ended up getting tickets ($140 each) for Dave and Busters. It covered the cost for buffet style food, open bar for five hours and then at midnight you could go out to a space blocked off for them to see the ball drop. It sounded like tons of fun, but $140. There is no way my light-weight self could drink or eat that much food. We ended up going downtown, which was fun, but if I could do it over again I would of paid the $140 to be with them on NYE and ring in the New Year with everyone.
They had to pick up their tickets in Penn Station, so we walked back to the apartment because we needed to check into our hotel. We stayed at The Element. It was so nice! They had complimentary beer, wine and drinks downstairs Monday through Thursday along with appetizers. Our shower was big, the bed was comfy and it was warm. The staff was absolutely fabulous! So sweet and helpful! The elevators were a tad bit slow, but nothing too major. I was just happy to have space and alone time with Jake.
We got into our room and my first thought was,"Oh the space!! Yay!" We put our stuff down and took off our shoes. I was walking over by the bed and WHAM!! I hit my knee on the corner of the bed. Oh my gosh! It. Hurt. So. Bad. It started to bruise a little immediately. Ugh. I am such a klutz. The shitty part was that my boo-boo was right where my boots hit the top of my leg and the only shoes I brought were my Hunter Boots, flats and heels. Good thing I brought blister bandaids because that is what I used for the rest of the trip. They are a little cushioned, so it worked perfectly!
We hung out at the hotel for a little bit, took a little nap and then Ian met up with us around 6:30 to have drinks and then we would head out for the night. I met the guys in the lobby after FaceTiming with my family. Ava was so cute because she would come up to the phone and put her face in the camera, would tilt her head and had absolutely no clue how she could hear me but I wasn't there.
We took an Uber to Galli. It. was. delicious. I had this breaded lamb dish with an arugula salad. Oh how my body needed some greens! Pizza is good and all, but a girl needs her veggies! We sat at the bar because all the tables were full. We met the bartender and he was so cool. We enjoyed our dinner and then headed out to a place Ian recommended, Church Publick.
Church Publick was fun. The guys literally got into an argument/discussion about title vs. money. In my opinion I could care less about the title as long as I am making money I am happy. One thing I learned on this trip is that Ian loves to argue. He will argue his point until you give in. Well here's the thing... I am dating a very intelligent and competitive man who doesn't give in easy either. Needless to say, Jake won in the little argument because his arguing points aka the facts simply cannot be argued. While they were having this very serious discussion I was snap-chatting my sister and being silly drinking my Moscow Mule. HA! Yes I was that person.
Funny side story - I met this girl standing in line for the bathroom. I complimented her on her ring because I believe in women supporting and encouraging each other. It is a rough world out there and we are all in this together. Anyway, she sat there (keep in mind she is totally toasted/drunk) and told me how she never wears rings and the ENTIRE story of how she found that ring and bought it. Sista, sista I simple thank you could have done, but now I know the whole story and where I can find it so thank you!
Church Publick was TOTALLY dead and I definitely wanted to ring in the new year dancing and having fun, so we all looked for another place on our phones. We went to Ward III in Tribeca. It was so much fun!! The music was totally on point and the vibe was awesome! We rang in the new year right when we got in and started dancing. We met some ladies that were 40 (I don't and didn't believe them. They looked awesome and I hope to look like that when I'm 40. I literally thought they were in their late 20's early 30's.) and a couple other people. We were all dancing and I was starting to get pretty warm so I sat down. WOAH baby! My feet! Ouchy!! I brought heels that I wear to work and have worn out multiple times. Black pumps. I guess from walking as much as we have my feet were saying no more. It felt like I was stepping on nails, so I sat down and people-watched for the rest of the night.
People watching was the best that night! Jake was Ian's wingman and a good one if I may say so myself. They were talking to these girls. A couple were clearly interested in Ian and Jake. One girl was pretty drunk and was from New Zealand (she told me this later in the night). She was hitting on Jake hardcore and Jake turned her down... Uh Duh! She ended up dancing with her friends and then came and sat down next to me. Yes. This is happening. She was telling me how much of an idoit Jake was for turning her down and that she wanted him. Okay, backup a little bit. It was very clear that Jake and I were together. We were dancing, kissing and hugging. I started laughing because I was like is this real life?! She ended up just leaving in the middle of her story and then a couple minutes later fell on a table. Girl was wasted. The bouncer came over and asked me if she was with me. Um no. He laughed at my quick response. They ended getting her a cab and taking her home. Part of the group that she was with was so annoyed because she was ruining their night.
Well while all this is going on these girls are hitting on Ian and Jake still. There were two girls that Ian talked to a little bit before and turned him down. They were watching all of these other girls hit on them and then all of a sudden they are totally interested. Of course! Jake came and sat down next to me while Ian was doing his thang.
The girl didn't want to dance with him, but deep down I know she did. Girl's can just tell this kind of thing. She kept looking at me for me to give the "he's a good guy" nod. Jake and I both did and then they danced together. This girl was from Italy and really pretty! She had a cute figure and long brown hair. He ended up getting her number. Good job, Ian!
I was getting tired and so was Jake and we were ready to go back. I went to order an Uber and the rate was 4X the normal rate because of supply and demand. Wowza! I just knew we weren't going to walk back, so I accepted the rate and we took an Uber back to the hotel. It was nice and I didn't realize how tired I was until I sat in the Uber. Has this ever happened to you?
We got back to the hotel and then Jake started feeling really bad. He got crazy bloated and looked like he was going to barf. Goodness. He ended up taking a shower and laying down. When Jake drinks too much he gets really tired and always falls asleep on the toilet and/or shower. Good Lord!! He finally got in bed and I took my shower and then laid down. I laid down and Jake started making this noise like he was going to throw up. He was fine, but it still freaked me out. Once I fell asleep, I didn't move until 11 the next morning.
NYE in NYC was tons of fun! We had a lot of good laughs and moments, but the best laughs came from our Uber rides. One driver was telling us how people don't pay him when he drives the cab, so he drives them to the police station and all of a sudden they have money. It was too funny!
Let's just say I am so thankful that we got a hotel because it looked like a can of sardines in there. Everyone's stuff was like a puzzle piece in the sense of making it fit. They all stayed up until 5ish getting their stuff laid out. I am one of those people, thank you Jesus, that can fall asleep anywhere no matter the brightness, noise level or place. With that said, I crashed around 3:30ish. I was exhausted. I felt bad for the people under us because we were all walking around, dropping things, moving luggage, furniture, etc. Yikes!!
December 31, 2014
Steps: 17,647
Miles: 8.81
NYE!!!! Jake, Ian and I woke up before everyone else and headed out for the day. We let them all sleep in, so we went to the bagel place again. Y'all. It's so good! The group met up with us after breakfast. They needed to go to the library to print something, so we headed to the beautiful library again. We just hung out while they did what they needed to do. I ran into a fellow group exercise instructor that I taught with at Texas State, Catherine. It is so good seeing old faces!
We were all getting hungry, so we went to Bravo Pizza for lunch. The thing with NY is that they have squeezed as many buildings inside the city and then as many things in a building as possible. Bravo was as a really small and tight place. We ended up standing to eat and then moved to a table when it opened up. Remember there are nine of us in our group, so when we go into a small place like Bravo we take up a majority of the restaurant. It was my favorite New York style pizza. Jake and I had a bacon, mozzarella and something else pizza. It was tasty!
 |
| Standing where the ball would drop later that night |
They had to pick up their tickets in Penn Station, so we walked back to the apartment because we needed to check into our hotel. We stayed at The Element. It was so nice! They had complimentary beer, wine and drinks downstairs Monday through Thursday along with appetizers. Our shower was big, the bed was comfy and it was warm. The staff was absolutely fabulous! So sweet and helpful! The elevators were a tad bit slow, but nothing too major. I was just happy to have space and alone time with Jake.
We got into our room and my first thought was,"Oh the space!! Yay!" We put our stuff down and took off our shoes. I was walking over by the bed and WHAM!! I hit my knee on the corner of the bed. Oh my gosh! It. Hurt. So. Bad. It started to bruise a little immediately. Ugh. I am such a klutz. The shitty part was that my boo-boo was right where my boots hit the top of my leg and the only shoes I brought were my Hunter Boots, flats and heels. Good thing I brought blister bandaids because that is what I used for the rest of the trip. They are a little cushioned, so it worked perfectly!
We hung out at the hotel for a little bit, took a little nap and then Ian met up with us around 6:30 to have drinks and then we would head out for the night. I met the guys in the lobby after FaceTiming with my family. Ava was so cute because she would come up to the phone and put her face in the camera, would tilt her head and had absolutely no clue how she could hear me but I wasn't there.
We took an Uber to Galli. It. was. delicious. I had this breaded lamb dish with an arugula salad. Oh how my body needed some greens! Pizza is good and all, but a girl needs her veggies! We sat at the bar because all the tables were full. We met the bartender and he was so cool. We enjoyed our dinner and then headed out to a place Ian recommended, Church Publick.
Church Publick was fun. The guys literally got into an argument/discussion about title vs. money. In my opinion I could care less about the title as long as I am making money I am happy. One thing I learned on this trip is that Ian loves to argue. He will argue his point until you give in. Well here's the thing... I am dating a very intelligent and competitive man who doesn't give in easy either. Needless to say, Jake won in the little argument because his arguing points aka the facts simply cannot be argued. While they were having this very serious discussion I was snap-chatting my sister and being silly drinking my Moscow Mule. HA! Yes I was that person.
Funny side story - I met this girl standing in line for the bathroom. I complimented her on her ring because I believe in women supporting and encouraging each other. It is a rough world out there and we are all in this together. Anyway, she sat there (keep in mind she is totally toasted/drunk) and told me how she never wears rings and the ENTIRE story of how she found that ring and bought it. Sista, sista I simple thank you could have done, but now I know the whole story and where I can find it so thank you!
People watching was the best that night! Jake was Ian's wingman and a good one if I may say so myself. They were talking to these girls. A couple were clearly interested in Ian and Jake. One girl was pretty drunk and was from New Zealand (she told me this later in the night). She was hitting on Jake hardcore and Jake turned her down... Uh Duh! She ended up dancing with her friends and then came and sat down next to me. Yes. This is happening. She was telling me how much of an idoit Jake was for turning her down and that she wanted him. Okay, backup a little bit. It was very clear that Jake and I were together. We were dancing, kissing and hugging. I started laughing because I was like is this real life?! She ended up just leaving in the middle of her story and then a couple minutes later fell on a table. Girl was wasted. The bouncer came over and asked me if she was with me. Um no. He laughed at my quick response. They ended getting her a cab and taking her home. Part of the group that she was with was so annoyed because she was ruining their night.
Well while all this is going on these girls are hitting on Ian and Jake still. There were two girls that Ian talked to a little bit before and turned him down. They were watching all of these other girls hit on them and then all of a sudden they are totally interested. Of course! Jake came and sat down next to me while Ian was doing his thang.
The girl didn't want to dance with him, but deep down I know she did. Girl's can just tell this kind of thing. She kept looking at me for me to give the "he's a good guy" nod. Jake and I both did and then they danced together. This girl was from Italy and really pretty! She had a cute figure and long brown hair. He ended up getting her number. Good job, Ian!
I was getting tired and so was Jake and we were ready to go back. I went to order an Uber and the rate was 4X the normal rate because of supply and demand. Wowza! I just knew we weren't going to walk back, so I accepted the rate and we took an Uber back to the hotel. It was nice and I didn't realize how tired I was until I sat in the Uber. Has this ever happened to you?
We got back to the hotel and then Jake started feeling really bad. He got crazy bloated and looked like he was going to barf. Goodness. He ended up taking a shower and laying down. When Jake drinks too much he gets really tired and always falls asleep on the toilet and/or shower. Good Lord!! He finally got in bed and I took my shower and then laid down. I laid down and Jake started making this noise like he was going to throw up. He was fine, but it still freaked me out. Once I fell asleep, I didn't move until 11 the next morning.
NYE in NYC was tons of fun! We had a lot of good laughs and moments, but the best laughs came from our Uber rides. One driver was telling us how people don't pay him when he drives the cab, so he drives them to the police station and all of a sudden they have money. It was too funny!
Overall, NYE was great and I was so happy to be celebrating it with Jake! 2015 is going to be a good year! The next recap will be the first days of 2015. How do you think we spent them??
Love,
Amanda
Love,
Amanda
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