We made our way to the United Nations Headquarters. A symbol of peace, the UN began in 1945 as an assembly of countries committed to increasing the quality of life for those living in the developing world. Standing in the General Assembly was incredible. I imagined what it must be like to sit and watch one of the sessions...delegates from 192 countries gathered with a common vision.
[exterior of UN Headquarters]
[street art, and a symbol of non-violence & peace]
[the General Assembly]
Then began our hunt for papaya juice and hotdogs. You know how Mapquest has a bad reputation of leading one astray, say, off a cliff, or into a train track? Well, I wouldn't necessarily trust it when trying to locate said food items in a major city, such as NYC. After walking around, taking the subway, and walking some more for over an hour in search of 3 papaya places....we gave up and chowed down some tasty lamb gyros/rice plates at a corner.
Fed and happy, we made our way to Rockefeller Centre. Home of many artistic expressions, as well as shopping, and dining options, my main view of the centre was from... the toilet bowl. Let's just say that as tasty as the lamb was, my vegetarian stomach did not agree. We soon made our way to NBC Studios - home of many hit shows including Saturday Night Live!! Bonnie and I were able to make our way into the set of Saturday Night Live - soo great! The SNL Studio is known for its impeccable acoustics. Apparently, Frank Sinatra used to pay to rehearse in the studio prior to his performances at Radio City Music Hall across the stage, because it gave him an ego boost - his voice sounded THAT good there! I also volunteered myself to be a mock news anchor alongside another gentlemen who did the weather. so there i was in front of my group, with a camera and teleprompter in my face saying "Hello, my name is Debbie and welcome to the NBC Studio Tour newsbreak. Later on in the show, we will be discussing blah blah blah...but first, the weather!" :) It was cheesy, but the good kind of cheese...it was the brie of cheeses! i then spent copious amounts of time in the gift store trying to decide which Seinfeld shirt i should buy, while Bonnie patiently humoured me regarding the gravity of my decision - yes, it was ridiculously priced and completely a tourist trap but i couldn't resist...it was my Seinfeld!
[NBC Studios]
[some extravagant statue at the ice rink at Rockefeller Centre]
before we knew it, it was 6pm, and we had a dinner date with a long time friend of Bonnie's out in Grenwich Village. Arriving ahead of schedule, we were able to explore this charming area of NYC. I felt as if i were in London, England or an English speaking Paris, with partial brick roads and sidewalks, apartments clad in wrought iron, bakeries and boutiques, and intersections that had more than 4 roads weaving thru each other. We dined at an Italian restaurant called Dell'Anima. the food was...exactly what i had imagined and saved up for. It's one of those places where they serve you itsy bitsy portions of everything, packed with incredible flavour, charged at more than full price. but, as i said, it was well worth it, as i've never been full before from eating 8 pieces of ravioli until i ate at Dell'anima, and the combination of panacotta with a blood orange reduction with dates and pistachio never tasted so sexy.
to work off the meal, the three of us decided to walk over to Magnolia Bakery, known for its cupcakes. like a kid in a candy store, Bon filled up the box which contained individual holders for each cupcake.
[decisions, decisions...Bon chooses 6 cupcakes]
the night came to a close as we neared our subway station that would take us back to New Jersey. as goodbyes were being exchanged, i couldn't help but noticed that we had found...Papaya King. what are the odds...?
dL
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