NYC- Summer Tales Part Two

We didn't arrive to the city until around lunch time when we arrived at our classy hotel, but we did get to see Times Square and Central Park before heading off to tour the skyline at sunset on a tour boat. We saw the Brooklyn Bridge, the different neighborhoods of NYC, and, of course, the Statue of Liberty! And we didn't have to even stand up. Wonderful.




I ate one of the most wonderful bites of the trip, a macaroon from Laduree. (I want need to learn how to make these!)


We (of course) stopped by Tiffany's. I didn't go into the store expecting to buy anything because everything there costs so much (although I'm of the mind that people pay more for the blue box than they do for the ring), but we found this adorable coffee cup that looks like the Tiffany's box for "only" $40. And so we had to get it, right?

We may or may not have purchased a few other things... The most exciting thing that I bought I found at my new home the Kate Spade store. I found a watch that I really like and that doesn't overwhelm my tiny wrists! Check it out here!

I felt so glamorous carrying those bag around. Finally I didn't feel so intrusive when we walked into the stores so fancy that they didn't put price tags on the merchandise. (Cough, cough, Dolce and Gabbana. I actually felt a little bit of pain looking at those stunning dresses which were so close and yet so far.)



After we wore ourselves out with shopping, we freshened up and headed to the theater to watch a beautiful classic: The Phantom of the Opera. I liked it, but as I feel about most musicals, I think that I will like it more the second time when my emotions have a channel to go through. (I actually rooted for the Phantom, thinking that it would end like Beauty and the Beast. Spoiler Alert: I was wrong.)

And one can't have Fancy Day without cupcakes? I added s'mores cupcake to my "love-it" list after this beauty from Magnolias Bakery.



So, to cure my need to see hundreds of book around me we went to two bookstores. One promised us everything and gave us nothing, and the other, The Strand, held 2.5 millions books on four stories! It satisfied my yearning and also added a vintage Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem book to our library at home.

But I didn't take any pictures at the bookstore. Sorry!

We, to go along with book day, stood in line to get cheaper (notice the "er") tickets to see Les Miserables (which is based off of a book) that evening, because the three shows that we already scheduled for the trip couldn't put to rest our longing for Broadway (and no, that wasn't sarcastic).

And let me tell you, I do not know why we didn't plan on seeing Les Mis in the first place! IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL! And I don't mean pretty, I mean beautiful. So full of grace, so full of redemption. And the singing. Oh. Jean Valjean! Oh.

Les Mis. That's where it's at!




And we went to see The Lion King.


The M&Ms store, of course!


And we ate at a wonderful place called Ellen's Stardust Diner, where the waiters and waitresses give live Broadway-type  performances the whole time! It was the coolest restaurant (beat only by Belle's Castle in DisneyWorld).


And then I stood on top of the world.

Well, on the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, but that's the same thing. The night felt almost chilly so high in the sky, and the city felt so different with the lights shining bring for me to wonder at but the noise so far below that I could imagine that only me and NYC shared this moment; anything could happen.




Of course one must eat gelato when visiting Little Italy!


And then we entered The Metropolitan Museum of Art where I wandered through hallways of Haute Couture Valentino, Channel, and the like before making a beeline (or as much of a beeline as one can make in this maze of a museum) to the three rooms FILLED with Degas (my favorite classic painter)! I freaked out to see the original copy of the paintings that I've seen so many times on-line! And I got to pose besides the famous statue!



Because we loved it so much, we revisited Ellen's Stardust Diner before going to our last show...


WICKED!!!


Wicked blew me away! It embodied everything fun about Broadway in a quirky and interesting tale accompanied by fabulous songs! Plus, Caroline Bowman (Elphaba) sang like no one I ever heard before! (I liked her better than Idina Menzel...)


And I got to meet Kara Lindsay, the actress who played Glinda!


And the most delicious milkshake ever from The Shake Shack (even better).


But a few more selfies later, we drove to the airport, waited three hours for them to clean out bird guts from the plane engine, and took off towards home. Oh, wonderful home! But I found it hard to say goodbye to the city, to the faced paced life, to adventure right around the corner, and even to the stuffy subways that can take you to a whole new world in three stops.


But really, this isn't goodbye. No, it's until next time, New York. Until next time, city that stole my heart.


Comment below where in the world you'd like to go! And stay tuned for the final part in my Summer Tales series- home! Also, if you are planning in going to NYC soon, please email me at hannahgirl06@gmail.com, and I'd love to help you in any way that I can!

Princess Hannah