Uptown Girls.

Not everyone gets my love for New York claiming its "loud" or "dirty" but its absolutely perfect.

Matter of fact, New York is one of my favorite places. Maybe its the perfect shopping, amazing food options or the fact that when in New York i cant help but add you know you love me xoxo Gossip Girl after everything that i say. Well in my head...if i kept saying that out loud that could get annoying.

Greenwich village is def top 5.

"First, I went through the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest. Then, I went past the twirly, swirly gumdrops. And after that: I went through the Lincoln Tunnel." As we really went through the Lincoln Tunnel Shannon quoted Elf. Actually, Elf was quoted quite a bit throughout the trip. I was even compared to him when i saw a sign for "worlds greatest cheesecake!" and got excited- i'm sure like the coffee, that it wasnt...
First things first we went to our hotel [Marriott, duh] on the Upper East Side to leave our bags. Then we road the subway down to Battery Park to see the statue of liberty. We rode the ferry out to liberty island and then ellis island. We LOVED the ferry ride. It was so beautiful, relaxing and had a great view of New York.

After that we walked 12 miles...yes, 12 miles back up past Times Square. Now we could have taken the Subway or even a taxi all the way up but we didnt want to miss a single thing! But its a good thing we didnt because on the way up we saw where the twin towers used to be and we ate at the University diner [NYU] and i loved it. Being a typical college place i thought it safe to order waffles and what a good choice that was! I think i talked about that waffle the whole rest of the day. It was so picturesque as we looked out onto Greenwich village shops. It was all just so perfect. Then we walked up to Madison Square park where the shake shack is and just HAD to order from it. The line was insane but since it was from the movie Something Borrowed [that i love!] we all decided it was worth it, plus the view was beautiful. If you go to New York i HIGHLY recommend seeing this area. In all honesty the food was not my favorite but its all about the location in NYC.

We also shopped ALL DAY! Another reason i love NY is because of the shopping. They have stores i've never seen anywhere else, some i havent even heard of!..which is surprising and i loved it. On the way back up, we got so tired and it was nearing 9:30 Shannon begged us to grab a taxi so we did and it was my first time ever riding in one! As i got in i even said "follow that car!" like they do in the movies because i've always wanted to but i dont think the driver heard me...or maybe he just pretended he didnt or even worse i'm not original and people do that all the time...oh well. When we got to the hotel Shannon and i took in our great view from the window and then watching some Olympics before lights out! The next day we got up and ate at this cute little italian owned cafe where the windows opened up and we got to look out on NY and people watch. It was yet again, perfect. All three of us ordered french toast and it was amazing. We then headed to Times Square where we got our tickets for Zarkana! the Cirque du soleil show-showing at Radio City Music Hall! I got the tickets for my moms birthday and since we saw another cirque show in Orlando a few years before with my dance team andloved it i knew she'd love it. These people are so talented.

Last time we were in NY was Christmas time when everything was blinged out and the stores were seriously works of art and we saw the Rockettes!! at Radio City Music Hall so we felt like Veterans this time around. It is seriously one of the coolest places.

when we went at christmas time...

Immediately afterwards we stopped at a local bakery- Magnolia Bakery and it was SO GOOD. We got cupcakes to share and a pumpkin cheesecake.<-----OMG. Best thing ever. You see beforehand i searched a ton of places that you had to go to or that celebs enjoyed and this was one of them and i would have to agree that it was great.

Afterwards we wandered through the scenic Central Park where I referred to Friends episodes that took place there. We took pictures on some rocks and near a bridge and didnt bother to hide the fact that we were tourists here, as you can see-

because everyone sits on rocks and stares off into the distance duh

We then shopped on 5th avenue where i may or may not have spent a pretty penny on something from at one of my favorite stores. I even found my future engagement ring...

not our best picture but oh well

As the day went on i started to get cranky so mom knew it was time to feed me. We ate our last meal at Serendipity 3. A restaurant that is both a local and tourist favorite. Even though the wait was long inside it was worth it. I would describe it as doll house esque. We ate upstairs and it was so cute. After our meal we got a famous frozen hot chocolate [what its known for] and it was so good! Jackie O once tried to buy the recipe from the place a long time ago and even Marilyn Monroe loved eating there. If its good enough for Marilyn its good enough for me.

I was so sad to leave. Every half hour or so i would tell mom that i needed to live here and its so perfect. Shannon even grabbed me a local listing for an apt for rent haha. I felt so privileged eating at the nicest places and shopping at the nicest stores and not worrying about money. I felt like a celebrity. I cant wait to go back- everytime i go i fall more things and places to fall in love with.

i would move there in a heartbeat if it werent for this small fact:

neither my wallet nor my slowly growing waistline from the fantastic food can ;)

off to watch GG and miss NY!

xoxo Gossip Girl xoxo