In New York, Where Dreams Are Made Of.

Even before I left, I've already started to plan my next trip to NYC this August with the girls again. Four days was not enough to scratch everything off my to-do list. Maybe if we had done less shopping, then more would've been crossed off. I also blame it on the unpleasant weather. It made shopping indoor more enjoyable. Hopefully, the weather will be nicer next time. I plan on doing a lot more outdoor activities such as taking a stroll through Central Park or walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Also, on the to-do list, visiting the Alexander McQeen exhibit at the Met (if it's still there), taking photos of Grand Central Station and watching a broadway show.

Though I did miss a few things on the list, this trip was still AWESOME!

Day 1.

Jae, Ivy and I decided to fly out of Buffalo (BUF) airport to save some travel cost. A round trip from BUF to JFK cost $160 USD, pretty cheap compared to Fly Porter, where the exact same trip would have cost $350 CDN. To make the most out of the trip, we booked the 6:35am flight out of Buffalo. This means, we woke up at 3am and drove 1.5hrs to the airport so we could catch our flight. We arrived at 9am in NYC. Check-in at the Radisson Martinique on Broadway doesn't start til after 3pm. Since I was unable to get early check-in, we left our luggage at concierge and went to explore the city.

The Radisson hotel is by far located in the best spot in the city (for its price range of course). The metro is just steps outside the hotel. Korea town is open 24hrs a day. This is the view from down the street.

First stop: Unknown cafe for breakfast. I bought this organic drink made locally in NYC. It tasted somewhat like nasty wine with bubbles. Do not buy unless you like that taste!

After breakfast, we had no plans. We walked around and spotted Macy's. This is Ivy's favourite place. Like heaven on earth for her. Five floors of shopping and almost 2 hours later, she came out happy like a child. Who wouldn't be happy if they got 20% off plus and an additional 15% for signing up for a Macy's card?

All that shopping in Macy's got us hungry for lunch. We decided to head back to the hotel and picked a restaurant nearby. We spotted Man Doo Bar. It had a long line-up so we figured the food must be good. Overall, it wasn't bad. Man Doo Bar specialized in Korean dumplings. You can see the chefs roll and prepare the dumplings from the window.

We ordered a steamed pork, steamed veggie and fried pork dumplings dish. This is one of each. I liked the steamed pork the best. It had more flavours than I expected. Jae took this picture btw.

We crashed after lunch, which was around 2:00pm.

After being well rested, we decided to do some more shopping on Canal St, just because Topshop was located there. I have to admit, it was a disappointment. Topshop was not only pricey but the selection was limited. The only thing I loved in the store was the waiting chairs.

Down Canal street, I noticed this beautiful off white dress on a mannequin. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of it as I was too busy being shocked at the price ($500 I believe?). I loved the vintage machines displayed inside the store.

For dinner, we went to this pizza restaurant recommended by the kind Korean lady we met inside Man Doo Bar. Lombardi's Pizza is located in Little Italy (of course). I loved the clam pizza. I'm not sure what the other one we ordered had on it since it was Ivy and Jae who picked the toppings. Both were delicious. I would recommend this place to everyone.

Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped by Rice to Riches, a rice pudding restaurant we saw on the way to Lombardi's. I personally don't enjoy the taste or texture of rice pudding so I can't give a true review on this place. Rice to Riches has different rice pudding flavours. The place was laid out with neat, catchy signs to encourage customers to try their rice puddings.

My favourite signs!

Jae sampled the rice pudding. Not that great he said =(

Day 2.

I fell in love with this tiny store called Paris Baguette in Korea town. They made the most flaky and delicious Asian/French pastries ever. We also picked this place because Ivy noticed the kind Korean lady that we met at Man Doo Bar bought this for her son. She seemed to know all the good places to eat and she was right. We went to Paris Baguette for breakfast on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I have no pictures of the place though. We were too busy enjoying the food. LOL.

We met up with Carol and Veunita for some more shopping at Macy's. Veunita and I watched the Jockey's fashion show with Tim Tebow instead while the others shopped.

Tim Tebow - Quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Isn't he hot? Ohh, and the Jockey keychain I won in the "stay cool oven mitts" contest below.

We walked around Times Square for some more shopping and sight seeing.

For lunch, we decided to try another restaurant recommended by the kind Korean lady from Man Doo Bar. Momofuku Noodle Bar, by David Chang specializes in Ramen dishes. I am not a big fan of ramen but I love Momofuku. The ramen noodles are made just right, not too overcooked or hard.

Momofuku ramen (left) and Spicy chicken ramen (right)

Pork buns (left) and Shrimp buns (right)

The rest of the night was also spent walking around Times Square and Rockefeller Center.

Final stop before heading back was at the Empire State Building, which is actually 2 blocks from our hotel. Jae helped me config some of the settings to take these pictures.

Day 3 & 4.

I'm not sure what we did on the Sunday, besides shopping at Woodbury Commons Outlet. The days just went by so quick.

So, that was it. My journey to the big apple. I met a new and wonderful friend, Veunita and had an amazing times with old friends. Cheers to an incredible trip.