Traveling with Laura

It’s been three years since my last visit to the Big Apple and I am well overdue for a couple of days in New York City. 

I left home this morning at 5:30AM and took the 8:47AM train from New Haven’s Union Station to Grand Central Station in New York. From there, it was just a short walk to my hotel, where I planned to leave my luggage for the day. As luck would have it, my room was ready before 11AM and I was able to get settled and regroup before heading out. I have stayed at The Bernic several times before and my room on the top floor might be on the small side, but it has a spacious balcony (no chairs to sit and enjoy it, unfortunately) with a view down 47th Street to the East River.

I am determined to try some new restaurants on this visit, so my first stop was an hour’s walk away at Gray’s Papaya on the Upper West Side. Though there is much debate, it is purported to have some of the best hot dogs in the city. I’m not typically a hot dog person, but I was willing to give it a try. I got mine with ketchup, mustard, and cheese (very much not the traditional New York toppings) and it was quite good, as hot dogs go. For $6, one can get a hot dog and one of their famous tropical drinks. I wanted to try the papaya drink, but given that I can’t eat bananas or cantaloupe, I didn’t think trying a new tropical fruit would be the best choice. Instead, I had the pina colada drink, which was both creamy and delicious.

Then it was another walk back to Midtown, where I had a ticket for the 2PM matinee of “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)”. I didn’t know a lot about the show, but the reviews are fabulous and I always enjoy smaller productions. This show has just two actors and a single set on the rotating stage. The premise is that a woman whose sister is getting married meets the groom’s son (whom he has never met) and they form a bond over the two days the son is in New York City. The show strikes the right balance between humor and emotion and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In a first for me, I stuck around outside afterwards and got to meet and have both cast members sign my Playbill.

After the show. I headed back to the Upper West Side for dinner at Song’e Napule, again on the Upper West Side (this time I took the subway to give my legs a break!). Song’e Napule is hailed as one of only a couple of authentic Italian pizzerias in New York City. The quattro formaggi Neapolitan pizza I had was perfectly thin and crispy with just a little char on the bottom. The tiramisu, while passable, didn’t hold a candle to the ones I had in Florence a few weeks ago.

I ended my evening with a long walk back to my hotel through Central Park. The evening light was perfect for wandering up to Belvedere Castle, through the Ramble, around the lake, and down The Mall. Once I got back to my hotel, I was done for the night. I snacked on some M&Ms from the M&M World in Times Square while editing pictures from the day.