Lunch At The Financier Patisserie

While Emily and I were walking to meet the guys for lunch yesterday, we walked by a little place called The Financier. It looked really cute and advertised their espresso, which I knew Steve would love! 

He and I walked back to the café today and enjoyed sandwiches, soup, and people watching!

The outside of the cafe...it was right down the street from the Federal Reserve building, so we had plenty of time to eat and talk before he had to go back to work.

So many delicious pastries!

My ham, brie, and arugula sandwich was delicious! Steve had the mushroom bisque soup and a mozzarella and prosciutto sandwich.

People-watching out the window

I have loved these little dates each day! Steve's stuck in conferences all day long and I'm doing little adventures by myself, so we've loved meeting for lunch each day and then getting to plan our bigger adventures when he gets "home" at night!

Meetings On The Brooklyn Bridge

I have been on my own this trip more than ever before in my life! And I'm actually doing okay! I still get turned around at least once, and I have to ask at least three people if I'm headed in the right direction (I even paid a homeless guy a dollar to give me directions to the subway when I got lost), but everyone's been really friendly and I've survived! 

This morning I wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge because it was finally sunny out! It seemed like most of the tourists started on the Manhattan side and walked across towards Brooklyn, but I did the opposite, and I liked it better.

Waiting for the subway at Chambers Street. I took the subway across to Brooklyn and then walked back towards Manhattan.

Welcome to Brooklyn! Just getting to this point on my own felt like a victory!

Walking up to the bridge...

A really nice Swedish couple took my picture! I met so many people on the bridge! Since I was by myself, I kept asking people if they needed me to take a picture of their group, and they were always so appreciative! One man jokingly asked why I had taken so long to get to them, and two ladies didn't even speak English, they just walked up to me and handed me their cell phones! 

Getting closer...

Look at it! Isn't it beautiful! It was so incredible to see up close!

I'm finally here! This was definitely on my bucket list for New York, and it did NOT disappoint!

The view from the bridge. A cell phone just doesn't do it justice. You can see the entire harbor and the Statue of Liberty.

I've read about this tradition where couples in different cities around the world will close a padlock around cables on a bridge to signify their love. I happened to find these as I was walking.

Walking underneath the expanse

The temperature was 27 today, but with the wind-chill factor, it was 17 degrees! I can't even imagine what it was on top of the bridge with all of the wind! I couldn't move my fingers after taking a bunch of pictures without my gloves on!

Now I'm warming up in a Starbucks with a chocolate croissant and an ice tea. (Yes , it's iced. It just tastes better to me.) 

If I can figure out where I'm at, I'm heading next to the World Trade Center Memorial. More pictures to come!

The Christmas Tree At Rockefeller Center

You can't go to New York at Christmastime and not see the huge tree at Rockefeller Center!

It was so cold as we were walking home from dinner at the Plaza, but we roughed it out.

The fountain in front of the tree. Everything was so beautiful with lights and water!

The tree! Each, individual branch was completely wrapped in lights!

In front of the tree (And back to selfies!)

The famous skating rink. Between the price of skates and Steve's (cough...old man) hip, we didn't worry about skating ourselves. But it was still wonderful to be there and watch!

We bought strawberries dipped in dark chocolate from this guy in the Godiva store on 5th Avenue.

It was a great "New York experience" - kind of night!

The Plaza Hotel And FAO Schwartz

Dinner tonight was in the basement of the Plaza Hotel. It's called the Todd English Food Hall and it's designed as a high-end, gourmet food court. It was a great experience! There was an oyster bar, sushi, homemade pasta, a grill, and a wood stove for pizzas. 

The entrance to the Plaza

The Todd English Food Hall

Part of the layout. There were high top tables set up throughout or you could sit at stools in front of the counters.

The cheese display...so amazing!

Lobster macaroni and cheese! It was so rich and decadent! Steve had a chicken and broccoli stir-fry that he loved, too!

 

The entire menu...so many different options and styles!

We finally asked an older couple to take our picture, so we could have a break from selfies!

Outside the Plaza and heading to Rockefeller Center to see the tree!

We walked by FAO Schwartz and had to go in! The amount of toys was staggering! Look at the huge piano from the Big movie with Tom Hanks! I wanted to play on it so badly, but you had to pay to have an "official picture" taken in order to even step on it. 

Steve posing all tough next to a Lego Storm Trooper. We had to send a picture to our nephews!

Me and Batman! This one we had to send to the three Sapp men! They love their superheroes!

After FAO Schwartz, we walked to the Christmas tree!

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Well, in my case I just might be lost, but I've still had a lot of good opportunities to wander around New York. 

This morning began with a snowstorm, so I decided to wait to visit the Brooklyn Bridge until tomorrow when the weather calms down. 

Here are some pictures of some places we've wandered this week...

Widow shopping in SOHO yesterday 

Christmas decorations are everywhere! We haven't been to Macy's or Rockefeller Center yet, but I can't wait to see what they have in store!

The Hershey's store in Times Square

Emily and I at a bakery in SOHO

The view from our room last night. Isn't it beautiful?

Walking past old churches and great little neighborhoods on our way to meet Steve and Mike for lunch today.

So many great old buildings with "normal" stores and shops inside. New York would be such a great city to live in! Not for the rest of my life maybe, but it would be incredible!

Love all of the huge wreaths!

Harry's Italian Bar for pizza with Steve today

I found Trinity Church on Wall Street today. It was beautiful! I got to walk in and sit in a pew for a few minutes. 

The inside was so peaceful. I love that churches in the city stay open all day.

Tribute To HIMYM

Steve and I like to watch How I Met Your Mother, and one of the first things we did when we found out we were coming to New York was look up where their pub was! 

The creators of the show used to go to this pub when they lived in New York, and based everything about the set on this bar. It was a lot of fun to check it out!

Outside McGee's Pub!

 

Really delicious food! A great burger and fish tacos

 The menu with a drawing of the pub

 

All of the menu items were tied to episodes from the show. (This will mean nothing to about 99.9% of you, but we loved it!)

Loving our booth!

Just like the show! (Yep, I said that out loud.)

Every Monday night, they turn off sports for 30 minutes and turn on the show.

 

Tired and stuffed and ready to head back to the hotel. 

The benefit of staying in the Financial District is that your subway is empty by the end of the night.