nyc + a birthday

...continuing with the previous post...
When we arrived at LaGuardia, we grabbed a cab to the city, had brunch, checked into the room, then I crashed for the rest of the day while Chris went to a work meeting. Finally, for dinner we met up again and ate at one of NYC most famous vegan restaurants Candle Cafe (the more casual counterpart to the upscale Candle 79, both located in the Upper East Side). I'm still having dreams about the particular dish I had there...it was a m a z i n g. Plus, we topped it off with the famous "Frrrozen Hot Chocolate" from Serendipity 3 (or at least 5 sips of it, because we were so full from dinner).


The next day, while Chris was at a work conference all day, I met up with some friends at Eataly. Seriously, the perfect place for Italophiles and foodies. One of the owners of this branch is the amazing chef, Mario Batali, and it seems that New York City was the perfect place to bring the Italian gourmet chain to the States, as it was bustling the entire time I was there. Each section of the store also has an open-dining restaurant area. We ate in the Le Vedure section (all vegetarian), which was outstanding. There is also dining in the fish, meat, pizza, pasta, coffee, chocolate sections as well as a few more.


A few hours after I let my lunch settle, I attended an Anti-Gravity yoga class at a studio in Midtown. I'd heard of suspension yoga classes before, and really looked forward to trying it out. It seriously was like getting a 75-min massage! It felt perfect for my body after a week of standing all day at tradeshows and sitting on cramped plane seats. Such a good way to realign and alleviate pressure - especially on the spine. It was so fun hanging upside down, flipping around, and enjoying the window view (17 floors up over the city) from my spot in class.


The rest of the weekend was spent visiting friends, celebrating another friends' birthday, checking out the dinosaurs at the American Museum of Natural History, eating at so many good restaurants (one included a surprise birthday dessert + candle for me), and staying bundled up. (We were really lucky for the first two days, as it was an unusual high of 60º, but the last two days were back to winter).


Finally, after exploring a bit in Brooklyn and going to brunch on Sunday morning, we walked to the promenade under the Brooklyn Bridge in Dumbo and then made our way back to the airport. So long NYC. We'll be back.