Gazelles Take Manhattan–Day 5

Our last day in New York for our honeymoon! We had a few hours that day before our plane was scheduled to leave so we figured we would make the most of it.

Mr. Gazelle had one thing left on his list of things to do in New York before we left. Eat pizza. I scoured Yelp trying to figure out where to go but it seems like every place had its fans or its negative feedback. While it would have been great to go to one of the pizzerias in Brooklyn that some of the Bees recommended I was worried we’d have issues with time.

Instead we selected Lombardi’s, hailed as America’s first pizzeria. I had been here years ago and I fondly remembered their clam pie (pizza with no tomato sauce and freshly shucked clams and garlic on top). We got there early and managed to get a table right away in the tiny restaurant.Perhaps our eyes were bigger then our stomachs because we ordered a large pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and anchovies. You have no idea how excited I was about the prospect of anchovies on top of my pizza!!The crust was perfectly chewy and the tomato sauce was so flavourful.After we ate all the pizza we could possibly eat we hopped on the subway back to our hotel. We made a quick detour at Grand Central Station so that we could see the ceiling in better light than when we were there the other evening.We decided to continue on foot to our hotel so we could see the New York Public Library.And one last look up Fifth Avenue.With that it was time to head to the airport and begin the journey home.

So what are Ms. Gazelle’s tips for honeymooning in New York?

• Prepare for a lot of walking. Bring comfortable shoes! And if you are going in the summer you may want to plan on multiple costume changes.
• Do a bit of research before you go. Restaurants seem to get packed, so if there are any places you are really keen to go make reservations ahead of time.
• Also falling into the research category has to do with visiting museums and attractions. We could have saved some money with a one day City Pass since we visited the Museum of Natural History, Top of the Rock and Empire State Building all in one day. Initially this wasn’t the plan so I didn’t look into the City Pass too much. We also could have gotten a discount by buying a combo Top of the Rock/Harry Pottery Exhibition ticket package. When we visited Top of the Rock we weren’t sure if we were going to make it to Harry Potter though.
• The unlimited Metro Cards are great, especially if you want to hop on and off the subway. It was really easy to get around…except on the weekend. Watch out for signs for closures and detours around various stops.
• If you plan on lugging around a DSLR camera but you don’t want to look like you are lugging around a DSLR camera, then look into some of the great camera bags turned purses. Mr. Gazelle got me a Kelly Moore B-Hobo bag for my birthday and it was terrific to have in New York. It was great for carrying my camera, an extra lens, my point and shoot, plus wallet and cell phone.

And with that, the Gazelle honeymoon is over! Time to get back to talking about our wedding!!

Do you have any great honeymoon tips to share with the Hive?

Gazelles Take Manhattan–Day 4

Our final full day in New York dawned and Mr. Gazelle and I were at a bit of a loss.  We had a few things we were keen on seeing and doing but we weren’t really sure how to spend our entire day.  So instead we decided to play things by ear! 

We figured we’d need a bit of a snack to get us going.  A friend of mine suggested a visit to the Doughnut Plant since apparently their doughnuts are delicious!  We weren’t able to make it to the actual Doughnut Plant so instead we grabbed one of their chocolate doughnuts at the Dean & Deluca near our hotel.With the rumble in our stomachs settled we hopped on the subway and made our way to our next destination.  Katz’s Deli.Friends and Bees said that this was the number one place to go for corned beef and pastrami sandwiches.  Mr. Gazelle and I split a corned beef sandwich and it was delicious!The sandwich was amazing and well worth a visit even though it is a bit out of the way.  Sandwiches run from $11.10 to $17.25, beers are $4.40 to $8.00.

After feeling suitably stuffed post lunch we decided to walk it off with a stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge.Whoowee, it was a hot one out there!The bridge is such a cool structure to admire up close and the views of the city are really neat too.  I highly recommend a visit!  After we made our way back to Manhattan we decided to hop the subway to check out Battery Park so Mr. Gazelle could get a bit of a better view of the Statue of Liberty.  Even though we were only planning on being in New York for five days we picked up a 7 day unlimited ride Metro Card.  We loved the flexibility it gave us to hop on and off the subway and we got a ton of use out of it.  From Battery Park we walked up through the Financial District, past the New York Stock Exchange.After all of this time outside in the heat Mr. Gazelle and I were ready to cool off.  We started with some delicious salted caramel frozen yoghurt from Pinkberry, a place I have heard people rave about.Then we headed indoors to check out the Harry Potter Exhibition!Mr. Gazelle and I are huge Harry Potter fans and it was awesome to see some of the props from the movies so up close and personal.  The detail that went into the props was just astounding!  Stop by and see it if you are in New York up until September 5th, otherwise it will be down in Sydney, AU at the end of the year (I’m looking at you Mrs. Jaguar and Miss Teaspoon!).

Finally it was time for our last dinner in New York.  We chose to save the best for last with a visit to Tom Collichio’s Craft.  Mr. Gazelle and I are also huge Top Chef nerds so of course we wanted to visit the head judge’s restaurant.I will say that this was the most expensive restaurant we ate at, but the service here was unparalleled.  They congratulated us on our honeymoon as soon as we walked in the door and brought us a glass of sparkling wine to kick the dinner off.  We dined on some of the most amazing fois gras, pork, duck and beets I think we’ve ever had.  Our server’s favourite spice dusted doughnuts for dessert were out of this world.The kitchen had their own way of saying congratulations as well.Appetizers are $10+, mains are $29-$50, side dishes $9-$18 and wine is $40+/bottle.

One of our favourite experiences on the trip though, without a doubt.  With full bellies and somewhat sad hearts that our honeymoon was almost over, Mr. Gazelle and I hopped in a cab and made our way back to the hotel to call it a night.

Are you huge fans of Harry Pottery and Top Chef like we are?  Did you indulge your nerdy side on your honeymoon?

Gazelles Take Manhattan–Day 3

Our second day in New York was admittedly more for me – shopping and afternoon tea.  Day three was Mr. Gazelle’s day!  We started our day with a trip to the American Museum of Natural History.  We picked up the all inclusive super saver tickets that would get us into the Hayden Planetarium, the IMAX shows and two special exhibits – The Brain and World’s Largest Dinosaurs.Check out how excited Mr. Gazelle is to see the show at the planetarium!In between special exhibits we checked out the rest of the museum.The museum is huge!!Ms. Gazelle even found the gazelles!  There was so much to see that it really is impossible to tackle it all in one day.  We were there on a weekday, but there were still huge groups of kids all visiting that day so it was pretty busy.

Gazelle’s top tip for seeing the museum?  Download the AMNH Explorer app before you go!  The museum has free wi-fi and this made it easy to get around and find things easily (like the bathrooms).

After the museum we made our way over to Rockefeller Center.  It was time to relax, grab a beverage and enjoy some sunshine at the Rink Bar.Beers are $9-$12, cocktails are $10-$13 and wines are $9-$17.  Drink specials from 5 pm onwards though!

We then visited the Top of the Rock.In the elevators on the way up!  While the Top of the Rock is not as high up as the Empire State Building, where else can you actually look at the Empire State Building?The views of Central Park were amazing too!Tickets for entrance to the Top of the Rock are timed and it never felt very crowded up there.This was one of our favourite things that we did in New York.  Thank you to all of the bees who suggested that we visit here!

It was back to the hotel for a quick change, and then on to dinner.  On our way we decided to stop and check out Grand Central Station quickly.Then on to Les Halles on Park Avenue for dinner!Les Halles is a Parisian style brasserie and also the home base for Anthony Bourdain.  We also just happened to be there on Bastille Day so it was insane!  The food was delicious – my steak with béarnaise sauce was cooked perfectly.We capped dinner off with crepes suzette, because nothing says romance on a honeymoon like food on fire!  Appetizers range from $7.75 – $19.50.  Entrees range $20-$36.  Wines run $39 and up, but select wines are 50% off on Mondays.

It was a short walk to the Empire State Building from the restaurant.  We thought we would check out the views from the top at night.  Check it out, I’ve got tickets!On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights there is a live jazz saxophonist on the 86th floor.Even though it was about 11 pm it was still really busy up there – in fact it took us ages just to make it to the 86th floor.We decided to buy passes to the 102nd floor as well.  It is teeny tiny up there, but the highlight of the visit was the fellow in charge of the elevator to get up to the 102nd floor.  He was a hoot!

Day 3 was packed and we had a ton of stuff planned for our last full day in New York.  Time to get some rest!

Have you been to the Top of the Rock and the Empire State Building?  Which did you prefer?  I’d definitely recommend the Top of the Rock!!!

Gazelles Take Manhattan–Day 2

Day 2 in New York City dawned.  Mr. Gazelle and I decided to kick off the day with a delicious breakfast sandwich from Dean & Deluca, just one block away.Once we were fuelled and ready to go it was time to ride the subway!  Coordinating t-shirts completely unintentional.Mr. Gazelle indulged my desire to hit up the shops so we started at Union Square and made our way up Fifth Avenue.  Check out the view of Union Square from Filene’s Basement (which is apparently not in a basement).I found my favourite store!In J. Crew we even spotted a couple of famous folks checking out at the register next to us…  Melora Hardin (Jan Levenson on The Office), Dallas Green of Alexisonfire and City & Colour and Leah Miller of So You Think You Can Dance Canada:

THE CANADIAN PRESS / Darryl Dyck – Image via CTV

As we continued up Fifth Avenue we found the Flatiron Building!Soon it was time to change into our business casual clothing and make our way to The Plaza for afternoon tea.Isn’t Mr. Gazelle handsome?

Afternoon tea is $48 per person, with the option to add on a glass of champagne for an additional $20.Tea includes finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam and lovely rich and delicate pastries.  Although it may not look like much we were full and couldn’t quite finish everything! 

In the evening we hit up Broadway to go see Wicked!This was the one show I was keen to see in New York so we bought tickets ahead of time instead of taking our chance with last minute discount tickets.There were a lot of really catchy tunes and I really enjoyed the show.  I was really glad we had a chance to see it in person in New York!

After the show we were starving and we wandered through Times Square.Bubba Gump sounded pretty good to us!We ordered some peel and eat shrimp and some beers.  Mr. Gazelle had to get serious for those shrimp so the tie had to come off.The restaurant is open until midnight, making it perfect for a late night bite after a show.  There are great views of Times Square and the food was pretty tasty.  I highly recommend the spicy peel and eat shrimp and the Brooklyn Lager.With full bellies we made our way back to the hotel.  We had a busy day planned for tomorrow!

Have you seen Wicked?  What should would you want to see on Broadway?  If we had more time I would have loved to also see How to Succeed in Business…