These Little Town Blues... Are Melting Away...

New York, my city crush. I have had an obsession with Gotham since my early twenties, and I can say with 100% confidence that it is my absolute favorite city in America. I don't think I'll ever give up my thoughts of living there someday. All of these things are what makes a visit to the Big Apple so sweet! We had a great weekend getaway for the Mister's birthday... it was fa-reezing, but the weekend couldn't have been more perfect. We took a bunch of pics, so in the interest of time (and your continued readership), this post will be dedicated to our Saturday in the city.

We started off the morning by exploring Soho. Mr. Soup needed an additional layer, so we ended up at Eastern Mountain Sports where he snagged a pullover. The buildings in Soho are incredible. I could have walked & shopped around there all weekend, but alas we had schit ta do. So, we hopped the 6 train to City Hall/Brooklyn Bridge. I was super proud of us for using the subway system all weekend... I have used the subway in the past, but for this trip, I took the time to really familiarize myself with the lines and stations in lower Manhattan (more confusing than upper, IMO) so that we could get around without having to take cabs everywhere. The 6 took us right to the base of the bridge in Manhattan.

The Bridge was once the tallest structure in New York and was one of the first suspension bridges in the US.

A stroll across the bridge is rewarded with a freakin' fantastic view of lower Manhattan.
After our walk, we were ready for a warm up. On the Brooklyn side of the bridge, underneath the bridge on Old Fulton Street is one of New York's most famous coal-oven pizzerias:I will admit that the Mister and I are quite the fans of pizza, especially super-thin, crispy New York style pizza with fresh mozzarella, crushed tomatoes, and tons of basil. For years, we'd been going to Lombardi's in Little Italy for their coal oven pies. After hearing raves about Grimaldi's, we thought it might be time to compare and contrast the two. Once we got to the restaurant, we were greeted with a 30 minute wait...outside. It was a bit of a PITA to stand there in line, but totally and 100% completely worth it in the end. We got to Grimaldi's about 30 minutes after they opened and the line only grew after we arrived. If you're planning a visit and don't want to wait in the cold, definitely try to get there as close to opening as possible. They're pretty good about turning tables over quickly, and before we knew it we were crammed into a charming back corner of the restaurant. Here's the Mister cross-eyedly enjoying some of Brooklyn's finest pilsner:

We ordered our pie with coal-oven roasted red peppers (omg) and italian sausage. 15 minutes later, here's what we got:


O.........M.......Gawwwwwd. One bite and I knew I had arrived at the Shangri-La paradise of pizza. Amazing is all I can say. Definitely a must-visit next time you're in New York.

Fat and happy, the Mister and I walked over to the High Street Station and hopped the A/C/E train back to the island. Our next stop? The Museum of Sex!


Ummm, different? Interesting? Perplexing? Confusing? Tittilating? All of these things and more! There are some eyebrow-raising exhibits, some that are still making me scratch my head, but overall it was an interesting look at sex in history and modern culture.

To top off our day, we had reservations with Liberty Helicopter Tours for a sunset flyover of the city. Mr. Soup loves helicopters and all things airborne, so he was giddy at the thought of riding in the chopper. Here's us, dorkin' out in our sweet headphones.
It was a little tough for me to get any quality pictures of the city from the 'copter, but this was the view:

We ended our day with a delicious dinner and bottle of wine at The Mermaid Inn in the East Village, which included the most delicious fennel and fig risotto with a lovely reduced balsamic vinegar.

And they lived happily ever after.