dc and nyc: part two

In DC, Nick and I went to a couple of museums but spent most of our time at his place. In New York, we were truly tourists - camera and city map in hand.

To prepare for visitors, I've been compiling a master list of interesting/recommended places to visit, see and eat at since I moved here. I think Nick and I completed half the damn list in three days. Here's what we did:

Tuesday: After arriving in Brooklyn mid-afternoon, we dropped off our luggage at my place and walked through Prospect Park. Though it wasn't very warm, I wanted Nick to see the park. Then we went on a date (!!) at a Moroccan restaurant in my neighborhood I'd been meaning to try. It was okay, but I've said it before - there is no better Mediterranean food than Med Cafe on State Street. I'm experiencing pangs of longing just thinking about it...

Wednesday: Somehow I'd managed to pocket and bring home two sets of keys from my work over break, so I went in to return them that morning. Since we'd already be in DUMBO, Nick and I jumped at the easy opportunity to go to Jacques Torres, a chocolate shop I praised previously. For Valentine's Day, I gave Nick a coupon for hot chocolate and a cookie, so he cashed it in...and agreed it was the best cookie he'd ever had.

A view of the Manhattan Bridge from DUMBO, my work neighborhood. DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass - it used to be a manufacturing district but is now one of the city's arts districts.

We then walked over the Brooklyn Bridge and into the city. We didn't encounter too many angry bikers this time!

A view of Brooklyn Bridge looking toward Manhattan.

Next on the agenda was an afternoon in Central Park. I hadn't been to the park yet since it's been kind of cold, but Wednesday's weather was perfect. And the park was gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. We sat on a huge rock overlooking an ice rink and talked for almost an hour (as a man in a business suit napped nearby), walked up the mall and through the Ramble and visited Strawberry Fields. On a good day, it takes me about 45 minutes to get uptown, but I'd really like to go back to read and relax, when I'm feeling ambitious.

Various photos taken in Central Park.

After walking through the park, we ate frozen yogurt at Red Mango, which I'd been wanting to try since I saw it on an errand for my internship. It's really similar to Tangy Sweet, a place Ashley took me to in DC last month. Nick and I then walked to Strand Bookstore, where I couldn't help myself and bought a book and a totebag. I love that store. Finally, I got to take Nick shopping! He needed some new clothes and wanted me to help him pick out shoes and shirts, so we went to SoHo. It was entertaining, but man - that boy is picky! :)

Illustrating how exhausting our day was, the following exchange occurred Wednesday night:

Me: Tell me a story.
Nick (starting to tell the story of our day): Katie got up at Nick o'clock...
Both of us laugh hysterically
Nick (embarrassed): ...I was thinking of what I was going to say Nick...
Our hysterical laughter becomes uncontrollable

HAHA! Apparently for my boyfriend, fatigue turns the words nine and next into the word Nick.

Thursday: We ate ourselves into sedation. The day began with lunch at Dub Pies, the Aussie/New Zealand pie shop near my house. Nick said the pies were better than the ones he had when he studied abroad in Australia, a high compliment. Then we took the train uptown to the famed Magnolia Bakery, where we ate and rated cupcakes! We split our vote: B/BC. Overall, the frosting was sugary and good but the cake was too dry - definitely a bit overrated.

Cupcakes from Magnolia. Nick wanted another cupcake before our NBC tour, so we went again today.

We walked around Rockefeller Center a bit and then headed to MoMA, where we happily spent a couple of hours. I love modern art, MoMA has the best collection of it I've encountered, and seeing it with Nick is really a lot of fun.

Pollack, Monet, Warhol, Rothko...we went a little photo-crazy in MoMA, we were so excited to be there!

After the museum, we had to go to FAO Schwartz, which was totally gigantic. I was a little disappointed: the store bears no resemblance to what I remembered from Home Alone 2 (no turtledoves!), but toys change with the times, I suppose.

Finally, we traveled deep into Brooklyn to Di Fara, one of the best pizza places in the city. All of the pizzas are made individually by the owner, an incredibly Italian man named Dom, who is one of the last major artisanal pizza makers. The pizza was absolutely out of this world. People willingly wait hours for Dom to craft their pizza, but ours was ready in about a half hour.

Our indescribably delicious pepperoni, sausage and onion pizza & a sneaky shot of Dom, the man who made it

Friday: It was the other intern's last day at work, so I went in to work and say goodbye. On Fridays at my internship, we always order lunch from someplace neat and eat together - they invited Nick, so he got to see the office and meet all of my co-workers.

Saturday: The main event of the day was a long awaited tour of NBC studios! We got to see three or four different studios - including the Today Show and SNL. I think it'd be cool to be an NBC page after graduation...maybe I'll apply!

A couple hours after our tour, Nick boarded a bus back to DC....so that was the end to our intense week (which was almost like Europe redux)! Now I'm 1) missing him and 2) waiting for Alli to arrive on Thursday. More good times will be had soon.