Girls Weekend in NYC

So first of all, I have to share my big screw up that took place before we left. Two of my closest friends from my performing arts high school were in Broadway shows, which was the main reason for this trip. We planned the trip pretty last minute so when all the decisions were made and booking were needed my mom was in Europe. I went over available seats for both shows, confirmed with both my sister and my mom and booked. Being the organized, over-achiever I am I created an itinerary and sent it to my mom and sister about a week before we left. My sister's boss happens to be a huge Broadway fan and was asking her about the shows she was planning to see. My sister said Something Rotten (Alek's show) and On the....something....with Kristin Chenoweth (she couldn't remember the name of it, but knew Kristin Chenoweth was in it because all my mom had been talking about was how she was so excited to see Kristin Chenoweth and that she wanted to meet her). Her boss, Stephanie, said Oh On the 20th Century. Sabrina said, I don't think so, I think it was On the Town. So Sabrina pulled up the itinerary and on it was listed On the Town with the address and everything. So, I got a call two nights before we were leaving from Sabrina asking me if I had booked the correct show. I knew immediately I had screwed up! After getting the kids to bed I frantically searched the internet and could not find any tickets. Nothing. I think there was one seat available, but it required a large donation to Broadway cares. I had already reached out to Aleks regarding tickets to his show and of course to spend time with him after and had messaged Phillip about meeting up for dinner too, but really didn't want to ask for tickets. I was desperate though. So I messaged Phillip and he had to do some checking/waiting, but he ended up coming through for us big time. We had amazing seats a few rows back in the center. He totally saved my butt from ruining our trip! (on a side note our original show tickets were for a Sunday matinee which is very rare, most shows are dark on Sunday so we were extremely lucky that On the 20th Century even had a show that fit into our schedule). I guess I am not perfect after all and the major sleep deprivation is really getting to me. 

We left on a red eye on April 16th and arrived really early on April 16th. Even though I had confirmed the hotel with my mom before booking because I wasn't sure which one was the one she usually stays at-it was the wrong one. We had paid for an extra night so we would have a room ready when we arrived in the morning so we could all get some sleep after our red eye and then make it to our noon lunch at Per Se, but they had screwed up our room and expected us to check out at noon, then check back in to our new room at 2 or 3.This trip was not starting off on the right foot. After arguing with them about it (I had to bring up the issue of the refrigerator I requested that already had pumped breastmilk in it and how they were going to keep my milk cold and move the fridge if we had to check out, keep our stuff in the lobby, then check back in after our lunch). They agreed to move our stuff for us while we were gone. We took a nap, got ready then off we went to lunch. The 7 course lunch was AMAZING! One of the best meals I have ever had. We had Oysters and Pearls, Slow Poached Elevages Perigord Moulard Foie Gras (Crystal had the Endive Farcie Au Pain D'epice instead), Pave of Mediterranean Rubina, Butter Poached Nova Scotia Lobster, "Fricassee" of Pork Belly, Charcoal Grilled Miyazaki Wagyu, Jasper Hill Farm's Winnimere, and a seemingly endless supply of desserts to top it all off. Each course was showstopping! It was incredible!

At the end of the lunch, I was in so much pain that I had to hand express in the bathroom. Then we headed off to buy some macarons from Bouchon then we went to meet up with Sabrina's friend Brooke. Brooke's place was beautiful and it gave me some time to do a bot more hand expressing while they caught up.

From there, we went back to our hotel, where to our surprise, we had been given a closet size room on a very low floor that was super noisy as it was right on the street. I honestly didn't care, but my mom was less than impressed and insisted we be moved. They ended up moving us up much higher to a still small room, but one with a view of the Empire State building (it was much quieter being higher up I will admit).

I pumped, we all changed, then we went to dinner at Tao. We have always gone to the same one, but thought it would be fun to try a different location this time. It was really cool and a lot of fun. Afterwards we walked across the street to Chelsea Market. Unfortunately, most of the stores were already closed, but it was still fun to walk around.

Then we went  meet Sabrina's co-workers for a few drinks at the Standard. I had learned my lesson earlier in the day and brought my pump stuff with me in my giant purse this time so as soon as we got to the bar I snuck off to the bathroom to pump. We went to XES for a while too, but I was so exhausted, I didn't last long. 

We had a bit of a crazy start to our next day. We got into the hotel elevator on April 19th, just the 3 of us, on the 28th floor and about one second into the ride the elevator fell than slammed to a stop-some of the roof particles and dust fell on us. We were obviously pretty scared, not knowing if we were done falling or if we were going to be plummeting down to the ground. I tried to remain calm and told everyone to grab the railing and sit down while Sabrina scooted over to the panel to press the call button. It was disconnected! Thankfully we had cell service so I called the lobby to inform them. It took forever to even get through to someone, then they nonchalantly said they would call someone to fix it and hung up! After waiting for what felt like forever (it was maybe 15 minutes) I called again and they still brushed us off, but assured us that someone would be there soon. I was not feeling very confident in them at that point, so I called the fire department. They said they would send someone right away. After waiting a total of 25 minutes, we finally heard someone outside the door. It was an elevator repair man and some other guy. They had to pry the doors open and were having trouble holding them so they shouted for us to hurry and get out. My mom, who was in the back corner rushed out first, haha. The elevator was on the 27th floor, but as you can see it was sort of in between floors. We were all pretty shaken up, but in a bit of a daze just started walking down the 27 flights of stairs. When we got to the bottom the entire lobby was filled with hotel guests and luggage and the fire department was there. Apparently, we just missed the fire department rescue, they must have been heading up the other elevator as we walked down the stairs. Talk about a disappointment-all that fear and stress and we didn't even get to be rescued my firemen. We did talk to the fire chief and got a few photos. The firemen were all really nice. The hotel staff on the other hand were not. They didn't really check if we were ok or apologize for the slow response time, lack of communication with us or for the fact that none of the emergency buttons in the elevator worked!

After that fun little morning, we grabbed a cab and raced to our reservation at the 9-11 Memorial and Museum. It was interesting, but oh so sad. It is something everyone should visit, but it is not something I could emotionally handle every trip. 

We went back to our hotel, where we walked up to our room because we were scared to use the elevator (the one we were in was still being repaired so only one was working), I pumped, we changed, then we were off to the Mandarin Oriental for afternoon tea. Then we walked through Central park and grabbed waffles and the Wafels and Dinges cart. It was such a beautiful day! The park was filled with cotton trees and was just so gorgeous. 

After enjoying the park, we walked down 5th Avenue to Rockefeller Center, through Times Square and grabbed drinks at the View, a rotating restaurant with stunning 360 degree views of the city right at sunset. Then we went to the theater where I had to pump before the show (I swear, I pumped all over this city! haha). I was so excited to see the show, Something Rotten (starring Brian D'Arcy James and Christian Borle)! I hadn't seen a Broadway show in so long, it was a brand new show with lots of buzz, and my friend was in it! I spotted Aleks right away (he has a very specific style) and he was so great! The show was fantastic. They got a standing ovation for a number of the show (and another one at the end, but I've never seen one at any other time before). It was honestly such a fantastic show, I could easily see it again and again. After the show, we met Aleks backstage, then we went to Max Brenner for late night snacks and desserts. It was so fun to catch up with Aleks! 

On April 20th, we went to the Top of the Rock. I've done the Empire State Building a few times before, but had never been to the Top of the Rock, and I have to say, I think I liked it better. It helped that it was another gorgeous day and that they had photographers taking photos of us. ;) 

After that, we went to the Shake Shack in Times Square to grab lunch before Phillip's show. While enjoying our lunch a crazy man came in and started yelling, attacking people, throwing chairs and using a paint canister as a bat. At one point someone yelled gun (thankfully he didn't actually have a gun) and a large crowd of us ran down the street and took cover. The male employees eventually jumped on him, holding him down until police arrived. My mom and sister were covered in paint (as was the store, sidewalk and nearby cars). A few people had minor injuries, but thankfully nothing serious. The staff were amazing and handled the situation so well. After the shock wore off I of course got a picture with the police officers to document the craziness. (The pictures don't fully depict the chaos and destruction as we had other priorities in the moment). 

After that scary experience, we walked to the theater, where I squeezed in another bathroom pump session before the show. Phillip had gotten us the most amazing seats and we were so excited to see the show (starring Kristin Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher). He had a featured role as one of four tapping Porters and he was fantastic! The show was much more old-school and so different from Something Rotten, which was more modern, but equally amazing and equally as funny. We loved it and all agreed that we could easily see it again. After the show we met Phillip backstage, where Peter Gallagher was giving a talk to a group of students. Then Kristin walked by and my mom got her photo, so that made her trip. Then we caught up with Phillip and his fiancee, Joy, over coffee and an Italian dinner. It was so nice to spend time with Phillip, it had been way too long, and it was a great way to end a fantastic (albeit crazy) weekend.