A Country Mouse Goes to the City: The Weekend in a Nutshell

It is hard to believe that my last post was actually on Friday. It seems like a long time ago. As I'm sure those of you who are Facebook friends know, we had two mice up from the country for the weekend. Katie and Elise flew in on Thursday and landed about 25 minutes early, so we were able to make it back to our apartment by a few minutes after noon. Our first stop was Carl's Steaks for a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich and cheese fries. Now, don't worry, we only ordered one of each and split it three ways so that we could then make our way towards Macy's for another light meal.

After several stops at the 34th Street fast fashion stores, we arrived at Macy's where we went to the 8th floor and came down the wooden escalators, so that we could stop on each floor and check it out. Finally, we made it to my favorite floor, the Cellar, where the food court, the NYC souvenirs, and the cookware are located. After browsing through the goodies on this floor, we had another small meal from the extensive salad (and fruit and dessert) bar in Cucina & Co.

After all this excitement, and because of their early morning, it was back to the apartment for Katie, so that she could take a nap. Elise and I hit more clothing stores and then Bryant Park (another of my favorites). By this time, Kelsey was off work and Katie was awake, so we all met and rode the subway to the Chelsea Marketplace and spent a little time there. Afterwards, we ate at The Diner and then explored the High Line at night. After all, we couldn't stay out too late, since we had an early date on Friday for the Today Show.

Alarms started going off at 4 a.m. Friday morning, so that four women could get ready for their TV debut (haha)! We entered the subway station before daylight and exited just as it was beginning to get light. We stood in line for awhile, but we did get good spots in the concert area. Even though we weren't able to get real close to the Zac Brown stage, we were right by the stage where the Today Show hosts interviewed Morgan Freeman. I actually got to speak to Morgan and tell him I was from the country (Mississippi). About an hour later, our phones started buzzing, and we knew then that our TV debut had been successful. Elizabeth Vaughn even sent us pictures of ourselves on TV. Although you could only see my gray hair, it sure was nice gray country mouse hair!!

After the Today Show, it was on to the Rockefeller Center for breakfast and then to the Top of the Rock for a view of the city. Leaving here, it was back on the subway downtown to go on the Statute of Liberty Cruise and Ellis Island. At least the sun cooperated by not shining, so it was a little cooler than it could have been. After this, we grabbed some lunch and got to see the Wall Street Bull in the process. Lunch slightly rejuvenated us, except for Kelsey, so the remaining three of us went to Central Park for a quick look and then to some of the Fifth Avenue shops like FAO Schwarz, Tiffany, etc. Then the last three standing were so tired that we went back for a quick nap also.

We had been fortunate enough to get reservations at Serendipity's for 10:45 p.m., so after our nap, we set out again, this time, going to Dylan's Candy Bar and then Serendipity for a late (but delicious) supper.

Saturday morning, it was off to Lombardi's for pizza for lunch. This is the oldest pizzeria in NYC.

Next came Little Italy, where we enjoyed cannolis for dessert, and then on to Chinatown, which turned out to be extremely crowded and somewhat of a disappointment. We were in the area, and so we headed to the Hester Street Fair, which is a Saturday outdoor market of vintage goods, jewelry, artwork, and artisanal foods. This was such an enjoyable market that it made the trip to Chinatown worth it. Next were the shops of Broadway and then back for a quick nap.

Phantom of the Opera was our Saturday night entertainment. I saw Phantom the first time years ago, when the girls were young. Afterwards, I loved the music so much that I got the CD, and we used to play it every day on the way to and from school. They both loved the songs too and saw the play in St. Louis for the first time. Katie and Kelsey still remember all the words to all the songs, and we had a very enjoyable night getting reacquainted with the Phantom. Then after the theater, it was an Italian supper for us.

Sadly, our two fellow country mice had to leave Sunday morning after breakfast. After a slight mix up on my part, they made it to the airport on time and flew to Washington, DC. They boarded their next plane to Memphis and then had to disembark because of mechanical problems. Soon afterwards, the flight was canceled, so they had to spend the night. But on the bright side, they did have time to catch a nighttime bus tour of our nation's capital. And all went well on their flight today. After going to Charlotte, NC, then Memphis, they are back safe in the Brewer countryside.