Greenwich Village, NYC
100 year old in unique building in the center of Greenwhich Village
Once again we are in NYC ! ~ Each and every time it's a whole new experience. In Feb it was all about Fashion. This time it's Greenwich Village and Central Park Romance. We are here for a friends wedding.. BLACK TIE | EVENING GOWN and all ! I LOVE THIS !
Zip zip... this trip is going to be a blurrrrr ... NYC wedding, 3:00a train ride (my first ever East coast railway adventure) to Maryland. My husband will be teaching the new Eco-Chic Collection/Bamboo haircare products for Alterna Haircare and squeezing in some adventure time to explore Baltimore's Inner Harbor all in a weekend !
We were lucky enough to get to stay at a friends recently vacated pad in Greenwich Village. 160 Beecker Street to be exact, smack dab in the middle of it all. Arriving on Friday at 10:00p we were dropped by a taxi at this rather unique apartment complex. After the doorman drilled us to be sure we were legit and not squatters, 3 small flights of stairs, past this awesome atrium, we were in. Small apartment (to be expected), wood floors, galley sized kitchen with all the works (even a beer tap !) stairs leading up to the loft bedroom, near floor to ceiling window views of Beecker street... taxis going by, people walking, clubs and restaurants lined the streets shoulder to shoulder... where to begin. After putting a call into our friend and thanking him for his hosptality we asked him for a recommendation for dinner. He stated that this was pretty much a college town food wasn't so great, he loved Lupas Osteria Romana, (co-owned by Chef Mario Bitelli ) My husaband instantly made a reservation online with Open Table on his phone (Open table App/droid) ..... 30 minutes. We found the fridge had ice cold Stella Atois, a moment to relax, nice !
Lupas was just a short walk past 3 or so buildings and a right turn down the street. Small, cute. We were seating instantly. What to choose (menu) After asking our waitress what the most popular dish was we went with her recommendation. Great idea! Specialty pasta and ravioli.... Salad pecorino... not wine drinkers, we stuck with an italian beer. Chatting with our waitress Graupa...bitters...
Off to play... 1st stop Wicked Willys, we walked in past the bar and straight to the back of the building where there was a small stage with a live band playing, the lead singer dressed in a flowery summer dress, wedge heals, pigtails with sunglasses atop her head...HER head?... (that, that dude looks like a lady) the she was a HE !
[Video] Check my youtube channel: Di by the Sea. Picture gym carrey on MTV As I sat and listened, quite enjoying this visual ...Jeff ran next door for some pizza (from Pizza Booth, bad idea, it was horrible ! We ate our pizza slices and continued watching the band belting out 80's tunes, the lead singer began to strip off his clothing and before I knew it he was dancing around in his skivies and heels. The venue itself had fun interior elements, although the girls bathroom was nasty. the stalls were in odd placement, the toilettes laid crooked, really strange.
When we were done there we crossed the street and headed into Le Poisson Rouge or for those in the know, the LPR. Turned out to be an Art gallery / Night Club. Down some stairs into a nightclub atmosphere, bar, disco light, dj, fog machine.... we hung out a while, enjoyed a drink and watched a few people dancing. The place started off crowded and was empty in no time. We were ready to leave and hit the hay... we only had to walk just next door to our crash pad, big day tomorrow getting ready for the wedding.
Woke up just before noon... brunch at Cuba Restaurant just a walk away... Papa rellenas (my favorite), pulled pork... (menu) Ropa Vieja (next time I want to go back for dinner in the downstairs back area...)
Time for mani-pedis (do we have enough time?) at a place called Crystal Nails... (FourSquare Deal $8.00 Mani) the regular Combo Mani-Pedi price of 25.00 was the better price. So we stuck with that... we had to wait 15 minutes then it took 15 more than they said... with 5 minutes to 6:00 Jeff was literally running out the door barefoot to pick up his shirt from the dry cleaners before they closed their doors which would have left him shirtless under his tux. ! I stayed behind to finish my manicure and dry. With just 30 minutes to dress, hair, makeup, pack and catch a Taxi for the 15 minute drive to Centeral Park, Jereimah Essex House... I was frantic to say the least. (settling for a pony tail and not the cool up style I had hoped for and with no time for eyeshadow, eyeliner or mascara, I was THANKful for eyelash extensions.(lexelanink.com)
a Jumeirah Property
I have wanted to check out one of these properties for some years now. So excited !
The Ceremony was in a Grand room just down the hall from the Hotel reception area...
Gorgeous crystal dripping chandelier centered the ball room, the first thing I noticed ! (being a barracuda at heart) Open seating, so I opted for the back of the room so I could take it all in. The entire bridal party looked amazing. The ceremony was fabulous, this was my first Jewish wedding, learning about the covered, the 7 circles around the groom... before I knew it there was the breaking of the glass by the groom and it was over, Mazel Tov !
We were led out of the main room into a side area with a piano player, a huge spread of seafood appetizers, waiters walking around serving deliciousness on trays, wine and champagne flowed in celebration, there was an area set up with hamburgers, pigs in a blanket and french fries too ! My husband was called upon again to assist the bride with her hair touch after veil removal so we were whisked off up to the Bridal Suite. There we took some photos, bustled up the bridal gowns of bride and mother of, then grabbed some champagne and back down to the reception we went.
Reception Dinner (quick change over from the hotel staff) from wedding room to reception room ...
Center stage was a Live Band : Hank Lane Music and Production.
It was a beautiful wedding with all the jewish traditions, chair dance, tuberone chocolates bouquets of flowers adorned the tables and around the room. Nice touches a basket of flip flops in the ladies restroom for guests. :)
The after party at Whiskey Park located in the Trump Parc. Just about a blocks walk from the Essex House... RAIN ! (good luck for the bride and groom) Pool table, flat screens full bar, a last drink and goodbyes... out the door in our full Black-tie attire (thank goodness for those flip flops !) to grab our bags and a taxi to
Penn Station to catch a train. The 3:00 a.m. train (and a quick facebook post: Journey's "... just a small town girl... she took the midnight train... ")
*Tip be sure to have your phone charged and an e-mail with confirmation... we almost had to buy a second set of tix...couldn't check into Kiosk. Luckily we had our email with confirmation number and reciept, proof of our ticket purchase.
Train was fairly empty but filled up more and more at each stop.
Penn Station Baltimore...a bit hairy! We weren't even sure if we could catch a taxi outside of the station (blindedly we went onward to find out our future) I thought it best to take off the bling as to not garner any unnecessary attention. There were just 2 taxis, one filing up and 1 just for us ! YAY ! Taxi to Turf Valley Resort.
(Later while in Baltimore at the Visitor Center we learned that we could have rented a car from Penn Station) But being that we it wasn't a round trip back to the station, but one way to the hotel to the airport. That really wasn't a better option for us this time around.)
Goodbye NEW YORK Hello MARYLAND !
We made a side trip pre Baltimore the evening before and the morning before to Ellicott City, an historic little town in the Heart of Maryland. We enjoyed dinner at the Ellicot Mills Brewerly Restaurant. (Local brewery with loads of atmosphere to boot. They take their beer very seriously indeed and have the best draft selection in our town). The following morning back convertible top down, we stopped for a quick view of the Log cabin, (1780, Oldest surviving residential structure in Historic Ellicott City. Drove up and down the streets, historic homes and buildings, cobblestone streets. Then we were off to explore Baltimore's Inner Harbor, about a 20 minute drive away.
I had a FourSquare Quest to acquire and Poe's grave... anything else we did was just bonus. We walked around checking out all the attractions on the piers, (I lost count at 4) Maritime : US Constellation, submarine, there are boats, dragon peddle boats to take a ride in, water taxis. After stopping in at the Vistors Center and a short video of what to do and see, and talking with a guide we were convinced that our next stop would be the American Visionary Museum, a short walk on the promenade (or a quick on off on a water taxi) What a cute museum, so quirky and fun ! A great suggestion. After an hour or so there we took a short drive to Edgar Allen Poes grave... A large memorial grave stone is at the entry of the cemetery but if you dare to expolore you will find that the actual grave is behind the church (Poe is burred with his grandparents) We decided to check out the Market there (bad idea) We walked in and literally walked right back out ( A drug deal going on right in front of us... that place was so scary !)
*Tip: The purple route bus is free and clean and will take you on a roundtrip tour of the inner harbor.
A cute place across the harbor,Fells point... A stop for a beer at the The Cats eye pub then a walk down to the The Horse that you Rode in on bar (poes last known stop before his death)...
We stopped for dinner at Little Havana, (on the water) in my opinion it was not GOOD at all, poor service, but FourSquare tips said differently. Our final FourSquare check in to do was the Tattoo museum, as we stepped foot in the door, they told us they were closed :( That would have been sooooo cool !
Our last and final stop, the State capitol... some cool night time photos of the capital all lit up then a 20 minute drive to a hotel near the airport for our early flight in the a.m. back to the OC.
Mission complete ! FourSquare badge attained. The Baltimores Charm badge (a blue crab) :)
Off to the next hotel ALoft (a Starwood Property) Cute boutique hotels, if you read my blog you know how much we love these. Very hip, stylish decor, great use of space. Trendy. They had an indoor pool, but we had zero time to utilize it. Located right next to the BWI airport, convenient.
Chilis Restaurant (airport) on FourSquare check-in Deal = free chips and Salsa Deal. a 3.39 value. ! Score.
So don't freak !
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