Back in Manhattan

On Thursday, it was back to NYC, my last full day in New York. The week had gone by so fast, I barely wanted to think about going home. Since I couldn't check into my new hotel in the city until the afternoon, I spent some time in the morning shopping at Woodbury Commons. I stopped at Starbucks for another iced latte and people-watched for a bit. I had noticed a Stride Rite store the day before when I was with Sarah and Adam. I called my sister to find out Morgan's shoe size and bought my little niece Morgan some cute pink sneakers. Every toddler girl should have cute sneakers!

It was around 12:30 PM when I got on the bus for the short ride back to NYC. I was looking forward to seeing the hotel I chose for my last night in New York. I happened to find a "spectacular" room, as they called it, at the W Tuscany in the Murray Hill neighborhood. This was supposed to be a much bigger room than the "cozy" one I already stayed in, in midtown Manhattan. As much as the W New York was hip and modern, the W Tuscany was completely different. The neighborhood consisted of brownstones and few skyscrapers. The W Tuscany itself is an old brownstone. The lobby and cafe, The Audrey Lounge, had some of the modern vibe, but the rooms were quite contemporary with wooden blinds on the windows. At first, I was given a room on the 4th floor. It was big and spacious, but I soon realized how close it was to the elevator. Sometimes soundproofing in hotels is very good for rooms close to elevators, but this was not. It was a handsome, old building, but have you heard that "rocking" noise an old elevator makes in building such as this? It's a classic old sound that throws you back to old times, but it's a little noisy. I knew I would not be able to block out the sound. I went down to the lobby and was incredibly grateful when I was told I could move to another room. I transferred my bags to a room on the 7th floor and was very relieved when it was quiet. Here are some photos of my lovely room.

So spacious, my room was almost too big!

Pretty French door to the entryway

Now, what to do next? It was around 2:30 PM and I didn't have much time left of my vacation. I felt there were a few more things I wanted to check off my NYC list so off I went, pounding the pavement again. After a quick bite at a deli near Grand Central I headed back up to midtown. My destination was Serendipity. Yes, the same place that inspired the name of the movie with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Kate and Molly Shannon (her character's best friend) chat there over a shared dessert in the movie. When I arrived, there was a long line almost out the door. Hmm, OK, maybe it was a super-touristy place. No matter. I worked my way through the crowd to the host and asked him how long I would need to wait to get a table. There is one good reason for being a "party of one," I got seated right away! I ordered the Frozen Hot Chocolate (a contradiction of words, in my opinion) that Serendipity is famous for creating. It was so good! It tastes similar to a Wendy's Frosty with whipped cream and shaved chocolate on top. Yum! The treat came with multiple straws, but I only needed one, and a spoon.

After my sweet tooth was satisfied I thought it would be nice to peek in on Central Park. My initial intention when planning my trip was to spend quite a bit of time there. Unfortunately, the threat of pending thunderstorms during that week, didn't allow that plan to come to fruition. Besides, to really see Central Park, I would need my knee to be in better shape. Another thing to do during my next visit. Still, I thought I would wander into the park a little way, before heading back to my hotel. It is such a pretty place!

I spent a little more time on 5th Avenue before I sadly bid it adieu. Back at the W Tuscany, I thought I would walk a block down to it's sister hotel the W Court. I had a glass of wine in it's, what I considered, trying-too-hard-to-be-an-"it"-location bar and noted an Italian restaurant across the street called Fagiolini. I jotted it's name into my handy Yelp application on my iPhone and it had some great reviews as a local restaurant. I walked over and after I ordered some food, snapped this somewhat blurry photo on my iPhone. Lights always "glow" in photos taken on my iPhone camera. Still, what a cool view of the Chrysler building at night. Fagiolini's in on the lower left. I ordered their house special, a chicken penne pasta with vodka sauce dish and asked if they would add some mushrooms. It was wonderful, one of those meals that was just right. Perfect for my last night in NYC.