in a new york state of mind

i’d like to say that we got up early for that one full day we had to play in the city, but i’d be lying.  we slept in a little - which i guess is pretty understandable given the fact that we’d just gotten back from japan a couple of days before.  

our first stop that day was at ess-a-bagel, where the bean was thrilled to grab one of their beloved mr. nova lova sandwiches.  smoked salmon, sliced avocado and avocado cream cheese?  pretty much their idea of the perfect breakfast right there.

it was kinda weird to be back in front of rockefeller center after our pre-christmas trip.  this time there were no holiday decorations and no hub to guide us around.  although there were also a lot less people to elbow through, so i guess that was nice.

years ago during one of our visits to NYC, we’d done a cupcake crawl where we’d visited as many cupcake shops as we could in one day.  this time we decided to embark upon a chocolate chip cookie crawl, and our first stop was culture espresso.  this ended up doing double duty for us since i hadn’t had any coffee yet, so it was perfect.

the bean was a big fan of this first entry in our cookie crawl.  it was thick and chewy with no shortage of gooey chocolate chips while managing not to be overly sweet.

i was, of course, quite happy with my iced latte.  delish.

and then just down the street and around the corner, we found ourselves in another familiar area.  hello again, times square!

as we made our way around, something caught the bean’s eye.  the spring musical at school this year was “chicago,” so it was still fresh in their mind.

the great thing about not making any plans is that you can pretty much do whatever strikes your fancy in the moment.  it was about 1:15 at that point, and i hopped right onto the theater’s website and snagged some last minute seats for the 2:00 show.  don’t you love spontaneity??

it was actually really cool to find that the production at school was pretty close to the broadway version.  of course, it was a little more elaborate here and the performers are obviously seasoned professionals.  but still…the bean’s high school had done a pretty fantastic job in comparison.

next up was our second stop on the cookie crawl - bibble and sip.  here the specialty item is called a “chooukie” - a chocolate chip cookie/cream puff hybrid.  we paired that with their milk tea cloud cake and washed it down with an iced matcha latte (the bean) and a black float for me, which was cold brew topped with a salted vanilla cream.

making our way back towards rockefeller center, i glanced somewhat longingly at the theater where “wicked” was playing.  if we’d only had more time, we would have definitely have gone to see it.

radio city music hall selfie!

finding chip city in the bowels of rockefeller center wasn’t very easy.  we had to stop and ask someone for directions, and he teased us a little bit and said “bring me a cookie!” we told him we would, but he just laughed and sent us off in the right direction.

we picked two flavors to try and then added a third cookie to our order to bring to our friend upstairs.  it was really fun to see the surprise on his face as he watched the bean approach him with a treat to hand him.  

as we wandered around, we’d found a few japanese shops and had had fun looking around (and comparing the US prices vs. the ones in japan).  and then when we found this japanese market we decided to pick up some stuff to take back to the hotel and enjoy for dinner.

for our last stop, we headed down into the subway.

we’d seen an instagram post for the sweet shop, where they offered grab bags filled with british and swedish gummy candy.  and so while it wasn’t in the cookie category, we made an exception and ordered a couple of bags of treats.  that way we had some to try together and some for the bean to take to columbia and share with their roommate.

it had been a really long day, with tons of walking and sweating and snacking and laughing.  we’d had so much fun, and we’d discovered that we would still have a half day to spend together before the bean had to check in at their program.  woohoo!

while at that japanese market, the bean had picked up a big ol’ chunk of sushi grade salmon and said they wanted to just eat it in bites.  i thought they were joking, but when we got back to our room it occurred to me that we didn’t have a knife or a cutting board or anything to actually slice it up.  and so we ended our day with even more giggles as the bean did this:

gotta love it.

back in the big apple

we were home from japan for about a day before it was time to pack up and head out again.  this time, we were off to new york city for the bean’s 9-day summer theater tech program at columbia university.  originally i was going to stay in the city for the duration, but with everything being so expensive it was much smarter to go home when the program started and then come back out to fly home together.  i know they’re old enough to travel solo, which probably would have been a good idea, but this way we got to spend the weekend in the city together.  plus, the hub was off on a boys’ trip of his own over the weekend anyway.

and so we were off again, this time out of the much more convenient ontario airport.

we got the chance to upgrade to business class, so we took it.  i’m rarely going to turn down the chance to sit in bigger, comfier seats and be served hot meals if the opportunity presents itself.

usually when flying out of ONT, we have to stop somewhere halfway to the east coast.  this time, it was dallas.  and when we landed, we found that we had to hop on the airport monorail to get to the next terminal.

after our trip to asia, the sight of this 7-11 hit a little differently.  there is zero equivalent to the delicious snacks in those japanese convenience stores in the U.S.  so sad.

the layover was just long enough to give us time to find the AA lounge, where we grabbed a couple of comfy chairs and some snacks to kill time till we needed to be at the gate.

and then it was time to board the next plane, which would take us to NYC.

this time, the in-flight meal was a choice between a cheese tortellini and chicken parm.  we got one of each, of course.

it was a nice, uneventful flight and then before we knew it, we were landing at la guardia.

after grabbing the bean’s suitcase, we made our way out to the parking garage to hop in an uber that took us to the aloft hotel in harlem.

it’d been a long travel day for us, and we were happy to just stretch out and relax on the beds.  i would’ve loved to go out and explore, but we were both tired and figured we’d just get up early the next day so that we could take advantage of the one full day we had to play in the city.

flying first class…up in the sky

getting up to board a 10-hour flight was a little easier when we knew that the gate was right there one level below us. and i found that i only had one thing left in my suitcase that i could wear - but why did i even PACK a white dress??

oh well, whatever.  at least it was clean.

dropping off our suitcases and going through security took almost no time, and then we headed off in search of the lounge that we had access to.  on the way there i eyed the hermes store and debated going in to look around, but i figured i couldn’t buy anything anyway and the bean would have zero interest so we just kept on walking.

the lounge was really nice, but it was pretty crowded in there.  we got lucky and found seats at the window, which was kinda fun.

and the food was really good, as it was everywhere else in japan.

we were both fascinated by this rice dispenser.  

there was a massage room, where they had these big comfy chairs in little cubicles.  we had about a half hour before we had to head to the gate, so we each took a chair and got a little pre-flight massage.

i really wish we could have cool stuff like this in our public restrooms - you’d take a piece of toilet paper, spray some sanitizer on it and you could wipe down the toilet seat to make sure it was sanitized before you used it.

when we got to the gate and found a spot to wait for our turn to board the plane, i snapped this because i knew i wanted to preserve that moment in time.  i look at this picture and i instantly remember how much fun the two of us had had together on this first trip to asia, and it reminds me of a trip the hub booked for me and the old lady when she was about 9 or 10.  we took a train to san diego and rented a car when we got there and spent the weekend together, just the two of us.  bonding moments with my kids are so precious, and i cherish those memories so much.

and then it was time to board the plane!

the hub had splurged on our return flight and booked us in first class, which we were super excited about.  the premium economy seats on our way out were perfectly lovely, but there’s nothing quite like first class seating for a long flight.  we had our own space, seats that would turn into beds, and so many amenities:

we were really excited for those pajamas.

i was a big fan of the slippers.

and the FOOD.  check out the menu for our flight:

but first, my last onigiri from 7-11 needed to be enjoyed.

i washed it down with an ice cold coke and followed it up with some warm nuts.

next, a fresh salad and the smoked tuna and marinated shrimp small plate served with a warm roll.

of course, i ordered the grilled beef filet with roasted potatoes and veggies for my main.

and when the attendant offered an ice cream sundae for dessert, i didn’t say no.

with my sweet pajama set on and my belly full and happy, it was time to stretch out and take a nice little nappy-nap.

a couple of hours later, i happily accepted the mid-flight snack.  i don’t remember exactly what it was, but it was some sort of sandwich with a side of pasta salad and a fruit cup.

and later, i enjoyed breakfast while watching downloaded episodes of “selling sunset” on my ipad.

almost there!

and at 6:30am local time, we were back on american soil.  it’s so weird to go back in time.

we’d received our approval for global entry while we were gone (great timing), so when i spotted a desk to do the required interview to complete the application process just past baggage claim we stopped to get it done.  it’s damn near impossible to find a location near home to do it, and since we were already there with only one family in line ahead of us, it was a no-brainer.  i was really excited to see the hub and i knew he was waiting for us, but he agreed that it made sense to finish the process while it was right in front of us.

speaking of the hub, while he was just as happy that we were home he definitely didn’t love the two extra (very full) suitcases that we’d brought home.  i tried to use the “most of these are gifts” and “everything there is so high quality and inexpensive” but it wasn’t working.  oops.

and when he watched us open those bags and saw all the AMAZING stuff we had…well, he still wasn’t convinced.

i’d managed to bring home one 7-11 melonpan:

and all of the amenities from the disney hotels, even the little kid items.  i just knew i would have kids who i could gift them to, and they’d love it (spoiler: i was right).

the bean and i had run out of toothpaste, so we tried this one that looked really cool.  turns out, brushing one’s teeth with salt is…not wonderful.  

and after two weeks away, there’s no better first meal home than a #1 combo from in-n-out.

and with that, the recaps of our fabulous trip to japan and korea are officially done.  talk about your yay!/boo. situation, amirite?