A wondrous weekend...part 1

Is my Martha showing?

I made Drew a Welcome To NYC banner out of a Subway

map and a provided a few treats and vino from Trader Joe's.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of seeing some of my favorite people: my dad, aunt Carol Ann, grandma Carol, Drew and all my NYC relatives! Sadly, what brought us together was my great grandma Rachel's funeral, but because her life was so long and filled with love and good memories, it was much more of a celebration of life. That part of the long weekend consisted of a scrumptious seven course Italian meal at Chianti's in White Plains, a shopping spree with my partner in crime, Carol Ann; and a fun night enjoying half shell clams, chowder and tuna sashimi at Legal Seafood.

Saying goodbye to my family was a bummer, but by Saturday I was ready for my weekend with Drew to begin! (Drew was originally arriving Friday night, but flew in a day early to be with me at the funeral, isn't he sweet?)

My weekend with Drew began Saturday afternoon at Ramen Setegaya on St. Marks, New York Magazine's choice for the city's best ramen. My boyfriend, along with most college students, is a big fan of the 18 cents a pack, microwaveable stuff, so when I told him we had the real deal here, he had to try it...first thing. And we agree with NY Mag, Setegaya is fantastic. We suggest completing your meal with the green tea mochi. You won't be disappointed.

Of course, the big bowl is mine.

Our next stop was Trader Joe's! After hearing me rave about it, Drew had to see it for himself. Then we ventured to Central Park, where Drew had his very first Sabrett hot dog. We enjoyed views of the city from the Belvedere Castle, saw lots of couples taking wedding photos at the Bethesda Fountain (DREAM!) and Drew fell in love with the Imagine mosaic in Strawberry fields.

Fun at Belvedere Castle

After taking many round-about routes to get to the sites in Central Park, Drew and I really got to know The Lake.

After the park we headed back to the dorm to hang out and enjoy Drew's welcome goodies! Later we went to the Famous Cozy Soup n' Burger, a delectable 24 hour diner right by my dorm. Drew got a munster burger and I got a vanilla milkshake and a reuben.

Sunday was grey and rainy, so we woke up early to visit the American Museum of Natural History. The line to get in was insane, and it looked too packed to enjoy, so we decided to switch it up and go to Rockefeller Center and the lovely, less busy attractions around it.

We lit a candle for my grandma Rachel and Papa Gene and enjoyed the architecture at St Patrick's Cathedral...

We built lego people at the Lego Store...

Lego Rockefeller!

Unleash the dragon.

We obsessed over the Psych merch at the NBC Store and met Pikachu at the nintendo store!

The cutest couple.

So while in New York, Drew wanted to try something he'd never eaten before, which is difficult because he's consumed things like rattlesnake and kangaroo. But luckily, my internship has introduced me to many real New Yorkers with insider tips, so we followed an MSW editor's perfect advice and had a wonderful dinner at Cafe Mogador, a lovely Moroccan restaurant on the same street as Setegaya! This could not have been a more fitting suggestion, we both fell in love with Mogador. For Drew to try something new, we ate Merguez, which is a mutton sausage. I got Merguez with salad, grilled vegetables and rice and Drew tried Merguez couscous. The slightly spicy and slightly sweet sausage was to die for. We both also tried the Moroccan tea, which is green tea with mint and sugar. I had mine hot and Drew's was cold. It was one of the most flavorful and aromatic teas I have ever tried!

Merguez...yummm.

After our meal, we traveled to the Whitehall terminal at sunset to take the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Although it doesn't take you as close as the official Statue of Liberty Tours, it's gets the job done and offers beautiful views of the city...and it's free! The foggy night made for a beautiful and unique viewing, and some great pictures! It was a very romantic evening.

The ferry we rode was epically called Spirit of America.

Hello, Lady Liberty!

Finally, Drew and I ended day two in Times Square, which was BEYOND crowded. We both decided that this tourist trap isn't out favorite part of they city, and missed the cool, laid back parts of East Village where Setegaya, Mogador and my dorm are. But we still had fun be being tourists and had a blast at the Hershey Store, where we invested in extra long twizzlers and a giant Mr. Goodbar. YUM. Drew is so relaxed and go with the flow, he is the best travel buddy!

Before we got to Times Square, Drew kept talking about the Coca-Cola sign.

Check in tomorrow for part two of my weekend with Drew, including scenes from the fabulous rooftop Martha Stewart 4th of July party!

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