New York: Day 5.
Needless to say, we were feeling pretty lame after our lazy day before, but we woke up on day five feeling rested and ready to go! The first thing on our list was to go walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. We thought that by leaving around ten in the morning that we would beat some of the heat, but the lesson we learned most on this trip is that you never beat the heat and humidity. It always beats you. So yeah, it was super hot and muggy while we walked across the bridge, but we did it! And there weren't many people, so that was nice. We learned on our bus tour that one time, someone started a rumor that the bridge was going to collapse, so everyone on the bridge was panicking trying to run/drive off. Barnham circus was in town, so the mayor of New York had Barnham bring his elephants across the bridge to show people how sturdy it was. That's all I thought about the whole time we were crossing the brige!
Once we were in Brooklyn, we hopped on the subway to Coney Island. I was really glad that we had enough time to go out there, because I feel like it's kind of a big deal. It was a longish ride out there, but totally worth it. First thing we did was get a hot dog from Nathan's Original Hot Dog stand. They were so good. I don't know why hot dogs are so good, honestly, but they are. Then we walked down to the beach, along the pier, and even rode the ferris wheel! One of our most favorite vacations we have ever taken was when we drove through Charleston and Myrtle Beach and Southport/Wilmington, so I think being back at the beach made us both very happy. After the ferris wheel, we got some gelato and ate it on the boardwalk while Thomas Rhett's Die a Happy Man played in the background and I think that was probably my favorite moment of the whole trip. Being by the beach with Brandon is my favorite place to be. Also Disney World.
Anyway. We weren't at Coney Island for very long, but without swim attire, there wasn't much else to do after walking around and eating, so we got back on the subway and headed to Hoboken, New Jersey, home of Carlos' Bakery, the focal point of the show Cake Boss on TLC. We watched Cake Boss all the time when we were dating, so it was pretty much required that we go. Even though it was a Thursday afternoon, I honestly thought there would be a line of people waiting to go in, but it must have been our lucky day, because it took us longer to decide what we wanted than it did to be helped. Brandon got a cannoli, and I got an eclair and a chocolate covered strawberry. And they all were so good. We were walking back toward the water and passed a pizza joint, so we obviously had to stop for a giant slice. Day five was obviously our food tour day. I liked the pizza we'd had in New York, but that piece from Jersey was definitely my favorite. Also it was as big as my head, so that's fun.
We took our pizza down to a little park on the water and sat there enjoying the quiet. Compared to the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, the area we were in was practically dead, so it was actually really nice. After we finished our pizza and walked around for a bit, we went back to the hotel. We were going to a nicer restaurant for dinner, and after walking across the bridge and being at Coney Island, I wanted to shower before we went. When we got off the train from Jersey, we had to go up from the subway station and down the street to a different station, and while we were walking it just starting dumping rain. We stood underneath some covered scaffolding for a minute, thinking it would pass somewhat quickly, but it didn't. So we pulled out our umbrellas and walked quickly, but the umbrellas didn't stop the rain from soaking us! Our shoes, shirts, the backpack, everything was soaking went. But the rain had come on so quickly, it was actually sort of cool. By the time we got off the subway near our hotel, the rain had stopped and the blue skies were back!
The restaurant we ate at is called Max Brenner, yet another great suggestion by Alycia. The restaurant has real food, but essentially it's focus is chocolate. We were able to get right in, even though we showed up before our reservation, and holy crap I could eat there every single day of my life. We had what was called Really-Cheesy Really-Crunchy Mac & Cheese, and it was indeed both of those things. We also ordered a Pina Chocolada to share, pineapple, white chocolate, coconut, and orange juice. My favorite part though was the dessert. We had fondue with milk and dark chocolate, and caramel. Actually, my favorite part was probably when Brandon told me that he is starting to like dark chocolate more, and then he actually dipped his fruit in the dark chocolate right in front of my face. I have never been so proud. The entire meal was so good. I felt so fat and happy afterward!
From there, we went to the Empire State Building. Each time we were in the elevator, I just kept thinking about the part on Elf when we presses all the buttons and says "It's like a Christmas tree." I wanted to do it so badly. We tried to make it to the observation deck in time to watch the sunset, but we had the same idea as about a hundred other people, so we had to wait in line for just a little bit and missed the actual sunset. There was still a fair amount of light when we got out there, though, so we were able to see everything in the light, and then we stayed until it was dark. It was pretty cool! I enjoyed top of the rock more though, for the view, and also for the fact that there were so many people at the top of the Empire State Building that it was hard to move around and get a good view. It was a nice, romantic way to top off our day though! Day five is tied with day three as my favorite.
ps. if you click on the pictures, they get bigger! worth it for the panoramas.
