back in early november, my company put on a huge global business conference in new york city.  it also happened to be the company’s 50th anniversary, so this was a big event [aka a giant party].  we were there in the city for three nights with the company, and my coworker linda, her boyfriend noel, and i decided to take two extra nights before the conference, because why not?  WHEN YOUR COMPANY FLIES YOU TO NYC, YOU TAKE EXTRA DAYS.  it’s an unspoken rule.  we stayed in an amazing airbnb 2-bedroom apartment, got all our sightseeing in, and just had a fabulous time.  and THEN, to top it off, linda and noel got engaged while we were there!!!  you know how i am about love stories, so as expected, i was a sappy, over-enthusiastic pile of love, pretty much the whole trip.  [noel had told me when we first got there that he was going to do it, but of course i kept the secret!  but that didn’t stop me from taking cute photos of them everywhere we went.]  he did it in central park and then i got to go take engagement pictures of them there… it was sort of unintentional but it worked out perfectly and i was completely in my glory to be able to do that.  i can’t wait to share them with you.

anyway, new york in fall is divine.  and work parties in new york are fun.  this trip will be split into a few posts to include both my iphone and nikon photos, the engagement photos, etc.  so by a few, i probably mean like 5 or 7.  because 5 days in NYC in autumn + the engagement of your friends just require photos, dammit.  lots of them!

 

{this was me at 4:45 am before i left, trying to entertain myself before the shuttle arrived to pick me up and trying not to fall asleep…}

{my cute little NYC room for a couple nights!}

{first things first:  a grandma’s original slice [best ever] and a grandma’s garden slice at little italy on 43rd.}

{the new york public library…and me looking like a true tourist!}

{all i could think about was the wedding that carrie bradshaw was supposed to have here…} ;)

{those fall colors though…}

{st. patrick’s cathedral}

{at the rockefeller center}

{concrete jungle where dreams are made of… and a giant central park} :)

{lots of selfies because top of the rockkkkkk}

{felt like christmas}

{caffe bene for coffee}

{times square!}

{we went to park avenue winter for dinner our first night.  it was amazing.}

{before the meal, they served us pumpkin bread and caramel apples on a stick.  and we also shared a cured lemon caesar salad with tai-colored lettuce and the best “rustic croutons” + a peekytoe crabcake with avocado puree, citrus, and hearts of palm.}

{halibut & black truffles.  with a brioche-crusted poached egg!  i’m not usually much of an egg person but omg.  this was so good.  and those truffles!  and then we got some sides for the table:  miso-glazed brussels sprouts, sautéed spinach, and broccoli with cheetos.  yep, cheetos.  flaming hot and regular.  who knew cheetos could be utilized in fine dining, and they were really, really good!}

{then we had drinks at this amazing rooftop bar, 230 fifth, that overlooked the empire state building [up close!]  we had a really fun night.}

{after an very early morning and a busy first day, we slept in the next morning and then had lunch at lan larb, a thai place near our apartment.}

{i had a thai iced coffee and pad kee mao [flat rice noodles, egg, onions, carrots, string beans, basil, and “long hot pepper” in spicy chili sauce].  plus two vegetable dumplings.  gosh, i love thai food.}

{the city in autumn}

{we took the ferry over to see lady liberty and ellis island}

{love this girl!}

{…and these cuties together.  i promise that i actually got a lot of photos of the two of them, but they’re all on my nikon so you’ll have to wait to see them until i post my pics from that camera.  they really are so perfect for each other.}

{i’d been to NYC a few times before but i hadn’t been to the statue of liberty, so i’m glad i was finally able to check that off my bucket list!}

{from liberty island}

{linda was taking lots of “secret pictures” throughout the trip, and it was fun to see what she captured.  like that one on the left, where i was waiting for noel to take a posed photo of me [the one on the right] and linda snapped this without me knowing.}

{another “secret picture” of me there on the left!}

{…and even MORE secret pictures.  she was a sneaky one!}

{so it was my turn to take a secret picture of linda! ;)  and here’s noel and me waiting for the subway…}

{we went to the 9/11 memorial and museum… this is where one of the buildings sat.  it was sad, humbling, and moving.}

{then we had dinner at circo, a cool circus-themed restaurant.  the best part was getting to have an amazing three-course meal for free, thanks to noel who works for clubcorp.  there on the right was my first course: garganelli al nero di seppia [squid ink garganelli, shrimp, calamari ragu, chili, and tomatoes].  YUM!}

{left, my second course: pollo “al mattone” [brick-pressed spring chicken, onions, spinach, and roasted potatoes].  on the right, my third course – dessert: red wine pear tart.  all the food was wonderful.}

{next we went for a drink at the sky deck, another epic bar that overlooks times square.  it was pretty neat to sit up there watching the traffic and lights.}

{…and then we walked around times square for a bit before heading back.}

{oh, and i had forgotten that they actually have bleachers out there for people watching.  how fun is that?!}

and that concluded the first two days of fun!  more photos and posts will be up here soon with the rest of the trip!