Sally in NYC

My dear friend Sally left Manhattan today after an awesome five days. We had an excellent combination of both non-stop adventure and time to relax.

Sally arrived in New York Thursday night. With not much time, we had dinner at Noodles 28 and then jetted to my volleyball match on the UWS. We walked back through Central Park to get some night views of the midtown high rises.

Friday ventured around town Friday while I was at work. She was adopted by a family from Utah and joined them on the Greyline on/off bus tours so got to cover a lot of ground, from the Empire State Building to Times Square to the New York Public Library to Rockefeller Plaza to Wall Street and the World Trade Center. Well done, Sally! She then joined me at work and we ventured out to Queens to the Mets v. Rockies game at Shea Stadium. Good times altogether, made moreso by our seat neighbors, The Incredible Shrieking Girl and Frank the Tank. After the game, Nimish, Sally and I ventured to Williamsburg to MyMoon -- a place I've spoken about in the past and to which I wanted to introduce Sally. Once again, it didn't disappoint. Great place.

Saturday morning, Sally and I started the morning with Gary at The New Amity Restaurant where Sally surrendered her daily Starbucks non-fat mocha with cinnamon mixed with the shot for pipin' hot New Amity coffee. Again, well done, Sally! That got the day started on the right foot and we had many adventures to come. We stopped at the Ralph Lauren flagship store on Madison and were greeted with Chardonnay! We just happened to visit on the first day of the new fall line in their home furnishings section and they treated us to a shopping experience like none other. What an awesome $20 investment, Ralph. Smart business. It made our entire day and I'm even blogging about it. Just for that, a link to Polo.com. Priceless.

Sally and I then ventured down to Canal Street, through the streets of SOHO, and enjoyed lunch at Room18 in the Lower East Side... with Flying A and Prada bags in tow, of course! Our shopping excursion was made complete by a quick visit to ABC Home Store where we reunited with Scott from my visit with Angy Merola who helped us with more swatches as Sally mapped out bedspread opportunities.

So, you'd think with all of this shopping our day would be coming to an end, yes? Oh, but you would be wrong, avid reader! The day was just beginning!

Saturday night, Sally and I made it to The Canal Room where we danced and sang the night away to Evolution: a Journey tribute band. And was it ever a tribute! The lead singer was the very essence of Steve Perry, both in look and sound. It ROCKED. What rocked even more was Sally asking for -- and getting -- a table in the VIP section. It just so happened that the server's friends were there for a bachelorette party and had more space than they needed; they let us take over a little corner table for two. A round of shots on us to say thanks and -- CRACK! -- the ice was broken! We became fast friends and had a BALL all night. The six women fell in love with Sally and the party only got better as Evolution belted out even more favorites.

We then visited my favorite hotel of all time: 60 Thompson, not far away. We enjoyed late appetizers and a couple of drinks in what's an even hotter venue now than it's ever been. We had our first star sighting here to boot: David Grohl of the Foo Fighers (and formerly of Nirvana). He's short.

I had to treat Sally to Roma Pizza after all of the evening's festivities (and adult beverages). But Sally was having none of it... she didn't want pizza unless she got photos with the Roma staff! And what Sally wants, she got! She charmed the socks off the traditionally stoic proprietor and staff and was invited back to get a photo with the entire team. That Sally!

Of course, after the day's adventures, we were beat. However, Sally wasn't immune from the digital camera and continued the crashed out tradition on my futon, started by one Jesse Paulson.

Sunday was the start of the more low-key, but still amazing part of Sally's visit. We slept in, made a list, then set out to conquer our errands... a Starbucks run, toasted egg, bacon and cheese bagels and the Wizard of Oz. Having never seen the movie in full, we rented the video as we prepared for Broadway's WICKED...

WITCH ROCKED!!! tee hee

I don't know if I'm going to put it up there with RENT, but I have to admit, it has come pretty darn close. The show turned the Wizard of Oz upside down. It didn't follow the premise of the book too, too well, but it was done so amazingly, it didn't matter. The messaging and performances were mesmerizing... all seen from the 10th row, dead center. What is going to compare to this?

I then took Sally to the Meat-Packing district to Nero, an Italian restaurant I've enjoyed in the past. It was early so the restaurant was nearly empty. We got a great table in the back corner and sat so we could get a view of the restaurant and the people passing outside. It was an awesome dinner altogether and perfect for what we both needed after such an amazing Broadway play -- decompression. I'm not going to lie, I was moved, particularly by Elphaba and Glinda singing "For Good". You'll have to see the show, but I did gain an even newer and more powerful appreciate for Tier I and what it means to me, independent of time and space. That's all I'm going to say.

Sally and I then went to Rare View -- to enjoy a drink at a rooftop bar with incredible views of the city... only, it was CLOSED! Tragic! Against my conservative nature, however, Sally and I found a way through the locked gate and snapped a couple of photos of the lit Empire State and Chrysler Buildings. Nothing like a little delinquency to get the heart going -- loved it!

We did, however, enjoy a quick stop at WetBar in the Hotel on Lexington before heading back to the UES and enjoying several episodes of Six Feet Under, my newest vice.

Sally and I enjoyed breakfast at Le Pain Quitodien this morning on Madison @ 84th. She ventured into Central Park while I returned home to work. One of the things I failed to mention in all of this is that I got a nasty cold, such that I decided to work from home today and not have to spread germs to my colleagues in the office. Hopefully, Sally lands in Seattle tonight without the effects of my illness! It was nice to be home such that I could make/take calls and be here to say farewell to my friend as she left New York.

Here's the bottom line: it's such a treat to me for people I know and love to see the world in which I live. This might include experiencing NYC for the first time, or returning for the upteenth visit, given that this is my world, I love that people I know and love can share in it with me. Please consider visiting, if you haven't already. It would be my pleasure to have you here. I'm serious. Maloche me.