NYC and Yankee Stadium

Well, I got to cash in on my birthday present from Adam this weekend. He gave me an I.O.U. for a Twins ticket at Yankee Stadium. We left Friday night right after work. We took the MegaBus down this time... it's the double decker bus. We had the very front row on the upper deck, in other words, good visibility and lots of leg room! They had WiFi on the bus so we got to watch the Twins game on my laptop on the way down. That definitely helped pass the 4.5 hour drive! We arrived in NYC around midnight that night. We walked through the Flower District a bit and then happened across a subway entrance. We totally lucked out in that it was the exact train we needed to get to our hotel. We stayed at the Embassy Suites downtown near Battery Park. It was awesome... a block from the water with a view of Jersey City.

Watching the Twins game on the bus

View from our hotel (Embassy Suites downtown NYC)

Saturday we wandered around the city a bit before the game. We did the typical walk through Times Square to catch some of the craziness NYC has to offer. We relaxed a bit in Bryant Park. Then we met up with Kyle and Beth at Grand Central and headed to the Bronx. They came down from CT to spend the day with us. We met some other fellow Twins fans on the subway... I was actually surprised at how many people I saw in Twins gear! Yankee Stadium, The Big Ballpark in the Bronx, The House that Jeter Built... it is indeed impressive. It should be for the $1.5 billion they spent on the monstrosity. The exterior resembles that of the old stadium (which is now a pile of rubble next door). When you walk in to the the stadium, you enter the Grand Hall which is almost like a museum with banners of past and present Yankee superstars hanging from the ceiling. There is also a Hard Rock Cafe, a NYY Steakhouse, and a Tommy Bahama Bar all inside the gates. Monument Park is located in center field and features all the retired Yankee numbers and plaques.

Our view that we woke up to from our hotel

Times Square

Old Yankee Stadium (or what's left of it)

New Yankee Stadium

The Great Hall

Hard Rock Cafe

Seats from Old Yankee Stadium

Go Twins!

Our seats were in section 305 row 1... out in left field. We had a great view, the sun was shining on us, and we didn't get too many heckles for sporting the TC. We got to tour most of the stadium on our hunt to get Kyle's garlic fries... but they were well worth it! So good! It was an awesome day of baseball, despite the lousy 7-1 performance by the Twins.

View from our seats

The M&M Boys

Behind Home Plate

Our Seats

That night we went to La Mela in Little Italy for dinner. The food was unbelievable. They come to your table and ask if you want any appetizers. Yes. They come back with an appetizer plate. They ask if you want the pasta course. Yes. Then they come back with three different pasta dishes. Meat course. Yes. Again three different meat dishes. This was my kind of place... I didn't have to make any real decisions (as you all know I am horrible at that!). So, of course I had to try a little of everything, and literally ate myself into a food coma. It was all so delicious! After dinner we ventured to McSorley's for a drink. McSorley's was established in 1854 and boasts being New York City's oldest continuously operated saloon. I would believe it from all the dust built up on the chandeliers! Everyone from Abraham Lincoln to John Lennon has passed through the doors... and now so have I! They have two drink options - dark or light. I opted for the light after eating so much Italian food that I could have nearly exploded. And on a side note, the light isn't really that light!

Little Italy

McSorley's

Inside McSorley's

This morning we woke up and took advantage of the omelet and pancake bar at our hotel. We walked off our breakfast with a stroll around our hotel, visiting the Irish Hunger Memorial right across the street. We walked along the Hudson River and admired Lady Liberty from afar. Then we went to check out the progress at Ground Zero, which looks the same as the last time I saw it. After that we headed up to Midtown for some pizza before we had to board the bus... you can't leave NY without having a slice of pie! We are now currently en route back to Boston (gotta love WiFi!). I am excited to pick Kenzie up, but not excited for work and finals tomorrow! Speaking of I better start studying...

Battery Park

Irish Hunger Memorial

Enjoying NYC

Statue of Liberty

North Cove aka Monaco on the Hudson

One Need Never Leave The Confines Of New York To Get All The Greenery One Wishes

Ground Zero

Wandering in the city for pizza

All in all, it was a fun filled weekend! A big THANKS to Kyle and Beth for coming down to hang out with us for the day. It was great to see them again! We are already planning our next Twins outing... against the Mets this time. Yankee Stadium was very cool, but I still think Target Field will be better! ;o) I am hoping to get to a game there at some point this summer! Go Twins!