NYC_Aug_2_2007

Woke up early this morning to catch our taxi. We allowed extra time as traffic was predictably backed up due to the collapse of the 35W bridge over the river yesterday. We would have normally taken this bridge en route to the airport. The catastrophe was the lead story nation and worldwide. We feel so lucky to have not been affected but are still waiting to hear all of the details as we are worried about friends and colleagues who may have been driving over the bridge at that time. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those involved.

We arrived this afternoon in NY and are staying at the Bryant Park Hotel (40 West 40th street NY). It is located in mid-town Manhattan, in the garment district. It’s a lovely place that I have stayed at previously for work and one that I was eager to share with Chris. It’s close to the heart of the city but a little out of the way, so not quite as hectic.



After relaxing a bit in our room we wandered around Bryant Park and then walked the Avenue of the Americas and Times Square. Times Square is so touristy/main-stream it feels much like a neon-powered out door mall. Not a lot of unique stores to check out, but plenty of major brands (MTV, Billabong, Virgin, Elements, etc.) …If that’s your thing.

At the recommendation of Mario, the events planner at the Bryant Lake Hotel, we decided to visit a local restaurant, Salute, for dinner. (Salute, 237 Madison Ave @ 39th street, NY. 212.213.3440) The service was a bit lacking, but the prices were reasonable. The atmosphere was very open/airy and the Tiramisu was to DIE for, so we can’t complain too much.



We started our meal with a salad of greens, caramelized pecans, blue cheese, celery and apple. For our entrees, Chris had gnocchi (with various cheeses) and I had taglliatelle with shrimp, arugula and cherry tomatoes. Both were really good, but not fabulous. For wine, we selected a fahlingina (mellow white wine) to complement our meals, and it was really wonderful.

After relaxing a bit in our room, we decided to check out the bar in the basement of the hotel, the Cellar Bar. It was a really cool space with vaulted, tiled ceilings, lots of candles and wrought iron accents (candle holders, wall hangings etc.). The crowd there was a little bit generic. Not what I had expected given the perceived hip quotient of the hotel. I felt like I could have been in a Midwest bar based on the patrons. We danced to a few tracks and spent a little time people-watching.

We were getting pretty tired so called it a night around 1am and watched cheesy TV shows on the plasma screen TV in our room until we fell asleep.