January 3rd New York

Matt and I both woke up pretty hungover, we actually slept in until
about noon. Which we both said we weren't going to do, but what can I
say, it was worth it. But today was my shopping day so I forced myself
to look halfway decent. We were both in the mood for some good
hangover food. So Alex took up so this place called Cafeteria, every
guy that worked there was gay. It was hilarious, and most the guys
eating there were gay too. Alex warned us beforehand, he said this
place is so gay! The food there was amazing and I recommend it to
anyone who visits NY. I had a croissant french toast with maple apples
in it. Like a french toast apple pie, OH MY GOD, to die for! I would
eat that meal every day! Matt got a humongous croissant egg sandwich
which looked good but I was too into my meal to try his. Alex drove us
through Chinatown which was interesting. The craziest shops ever. Now
off to shop! Alex took us to Spring Street which has all the small,
unique boutiques. We didn't want to hit all the stores that we could
easily go to at home. The stores are so well decorated and well
thought out. Nothing like the boring boutiques in Seattle. It was a
definite blast and I got some really cute stuff. I picked out some
things that I normally wouldn't, I think the NY fashion was getting to
me. We cut it pretty close so we had to get ready in fast forward.
Tonight was going to be our big go all out night and was it ever.
First, we had reservations at a small but very very very famous
restaurant called El Melino, supposedly owned by a mafia family named
Greene. Like I said Alex has connections. The place was TINY and the
tables were a foot from each other, I have no idea how the waiters got
around but they did. I felt like I was in the Sopranos. Tons of big
bellied italian guys sitting at the bar. A minute after we sat down
several waiters were bringing us all sorts of breads, deep fried
breads, tomato toppings, one waiter had a giant block of a parmesan
type cheese and cut us each off a huge chunk. It was simply delicious.
Zucchini chips, these were SO good and I probably ate more than my
share. I was full from all of that but ready for more. Matt, Shannon,
and I were all already impressed and ready for more! We ordered some
wine, well make that a lot of wine. My entree was a Lobster Ravioli in
a vodka sauce. It was delicious! Matt got jumbo shrimp which were the
largest I have ever seen, and the tastiest! The whole experience was
like nothing I have had the pleasure of. THis place is now one of my
favorite restaurants. Alex came in for a drink too! He also secretly
ordered us dessert. We all got our own plate, which was an eclectic
mix of tiramisu, chocolate sticks, creams, and random other tasty
treats. By this time, I was ready to puke. I don't think I have ever
in my life eaten the amount of food I did this night. It was a meal I
will never forget though. Now it was time for some night life. We went
to Pastis, one of the places where Sex in the City was filmed a lot.
It was a fun place to say we went, and get a drink. While Matt was
getting drinks, Shannon and I met an Australian couple named Joelle
and Mark. Joelle was a very reserved, sort of shy, plain woman, but
very sweet. Mark was a loud, funny, crazy, tall dark haired man with a
thick Australian accent. Matt came back and we all chatted for a
while. They were a cute couple but had no idea what to do or where to
go...so we took them under our wing. Then we went to Spice Market
which was a couple blocks away. The place was dead but we had a few
drinks with our new australian friends there. I learned some great
australian phrases, like bobs your uncle, you only call very good
friends mates, like a lizard on my belly, which I don't completely
remember what it means but it was funny, and other crazy aussie
things. We all were ready for some more so we headed to Buddha Bar,
the doorman here was a real dick and wanted us to buy 3 bottles for us
5 people. So we told him to shove it and headed next door to Tenjune.
Which none of us thought we would get into because it is a total celeb
hangout. Britney spears had her birthday there, and it wasn't looking
good with the huge line outside. But somehow Alex worked his magic and
got us in. We only had to buy one bottle here. Shannon and I were so
excited! Keeping our eyes peeled for some form of a celebrity! We got
our own table and were ready to dance! THe place was packed, like I
have said before everywhere in NY is a fraction of the size of places
in Seattle. Matt came back from the bathroom and told us he just peed
next to Justin TImberlake, of course Shannon and I started our crazy
hunt for him, but no luck. He had some sort of private back room but I
thought that was pretty cool anyway. We danced the night away and were
one of the last groups there. Matt was craving some Joes pizza again
so we stopped by there on the way back to the hotel, I skipped it
because I was still stuffed from dinner! What a fun night though, New York nightlife is way better than Seattle.