New York City Adventure

I had the great fortune to get to go to New York City with my mom for a few days this past week. My aunt (her sister) recently began her new job as Dean of the Silver School of Social Work at NYU, so we got to stay with her in her amazing apartment; and when I say "amazing," I mean "amazing" as in "This is as big as a house!" and "Eleanor Roosevelt used to live in this building!" and "I can see the arch in Washington Square Park from the living room!" Pretty cool.

For only being in the city about 3 full days, we definitely did and saw a lot. I recommend any of the following:

• window-shopping in the West Village, with a stop at Dean and Deluca
• dinner at Balthazar
• checking out Edward Hopper's NY studio on the fourth floor of NYU's Social Work building
• visiting the Morgan Library (in particular for their current Jane Austen exhibit!)
• touring the original branch of the New York Public Library (where you can see the original Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear)
• seeing "Time Stands Still," a play with Laura Linney
• visiting the MoMA (including the current Tim Burton and Monet's Water Lilies exhibits)
• stopping in to the incredibly beautiful and serene St. Patrick's Cathedral
• grabbing a slice or two of NY pizza somewhere between Rockefeller Plaza and Times Square
• seeing "The 39 Steps," a great farce with an amazing four-person cast and Hitchcock references
• dinner at Buddakan (where Carrie and Big had their rehearsal dinner, for SATC fans)
• a chewy, boiled bagel with cream cheese
• real frozen yogurt from Pinkberry

Really, we crammed so much in (=lots of walking), but we saw a lot, learned a lot, and visited a lot. What else does one need for a satisfying mini-break?