NYC: Day 4

We began this day in glorious fashion with breakfast at Pastis, an uber-trendy food spot in the Meatpacking District. I got regular eggs benedict with tea, Dave got eggs a la basquaise with coffee. We also split some spinach, simply because I felt we had not been eating remotely enough vegetables on this trip!

A block away from Pastis is the beginning of the High Line, which is a section of elevated rail that New Yorkers have turned into a long park. It goes under buildings, over streets, and it even has its own restaurant. It was a very unique experience and I hope that New York continues to expand it into more track.

After the High Line, we decided to head down for a stroll through Greenwich Village. There, we bought cupcakes and a small cheesecake from Magnolia Bakery, which apparently began the whole cupcake craze we're still experiencing. On our way to Washington Square, we walked by the street and townhouse where Carrie Bradshaw allegedly lived in Sex and the City. Dave felt a little ashamed being there, as did I, but what can you do. It was right there.

After we visited Washington Square Park and got some Cuban pork sandwiches at Favela Cubano, we decided to try our luck again and try to fit in the Museum of Natural History before closing time. And man, were we glad that we did.

We sprung for the tickets that included a video in the space orb thing, and we visited my favorite - the gem room - and Dave's favorite, the dinosaurs. They had some really wild fossils, including a brontosaur, a prehistoric turtle, a mastodon, pterodactyls, a t-rex, prehistoric sloths, stegosaurs, hadrosaurs, triceratops, and a really weird thing that was apparently a prehistoric version of an armadillo.

We went out of our way to try to fit in the Easter Island head, but it turns out that it's not even a real, so unfortunately we missed the gift shop before closing time. Boo.

Time for another walk through Central Park...

We decided to put our names in for Serendipity 3, which is famous for its frozen hot chocolate, as well as just for being famous. While we waited, I paid a visit to the over-sugared Dylan's Candy Bar, a sweet shop owned by Ralph Lauren's daughter. There is even a portrait of her in jelly beans. I didn't buy anything, though.

We finally got in at Serendipity, where we ate some so-so food and had a delicious dessert. I wouldn't wait in line for this again, though. I think people just like the idea of eating at a place where famous people have eaten. The shake at the Shake Shack was better!

And on our 30-block walk home, I should mention that we stopped at a small Zabar's location, where I bought a $4 black and white cookie. Dave laughed at me, but I said, how can I leave New York without eating "two races of flavor living side by side in harmony?!"