NYC - May 15, 2010

Hampton Jitney

Apple Store - Upper West Side NYC

Signs at Gray's Papaya Broadway & 72nd Street

Gray's Papaya

Aroma Espresso Bar NYC

There's nothing like spring in NYC and that's where I decided to spend some time now that May is in full swing. After a short 4 hour and 45 minute flight from LA, I arrived in the Big Apple. I am staying in a spacious one-bedroom suite in the Affinia Gardens http://www.affinia.com/. It's in a fabulous location -- on 64th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue on the Upper East Side. I love walking and exploring this ever-changing city. My suite is simply furnished, with a large living area, bedroom, bath and a small kitchen. After a good night's sleep, I awoke to a beautiful spring day with the temperature in the low 70's. I walked over to 2nd Avenue to the Health Nut -- what an amazing selection of all things healthy. In my basket were my staples -- Fage Yogurt 0% fat, two boxes of Z bars, cereal, milk and seven grain bread. Also, they have the most amazing home made salt-free soup prepared daily. After stocking my fridge, I walked up to 72nd Avenue, caught the cross-town bus and was on my way to one of my favorite shoe stores-

Tip Top shoes http://www.tiptopshoes.com/. It's a haven for comfortable yet stylish shoes and sandals, just the type that you can wear for hours in the city. Ended up getting a pair of Original Kork-Ease sandals and a pair of stylish yet super comfy Finn Comfort sneakers. Little did I realize that one of my favorite Israeli coffee bars was located just a few doors down -- Aroma Coffee Bar http://www.aroma.us/. I stopped in for a delicious iced decaf coffee and a pastry. It really brought back memories of Israel... the place was full of families, children, tourists and locals. They also have two other locations -- in Midtown on 42nd Street between 2nd and 3d and in Soho on Greene Street at Houston. I didn't have lunch but their menu included fresh sandwiches, salads, soups and breakfast. I'll have to plan to eat there at least once during my stay in NYC.

Continuing on my walk, I walked past a long line of customers across the street at a famous NY institution -- Gray's Papaya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray's_Papaya located at Broadway & 72nd. This quick stop hot-dog chain has been featured on Anthyony Bourdain's No Reservations as well as in numerous films. They are famous for their "Recession Special" : 2 hot dogs with everything and papaya juice for $4.75. Now that's a deal for a NYC meal. Their hot dogs were ranked #1 in the city in the June, 2006 issue of Time Out Magazine. The line went quickly and within a few moments I was biting into a delicious hot dog with golden brown mustard and onions. Delicious!!!

After filling up on lunch, a long walk was necessary. Within a few blocks I stumbled upon the new Apple store on NYC's Upper Westside http://www.apple.com/retail/upperwestside/. The store was full of customers, many of whom were trying out the new IPad. I realized the store had a downstairs as well where Apple holds classes. Another huge success for Apple!!

The rest of the afternoon was spent taking the cross town bus back to the east side since my feet deserved a rest at this point. I passed a large bus parked on 69th Street with the words "Hampton Jitney" http://www.hamptonjitney.com/cgi-bin/nav.cgi?page=home.html on it. This luxurious bus line transports New Yorkers to the summer resorts on Long Island. This is something I'll definitely have to check out soon!!

The amazing thing about NYC is that you never know what you'll learn about just around the next corner.