NYC Memorial Day Weekend - May 2009

We had a tradition for the past few years to go to NYC with the Raleigh gang over Memorial Day weekend.  On this trip, the Raleigh contingent was smaller and consisted of Shawna, Keith, John, JoAnna, Phil and Joyce.  While there, we met up with Kim, Tom, Mark, Alicia, Dan and Kristin who all lived in or close to the city at the time.

Accommodations:
Hyatt Grand Central - As usual, we took advantage of Keith's points and shared a room here with John and JoAnna.  It's a great hotel that is convenient to most of the places we visited.

Activities:
Shawna, Keith, JoAnna and John arrived on Friday night on the same flight out of Raleigh.  We were supposed to get into the city in time to meet up with the Snarrs, the Feinbergs and Danelle for dinner; however, our flight was significantly delayed so we missed out on dinner.  When we arrived at the hotel, we went out for a few drinks with the Snarrs before we called it a night.

On Saturday, we went for a run/walk in Central Park and then took a 3 hour tour around Manhattan with Circle Line Tours.  It's a great way to see and learn about the city from the water.

Kim, Tom, Keith, Dan, John
on Circle Line Tour

On Sunday, we went for another run/walk in Central Park and then did a 2 hour walking tour of Greenwich Village.  The walking tour was quite interesting as we learned about the speakeasies that had developed in the area and how the gay community started out there.

The Gang on the Walking Tour

On Monday, Shawna and Keith had breakfast with her sister Carmen who lives on the Upper East side.  We then met up with John and JoAnna back at the hotel and packed up to head back home.

Restaurants/Bars:
Bar Americain - Since this restaurant is owned by Bobby Flay, we thought we would get some slammin' steak.  However, we were not impressed with the food and the service was quite slow and rude.

Lunasa - We all met here for a few drinks before going to dinner.  Nice outdoor patio.

Brick Lane Curry House - Great Indian place on 6th street in the lower East side of Manhattan.