Back from NY!

I'm back from NY! I heart that place. So fun! So many adventures. And of course, one can't go to a big city without encountering a colorful cast of characters. This trip was no exception.

1) New York Nick. Mom struck up a conversation with this character on the plane. He was meeting his girlfriend in NY for the weekend, but was quick to inform us that he had no plans to propose, and in fact, never intended to propose to this woman or any other woman unless she has a good enough job to support him so he can stay home all day instead of working. Charming. And too much information. He talked to my mom the entire flight while she was clearly trying to read her historical romance novel.

I mean really. How is she supposed to concentrate on complex plots involving ripped bodices and dashing men in waistcoats with that inane chatter going on? He also used lots of interesting and unusual hand gestures. Wow. To the Never-to-be-Mrs. New York Nick: this Bud’s for you.

2) Edward the Blue Shuttlebus Driver. Edward drove us to the hotel from the airport. Throughout the whole ride he had this calypso/jazz/love music going really loud, and sang along for everyone in the cab. I still have the song "Rendezvous in Rio" stuck in my head. The music was so ridiculous that I had to google it to see if it wasn't just Edward's weekend band getting free publicity. I discovered that it is real music by a real person. Wow. People will listen to some crap.

3) Emily. One of my roomies from college! She is a real live New Yorker now, and she took Nikki and me OUT on the town while mom dug into her hotel room bed with a pot of tea and candy and called it a night. We had dinner in Times Square and then found ourselves at Vlada's, a trendy “Russian vodka bar” that is home to the hottest gay men in Manhattan. If you know me, you know that a visit to a big city male gay bar is a rare and exotic treat. Guilt-free attention from fun, good-looking guys! This venue is where I made most of my friends on this trip. We were out past two!

Me with Josh. This "one arm straight up" move is quickly becoming my signature. When did that happen?

4) The aforementioned hottest gay men in Manhattan. Shout out!

We also did a lot of fun, touristy stuff. We went to FAO Schwarz to get some toys for Nikki's kids (and saw Bernadette Peters there, singing a capella to the kiddies), we shopped at street vendors and at Tiffany's, we hit Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we saw Wicked. I am now officially re-obsessed with showtunes.

Here is Nikki and I with a NYPD horse in Times Square.

Here we are growling like Kung Fu Tigers.

This is mom in Central Park.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the trip:

Nikki: They don't have the Ben-10 toys at FAO Schwarz so we have to go to the Toys R'Us in Times Square.

Mom: They have a Toys R'Us in Times Square?
Nikki: Yes; it's a big deal. It's like the "Home of Geoffrey the Giraffe" or something.
Mom: Really? Is he walking around in there?
Nikki: Well, he's not a real giraffe.

Mom: I am SO drunk.

Mom: A $69 minibar charge? I only took a candy bar and a pack of cookies.

Mom: No one is allowed to drop the F-bomb on this trip.

Nikki: You have violated your own rule at least twice.

Mom: Only for clarification purposes.

Nikki: Flipping the bird counts as the F-bomb.

Mom: I brought them because I thought they looked New Yorky. (referring to calf-length leopard-skin boots)

And the best:

Mom: How did you know it was a gay bar?

HA!

Love these girls. So..... who wants to help me plot my return?