May 27th 2011 – Mom and Bellum booked an extended weekend stay in Stamford, CT. Saturday we enjoyed the 1st Annual “Stamford Harbor Live” which was occurring right outside my building. There’s a canal that cuts through our neighborhood and leads into the Long Island Sound. Some very smart individuals anchored a barge in the middle of the harbor and got some good bands to come entertain us. They had vendors selling ice cream and other goodies. But the best booth was Fairway Market’s setup – complete with free chips, salsa and guac! (Fairway Market is an NYC based supermarket that just opened a store here in Stamford. They are the only thing around here that holds a candle to HEB.) This was the first year the event has been held, but it’s such a fantastic idea… so i’m sure the crowds will keep coming back year after year.
Sunday we took the train to NYC and enjoyed our first Broadway Show. “Baby It’s You” was dubbed “a baby boomers delight” by the New York Post, so i figured mom & bellum would love it. And we all did!
It was very entertaining and now i think i’m totally hooked. I have a long list of shows that i want to see very soon. After the show we walked to Carmine’s. In case you haven’t heard of Carmine’s (because i sure hadn’t before i moved here)… it’s this fantastic family style Italian restaurant with a location right in the theater district/Times Square. OMG. don’t ever go there with less than 5 hungry, grown-ass adults. The portions are enormous and the food is absolutely delicious. The food is so awesome that it makes the 1-2 hour wait worth it.*
On Monday, we went back to the city to do some sight seeing. We had lunch in Rockefeller Plaza. (They turn the ice rink into an outdoor restaurant during the summer months.) Then we took the trek up to the very top of the 30 Rock building. The “Top of the Rock” observation deck as they call it has fantastic views of the city. {Plus, Bellum loves the show 30 Rock. So he was pretty happy}
I was able to talk mom out of a tour bus – it’s so much more fun walking and stopping wherever you want to. Our last stop was at Canal Street in Chinatown. I’ve heard from multiple people that they were able to purchase designer handbags and discount knockoffs from vendors on Canal Street. So i just wanted to see what this was all about!!
It was such a treat to get to have my family here, even for just a few days. Mom and I shopped, Bellum drank beer with the locals at “Bobby V’s” and i got both of them to try Middle Eastern food at Layla’s Falafel!! Mom and Bellum had to fly out on Tuesday morning at 8am. So i woke up around 4 to see them off from the hotel. I was heading home two weekends later for my high school reunion, so mom held it together as we said goodbye (sorta) … “See you in two weeks… Mommy loves the baby!”
*not according to William Davidow