Coco Recuperates: NYC Edition

Deploy a Dandy Digit, Protrude the Proper Pinky at the Plaza

Even when it goes as smoothly as possible, moving is a tiring task. I'm not talking about physically moving my body; I'm no lazy SOB. I mean packing up and living somewhere brand new. After having nothing but cardboard boxes in my sights for months, after having the smell of the stuff seep into my skin with the none-to-slight odor of packing tape, I decided I needed to head East to recuperate. Because if anyone is in the business of helping people lounge around, The Plaza Hotel is the place to go.

I didn't have to move the whole time if I didn't want to, but my mom seemed to want my company while hopping around the city. I don't know why, what with the lingering smell of cardboard still working its way through my system.

We started with tea service in the Plaza's Palm Court. I highly recommend it.

The next day we explored a bit and happened upon La Bottega in the Maritime Hotel. We tried out one of their cocktails, a rum and coffee cocktail called The Buzzed Sailor, before moving on.

View from atop a horse on Jane's Carousel, Brooklyn

Despite our best intentions to loll in luxury, we still managed to explore the city from top to bottom, even heading over to Brooklyn to ride Jane's Carousel. And then, in the name of finding a decent old-school sloppy NY slice, we hopped on the the NY Waterway Ferry over to South Street Seaport. You see, a good giant sloppy, greasy slice of pizza is hard to find these days in NYC. Sure, there are still pizza joints everywhere, but none of them have the "it" factor. Burgers and cupcakes are the food fads of the moment, leaving pizza out altogether. But Anna Maria's at South Street Seaport satiated our pizza lust on this trip.

Had to stop in to Joe Allen's for sidecars -- consistently the best in the city (be sure to request they be made with lime juice instead of lemon), but not before waiting outside the theater where How To Succeed was playing. Mom saw that Beau Bridges was in it, so we waited to meet him at the stage door. Chris so-and-so from Glee was starring in the show, so I was surrounded by teenage girls for much of the night. Beau came out first though, and a sea of playbills were thrust over my head, hoisted forward in the hopes that Mr. Bridges would sign them. I had nothing for him to sign, and was more amused by the whole experience than actually getting something, so I reached for the playbills and got them into Beau's hands. He signed everything I handed in his direction, then I handed them back in the general direction from where I grabbed them and heard a few excited Thank-yous in the process. I would have turned to see who I was helping, but the crowd was just too thick to move.

Spent a night in the room watching North by Northwest. Seemed fitting we watch a movie in which the Plaza had a featured role. Luckily there's a movie theater right next door, so we were even able to have fresh buttery popcorn in the room while we watched Cary Grant stroll through the hotel lobby.

Our last morning in the city was unseasonably warm -- 62 degrees -- so we grabbed a couple of deli breakfast sandwiches and brought them to the park. We sat on a giant rock, ate our food, and soaked up some delicious vitamin D. It was a surreal walking through the park afterward, as people were shedding their coats, others were taking the opportunity to ice skate on Wollman rink. We fed the ducks before checking out of the hotel and getting to the airport for our flight back to Minnesota. (I won't be here for long, but I'll save that news for another post.)


Still, for those moments where all I could do was lie in bed, I was at least still able to control the room lights and even request ice with the touch of a button on the in-room iPad. The Plaza butlers will even draw baths, but I don't want to be completely helpless.