After we fought Friday traffic out of the city, we arrived in Long Island to celebrate Phil and Eileen’s nuptials. The rehearsal dinner Friday night was at a nearby restaurant where food and alcohol were provided in abundant supply. The toasts were my favorite part, especially father of the groom, who gave his toast in Russian while Phil translated.

The next morning Alan and I drove out to Great Neck to visit his paternal grandmother, Elsie, and his uncle Mickey and Sharon and their son Jonathan. I was obsessed with the collection of mid-century modern furniture in Elsie’s house. we had a great conversation over some tasty bagels, and we also enjoyed the family photos she had on display.

::I’m Ron Burgundy?::

::my handsome father in law::

::how cute! alan and kenny::

Back at the hotel we quickly got ready and hopped onto the shuttle to the wedding. This was my first Russian wedding, and boy was it Russian. Rumor has it they chose this location because it was the only county within driving distance from Boston that lets you put a bottle of vodka out on each table. And a bottle of vodka there was, in addition to cognac, wine and a full bar, not to mention the vodka martini bar that literally dropped from the ceiling amid dry ice during the cocktail hour, and the most impressive spread of edible offerings I have every seen at a wedding. My favorite part was that every time someone says “Gorka! Gorka!” the bride and groom have to kiss (and I think everyone is supposed to take a vodka shot). Given the ample supply of vodka its no surprise the party lasted past 5am.

::just a glimpse of the food situation::

The ride out of Long Island the next day was the worst. I’m not naming names, but someone whose name rhymes with Schmalan may or may not have booted in the car, and I may or may not have had to stick my head out of the window to avoid vomiting myself on account of the smell.

P.S. Anyone know why there are no tolls on the west coast, but they’re all over the east? Also, when did they get so expensive?! The Illinois toll was $7.90 and then Ohio was $9.75… and then the Verrazano Bridge toll was $15! (I was happy to see tolls of 70 cents upon entering Virginia).

Seven and a half hours of driving took us into the city for some good eats and friend time. We stayed with our friend Jack in the East Village.

Our first night in town we headed over to Café Mogador on St. Marks for some Moroccan food and a great time catching up with two of my Cornell friends, Ellie and John.

The next morning we stopped for our first bagels of the visit. Russ and Daughters’ bagels were tasty, but more than $15!? What?? Granted Alan ordered sable, which is apparently fancy bagel ish, but honestly. It’s a damn bagel. Then I ordered a small latte at a coffee shop nearby which cost more than $5. New York, you were not nice to the budget.

We wandered all the way down to South Street Seaport to get discounted tickets to a Broadway show from TKTS. We ended up choosing a Jersey Boys matinee the next day (though I was really bummed they didn’t have tickets for the Glass Menagerie or times that worked for us to see First Date). Afterwards we met Jack for lunch at Mad Square Eats, which was a collection of tented food and drink stands from popular New York eateries out for a limited time near Madison Square. I opted for some fabulous thin crust pizza and Alan got a lobster roll.  Jack gave us a quick tour through Eataly – which is super cool; I could totally spend a lot of time in there (and eat a lot). The roof deck is equally amazing, and perfect on a sunny day like the one we were experiencing.

Later, we caught up a bit at Jack’s condo as he regaled us with stories of his fast paced and sleepless New York life. We had on Project X in the background (we’d all already seen the movie, which is awesome by the way) and I said that this movie makes everyone in the world nostalgic for college, except Jack because it probably makes him nostalgic for Tuesday night.

We got dinner at one of Jack’s favorite spots – the Redhead – with my friend Emily and her boyfriend Mike. The fried chicken Jack had raved about did not disappoint, and it was as always super fun hanging out and catching up with Emily.

On Wednesday we again got bagels, this time from David’s and they were much less expensive. We did a little bit of work in the am before grabbing a slice at Vinnie Vincenza and heading up to the August Wilson theater for the Jersey Boys show, which was really good despite the fact that people were singing along in the audience. Am I the only person who finds that annoying? I came to hear the talented actors and singers perform, not the audience.

After the show we met up for drinks with Alan’s friend John whom I’d never met (and was lovely), then ran over to our friends Mili and Sharath’s to catch up and meet their uber-adorable little boy. We hurried next over to Ippudo to meet our friends Morgan and Conrad for dinner (always hurrying in New York). I unfortunately found out about Beyaz’s passing right before the meal. I managed to keep in most of my tears to enjoy dinner with them, but let’s just say the rest of my evening was quite unpleasant.

The next day we went to the Met, and in between crying fits I saw the Balthus cats and girls exhibit and an Arab section we liked a lot, with tiles and carpets and various implements. The views from the roof were spectacular on that again sunny day.

::view from the met::

In need of a snack, we stopped at the Dutch in SoHo. I think we may have been confused for food reviewers, because we were given a second oyster sandwich, appetizer, cornbread and pie for free, all this while sitting at the bar and not even ordering a cocktail. Maybe it was the “you look like you lost your best friend” consolation prize. Or with swollen eyes I look like someone famous? Who knows. It was quite baffling as nobody around us seemed to get all the extra treats on the house.

From there we went to the James Hotel to grab drinks with another one of Alan’s fraternity brothers whom I hadn’t yet met. Then it was off to DBGB to get dinner with lots of Tufts alum, most of which were in the city for Phil and Eileen’s wedding on Long Island that weekend.

Before heading out to Long Island the next day we grabbed lunch with two of Alan’s cousins – Nina and Jonathan at Breslin.

OK, granted my dog died and I was in a terrible mood for much of my time in New York (grieving while on the road – and especially while trying to connect with friends and family left and right – is no fun. And this was worse than when my cat died and I took three days off of school to grieve), but here are some general thoughts. I’ve never been a huge fan of New York. I think my blind faith in all things Boston and my love for the Red Sox may have played a role in this growing up. But I also think it’s just too much for me. New York City is a city of excess. One never feels the proper amount of any sensation – too cold, too humid, cramped, loud…  I gave it a shot, especially given Alan’s love and respect for the city, but the over-stimulation that New York provides on a constant basis is just not my cup of tea.

Well, we made it through our first year of marriage even with a month and half of non-stop togetherness on the back end. Hooray! We still love each other! 😉

The day started with a walk down to the Carriage House for brunch. There was a long wait, but when I told the hostess it was our first anniversary she hooked us up in just a few minutes with the coveted couch seat. We of course ordered two brie stuffed French toasts which were fantastic and overly indulgent. I tried to order a champagne and strawberry rhubarb sorbet cocktail and was disappointed to be reminded that liquor cannot be served before noon on Sundays in New York. We contemplated extending our brunch as long as possible so that we could close with a celebratory toast, but ultimately hit the road for a walking tour of campus in which I recounted to Alan every memory that the scenery evoked. Thank you to Alan for indulging my tour of memory lane. The clock tower played Coldplay’s “Clocks” at noon as we walked through Ho Plaza. In addition, we covered west campus, north campus, the Arts Quad, the Ag quad, the Human Ecology area… lots of walking. It’s a large campus. We stopped by the Dairy Barn, which has been remodeled since I left, though it’s closed on weekends. As I recall, the ice cream they sell there is too high in fat content to be marketed as ice cream, though this may have been legend.

::brie stuffed french toast::

::us married folk::

We picked up the car (being sure to tip the valet girl well as I remember Emily doing that back in the day!), and drove down to the Commons. Sadly, the pedestrian street was under renovation and covered up so the hippie community that usually gathers was less entertaining than usual. We noticed that Michael Franti was playing that night at the State Theater and Alan actually saw him wandering around the Commons barefoot. We considered attending but decided to keep our reservation at Taverna Banfi – the restaurant at the Statler.

::at the commons::

::enjoying the cornell gear at the statler::

Before dinner we shared a split of prosecco at the bar lounge, then at dinner our waiter asked if we were celebrating something special. When we told him it was our first anniversary he came back with two glasses of champagne on the house. Feeling very loved and happy here in Ithaca! We had an amazing meal – splitting the meat and cheese plate, a seared feta and grapefruit salad, and then the duck with parsnip puree and maple and a cavatelli Bolognese. We also ordered a bottle of the Foxen ’09 Pinot which was divine. Man, we love our California ’09 pinots. For dessert we ordered a chocolate tarte concoction to go, which we brought up to our room along with our glasses of wine and devoured them in bed while watching some of the Emmy’s.  Solid way to toast to year one and look forward to the next one, which is sure to be a memorable one for us.

P.S. I almost made it through two blog posts about Ithaca without saying “Ithaca is Gorges” or some related pun. So I had to throw it in here. Sadly, we didn’t fit in any hikes around the gorges as it rained on us almost the entire time we were there (insert Shithaca reference here). Oh well – next time!

P.P.S. I googled the “paper” anniversary thing. It would have been the perfect year to exchange only cards as we were on the road, but we didn’t even do cards! Our gift to each other was this experience, and we are so glad we’re doing it.

And here I thought Minnesota was unique in all its Midwest charm with the cute town names, but I learned driving from Olean to Ithaca that there are towns in New York named Friendship, Harmony, Cuba, and North East! The adorable town names, coupled with the early stage fall foliage, and the fact that we were on our way to my alma mater for our anniversary (and my first trip back post-graduation) made for a charming morning.

Arriving on Cornell’s campus was an exciting moment, as it was buzzing with activity for homecoming. And having hit a bit of a low point in terms of productivity and motivation in Chicago, we approached Ithaca with a refreshed effervescence. We checked in to our room at the Statler – my first stay at the Cornell Hotel School run accommodation! I was very pleased to see we had a spectacular view of the mellifluous Cornell clock tower from our window.

Over at the tailgate for the football game (vs. Bucknell – my father’s alma mater!) we picked up my alumnus gift (a wine glass to go that fits in a cup holder… check this thing out! Awesome. My tuition finally paid itself off as we were awarded six drink tickets and free food just for showing up to the Arts & Science tent. We used our drink tickets to indulge in some boxed wine (oh the college flashbacks… slap bag anyone?) and BBQ chicken sammies.

::best wine glass ever::

::stubs::

Inside the stadium it began raining pretty hard, and I was disappointed to see that the Cornell way is to use your umbrellas during the game. Short folks like me disapprove.

::keeping dry, sorta::

::umbrellas ellas ellas::

Being a very unenthused football fan and witnessing a disappointing start to the game, we decided to try to beat the crowds at College Town Bagels post game and headed out early. (We found out later that Cornell came back for a win – oops… go Big Red!). CTB is best enjoyed on a sunny afternoon, sitting outside in the patio area with a pitcher of sangria and a vegetarian bagel (salivating so hard right now). Unfortunately we did not get the sun, so we sat outside under a tent that did little to keep the torrential (read: weak for Ithaca) rains off our backs, but it was still wonderful to be back. We snagged seats inside before we ordered our vegetarian (a bagel with veggie cream cheese, a slice of tomato, and melted muenster cheese on top). We switched it up a little and ordered it on a rosemary salt bagel (my go to is usually sesame). It brought me great pleasure to find the concoction just as tasty as remembered, and to see Alan enjoy it as well (especially given the fact that its called a vegetarian – my pork loving hubstah).

::CTB::

::sangria!::

::mmmm vegetarian!!!::

To walk off the consumption before we could justify ordering more food I gave Alan a tour of collegetown (the off-campus area most upperclassmen live in). We walked up to my sophomore year house (401 Dryden!), and having had a few beers and a pitcher of sangria in me, we knocked on the door and asked to come in since I’d lived there years ago. The furniture was the same, but it is now inhabited by guys on the baseball team and it was in a MUCH different state: the built in shelving in the living room was decorated with skoal tins. Just a touch of a difference in our decorating styles. After Dryden I took Alan to 211 Linden, my senior year apartment where we met a boy (who looked like a damn baby by the way – how old am I?!) who took us inside to a Tri-Delt’s apartment where they were getting ready for their centennial party. They indulged us “old” folks in a mini-tour of the apartment.

After my former home tour where I pointed out places that reminded me of my glory (or not so glorious depending on how you look at it) stories, we decided to get some more drinks at Dunbar’s. It was even more disgusting than I remembered, though an $11 pitcher of Shock Top never hurts. Except that we’re old and couldn’t finish it so wound up sharing with some other Cornellies we introduced ourselves to.

By this time we decided its acceptable to continue eating, and I went to my old regular spot – Asian Noodle House – for some pad thai. This one was nowhere near as delicious as I recalled. Alan knew what was up and went back for round two at CTB – ordering the Queens (egg salad, tomato and bacon) – one I’d never tried before. They have an extensive menu. My regulars were the vegetarian, eggs Melissa, and Brooklyn, but I really don’t think you can go wrong. We took our foodies back to the Statler and enjoyed them in our lovely hotel bed.