I am finally blogging about our fabulous trip to New York city and Washington D.C.! It was a fabulous, busy, wonderful trip with a lot of eating! I will share the fun and tasty experience with you through the next few blogs over this coming week, so check back often!

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Here we are (with four of our six kids) fresh (well maybe not so fresh!) from the coast to coast flight. We are so happy to have arrived and we are hungry!

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For those of you that have never been to New York City before, this is Times Square and it is crazy busy and crazy crowded! It is truly not my favorite part of the city, but this year we stayed at the Marriot Marquis in Time Square so we were in the thick of it…. a lot! This was the first time in this city for my two youngest kiddos and they were excited to be here and soak it all in.

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We arrived on a Saturday night, so getting in any good restaurant was more than a challenge for this hungry bunch! For those of you that know me, I am not one to just go to any restaurant. Especially in New York! Every meal is hopefully a great one for me! But as I said, I was not having any luck getting in any restaurant I called before 11:30 pm…. yikes! So we opted for good ole New York pizza. But I am picky about my pizza joints too! I have loved Ben’s pizza in Soho for years. I first fell in love with this place when I tried their salad pizza. The best and most refreshing pizza on a warm sunny day or night. They have a great selection of so many flavors and two different crusts… thick and thin. I love them both here.

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Here is a slice of the salad pizza. And yes, it is really good!

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Did I mention their garlic knots? Pretty amazing.

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Also, in Soho is a tiny little takeout window for the tiniest bite sized cupcakes in a ton of different flavors. They are pretty good and I don’t know how they make them so moist when they are literally bite sized! It was a perfect sweet treat. We have been coming here for years.

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The following day we were going to a musical and literally had one hour to get something to eat. As I mentioned, Times Square is not my favorite place and the eating joints there are touristy and not my cup of tea. But with no time, I opted for this new place with a menu that didn’t sound half bad. It is located at the bottom of the W hotel on Broadway. I was surprisingly happy with this place!

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This was my favorite dish. It is their lobster popover with spinach, gruyere cheese, runny eggs and hollandaise sauce. It was amazing! I think I may have to recreate this dish someday. 

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We went to see Cinderella and it was magical and perfect! Even the hubby and boys loved it. I highly recommend it if you are ever in the city!

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Our next stop was the Empire State Building. We have taken all of our kids here on their first trip to this city. This was the first time we went up to the 102nd floor. You pay extra and if you ask me, it is worth it! Look how close we were to the very top! The views are even more amazing!

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Isn’t this view spectacular? Do you spy a restaurant at the top of that building fourth from the bottom of the picture? It has me intrigued. I must find it and try it on my next visit!

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Our family also got a chance to attend church in the city. It is located in a beautiful building located across from Lincoln center. Such a treat!

IMG_3336Of course a visit to the 9/11 site is a must. The new building is almost finished. A lot of construction is still going on with more great things in the works.

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The memorial pools with inscriptions of all the names of those that died that day is so moving. It is a beautiful memorial. 

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Here is my beautiful daughter Hadley. Our budding, talented photographer.

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We had lunch one day at this charming restaurant near Chinatown. 

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Just look at this place! Charm up the wazoo!

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Here is their kale caesar salad. Delish!

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Their bacon cheeseburger with duck fat fries was pretty fantastic as well. 

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Their highly recommended banoffee pie was as good as they said! And it takes a lot to impress me, especially with desserts!

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The Toys R Us store in Time Square has a huge ferris wheel inside and I have always thought how much my kids would have loved to ride it. Well, the day has finally come!

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Yup, they enjoyed it and the ride was so long I was beginning to wonder if they were ever going to let them off!

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It was fun to be in this city and see it through the eyes of my kids. I have so much more to share with you, so check back for part two!