New York, New York....sing it with me!

The Royalton Hotel

If I had not know exactly where this hotel was, we would have driven right by

Times Square was two blocks to the left of our hotel

5th Avenue was one block to the right of our hotel

our heavenly beds...we liked the little cubby holes between us

this was propped up on my bed. Kate didn't get one...not sure why

the awkward corner sink and split mirror

Wonderful amenities. These smelled really good

nice shower....lots of hot water and a "rain" shower head

the hotel provides an ipad to use while you are there

my steak and frites (fries) at Sarabeth's

puff pastry and pastry cream...very fluffy and light

kate's pressed chicken (under a brick) with mole sauce

kate's cheesecake...very dense and delicious

Danny left for a mission trip to India and I scooted off to New York with one of my best friends. I know that sounds horrible, but Danny's trip had some pretty scary elements to it and I needed a bit of a distraction while he was away. Kate and I have known each other since I was in 7th grade in Houston, Texas and she was in 6th. We moved in across the street and became fast friends right as school was starting. I had mentioned to Kate that I would like to travel with her somewhere and when I talked about a cupcake tour of New York, she was in! I adore cupcakes and follow several blogs that have taken cupcake tours of New York. They inspired me to do the same and I began to make my list!  My purpose for this trip was literally to squeeze in as many bakeries and chocolate shops as possible without making myself (or Kate) absolutely sick. Kate was traveling on a direct flight from her home in Texas to New York. My flight was scheduled to arrive about an hour after hers. As luck would have it, Kate actually arrived early! As luck would NOT have it, my flight was delayed several hours due to the President being in New York City. The airspace was closed while he was there, causing our plane to have to turn around and go to Virginia for fuel and then wait there until the airspace was opened. Once we were up in the air again, we ended up circling JFK, waiting for our turn to come in along with all the other planes that had been put on hold. I was so glad Kate was still smiling when I saw her at the gate. I have never flown carry on before because I have NEVER been able to lift my own suitcase above my head. I was determined to do it on this trip! We were both so pleased to accomplish this so that Kate could wait for me at my gate. It makes packing a challenge, but you end up traveling with only your very favorite stuff!  We left the airport to stand in the long taxi line with all the other people who had come in at the same time. Thankfully, I was able to delay our dinner reservations, and I had already called ahead to our hotel to let them know we would be later than planned. We stayed at The Royalton located at 44 W. 44th street. It is one block off of 5th avenue and two blocks from Broadway. We thought it was the perfect location! The lobby/bar of the hotel is apparently a "rockin" gathering space on Thursday. It was so loud when we walked in, that we hoped we had not made a mistake about our choice. Once we entered our nice and quiet room, we knew we were good. The best part of the room were the soft and puffy beds. We seriously didn't want to leave them in the mornings. The strangest part of the room was the corner sink in the bathroom. The mirror split right down the middle in the corner which was a little disorienting. The bathroom was also rather dark, which seemed to be the general mood of this hotel...rather sultry i think. Overall, I would definitely stay here again as the location for the price couldn't be beat and believe me I checked. As we had been on a plane most of the day, we chose to walk the fourteen or so blocks to dinner at SaraBeth's Central Park South. We walked up 6th avenue to dinner and walked back to the hotel down 5th avenue. We were grateful for the walk back as we were stuffed! We literally fell into bed when we arrived back at the hotel. It was a long but fun day because we were in NEW YORK!!!!