1st Weekend - Welcome to Walking.... everywhere.....

After arriving in NYC with Chester still in one noticeable piece, we made it to our new apartment located on the border of Midtown East and Murray Hill.  Many people have an idea of where Midtown is and what it is (think 5th Avenue and Rockafeller) but some would dare to ask what's Murray Hill.......

To sum it up think 23, college, can't afford to live on the Upper East Side and don't have children between the ages of 2 & 8 so can't live in TriBeCa.  Welcome to Murray Hill.  3rd street is the main street on the "Hill" (this seems like an oxymoron coming from San Francisco as NYC's version of a hill is a 0.25% upgrade).  Back to 3rd street, we've got bars and clubs, and restaurants, and cafe.  We're equipped with a Lowe's Movie theatre, a Petco, and 3 grocery stores (yes I know that surprises everyone - there are grocery chains in NYC).  It's practically it's own little thriving metropolis.  Murray Hill...

Back to the events of the weekend.  After we got our self unpacked (ie air mattress blown up and suitcase of clothes unzipped), we decided it was time to venture into the big city.  With Chester on leash, exited our place with one goal in mind.... Shake Shack!

Some might say i'm a little obsessed with food blogs while others might say that I'm poser when it comes to food, but I really like to think of myself as having really intelligent friends who understand the world according to food.  So with knowledge in hand and an idea of which way was south, we headed to 23rd and Madison where we were met with our ultimate fate - an hour long line for a burger and fries.

After the hour, we had burgers in hand, a draft custom from brooklyn brewery, a concete (soft serve/ice cream with mix in) and  a poochini for Chester ready to eat and compare to none other then........ In N Out!  Yes folks, Shake Shack does fall into the peer group with those of In n out and Five Guys (which we still haven't tried yet).   It was good - but for the wait, not that good.  The B line is the way to go during a hot summer day when all you want is ice cream!

With our stomachs now full, we headed back to the apartment and took the rest of the night to recoup from the prior evenings flight anxiety.

Saturday morning - oh Saturday morning - we thoughts and dreams in our head of sleeping in, we were awoken at 530am to the bright of day screaming at us to wake up!  First thing on the agenda - get blinds......  After wandering around the neighborhood and getting some breakfast as a local cafe called the Barking dog (yes Chester was able to join us), we dropped off our little pup and headed back to our favorite new hot spot, 23rd and Madison.   You think, Shake Shack again. really... but no, not Shake Shack - we've found that 23rd street is quite a street....  Not only is Home Depot located on 23rd (our favorite store) but Eataly!!!!

Eataly - how do i describe Eataly.  If I had been raptured then I would only assume that Heaven would look a lot like Eataly.  Mario had it right when decided to create this island oasis of all things of Italian food.  Veggies, Fish, Wine, Beer, Fresh Pasta, Bread, Pizza, Olive Oils, and Cheese, Cheese, and more Cheese...  Did i mention Cheese!!!  I could have spent forever there - but Raman he was ready to get to Home depot......  Go fig....

We rounded out the day heading down to Soho for dinner at The Dutch (new restaurant from the guy who was a Locande Verde in TriBeCa).  Fried Chicken and Cornbread Delicious, but wasn't as impressive with the Steak.

Our 1st weekend there and we were able to see some friendly faces that evening after dinner as Tiffany was in town with her sister!  We met up at a speakeasy called Employees Only.  We had the address and was told to look for a red sign... little did we think the sign would say Psychic and there would be a women sitting in the window with a little glass ball... Against our better judgment we wandered in and were greeted by a lively speakeasy behind the curtains.  Brilliant drinks and a tasty cheese plate were on the menu!!  Great choice Tiffany!!!

From there we made the decision to walk home as we were on 10th street so 34th street didn't seem that far away...  We also figured out where our North Star was - The Empire State building!  So easy not to get lost!

Sunday rolled around and it was time to try the infamous New York Bagel..  We picked up bagels and walked over to the parklet in front of the worlds most massive Macy's where we started to concoct our master plan of how to become balloon holders at the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade.  Go big or go home peeps - it's the gaucho way!

After figuring out our plan, finishing our bagels, we had no agenda for the day and no furniture in our house, so decided that Central Park looked close enough to walk to....  Little did we know...  Once again the streets go to us.  34th to 58th which is just the entrance of Central Park...  We were tired as soon as we got to the park but once Chester saw the first piece of grass it's like a new life came to him!  So happy, he was.  We wandered into the park and around for a little - exiting at about 72th street - now we would only have to make it once again back to 34th street by foot...

Let's just say after a long weekend of walking and wandering, we now know anymore then 10 streets and we should take the subway.

Our New Place - The first weekend!

Who would have thought after the amount of purging we did, that we would come to New York with so much stuff!

We thought we boxed everything really well, but as you can see with picture some boxes didn't make it through the move very well.

But here we are, with an apartment full of boxes and a blank canvas of a place to redecorate and rearrange.




Chester actually acclimated really well to the change.  He just sniffed around the whole place, then settled down in a corner with a bone.  Even taking an elevator 9 floors up didn't bother him.

I think he even enjoyed the view.

Above is the view form our living room...

The weather was amazing for the first week, and we spent most of the first weekend walking everywhere.

Food has always been a fun, important, and exciting part of our life... So we knew that moving to New York, food (and beer) was going to be a focal point.  With Christie's food blog expertise and my love of eating, we knew we were going to eat our way through New York.

First up... Shakeshack.

My First Flight

April 28th, 2011 - My parents had taken all of my stuff from my house and we’d been living in an empty house for a week.  I was getting use to this until the morning of the 28th when the decided to deflate the air mattress.

The deflation of the air mattress followed by a subsequent trip to the groomers for me, where I was picked, primed, and blow dried…  I was starting to feel that things might not be right as the parents seem to want to keep me awake. 

As the afternoon went out, all i wanted to do was sleep but that didn’t seem like an option.   Boarding the car that evening expecting to go home, we ended in the place I despise, the Airport…  I hate the airport as normally it involves one or both of my parents departing through a revolving door and then they reappear without notice a few moons later…




This time was different though, it brought me out of the car with them!  I got to go through the revolving door and into a flurry of bags and people running from place to place.

We took a little walk to a little gated community where i was able to relieve myself then we headed back inside.  The sights, the smells, this place was amazing.

Until…

My parents met up with an odd man who walked us downstairs into this odd sterile room.  Some tall large man went through my bedding then the fun was over and the next thing i know is that there was a reason i would hate this place.

As I saw my parents get farther and farther away from me, I knew i was going somewhere that no dog has gone before (or at least it felt that way).  The man took me to an odd shaped vessile and tied my crate down.  I had been so tired from the day and the experience that i figured I would close my eyes for a little in hopes that when i opened them my parents would be there.

Time elapsed and eventually, I was taken from the flying vessile that I’m not sure how long i was in. The man then dropped me with no one in site near a moving rotating belt and I was then alone.
Out of nowhere, I heard my name… Chester. Chester!  My parents had found me and I was safe again!

From that point, it’s been a blur.  I haven’t slept in probably 48 hours and boy am I tired.  They’ve walked me all a round these streets that have no smells, no garbage and no grass.
So it’s time for me to call it a night.  I’ll keep you posted on my travels in this new city of big buildings and indecisive weather.
-Chester