Magnolia Bakery

Cupcakes are very popular in New York City. And Magnolia Bakery is the shop that perhaps started the cupcake craze in the mid-90s (there is a very informative Wikipedia Article on Magnolia Bakery).  We passed it while walking down Bleecker Street and couldn't resist the temptation to get cupcakes.

It's very crowded and unorganized inside.  The cupcakes are serve-yourself and located on the left side of the bakery as you enter.  There are signs saying that if you touched it, you bought it.  However, there is no one there to monitor that.  So it's not surprising to me that the famous bakery was briefly closed by the New York Department of Health in 2007 due to health code violations.



The bakery has gotten a lot of airtime.  It was featured in the 2005 Lonely Island "Lazy Sunday" digital short on SNL, as well as Sex in the City.





While I was going for the blue cupcake, I accidentally brushed the green... so I got it, too.  I'm not sure if I trust others to do that.



The cupcakes are precious and delicious.  And writing this blog entry makes me really want one right now.







I got two cupcakes for around $6 which isn't a bad deal at all.



Magnolia Bakery
Original Location - 401 Bleecker Street (corner of West 11th Street)
Additional Locations - 200 Columbus Avenue (corner of 69th Street)
1240 Avenue of the Americas (near Rockefeller Center)

Jing Fong - Dim Sum in NYC Chinatown

I didn't really know what I was in for when I joined my friends for lunch in Chinatown last weekend.  I had never been to a Dim Sum restaurant before, and I had no idea what it was.  Mary is of Chinese heritage, and she found the restaurant, Jing Fong, online.  It's located off of Canal Street and not far from the subway station.





From the outside, it looked small.  But when we entered, there was a large escalator which took us to the restaurant.  I was shocked at the size of it.





It was quite chaotic.  Servers came around to our table, pushing carts with different things on them.  I think I would've been completely overwhelmed if it weren't for Mary.  She speaks Cantonese, so she told the servers exactly what we wanted.










Seriously, I don't know how I would've managed in that restaurant without Mary. But it was a fun experience, and I got to try a lot of different foods. Only, I'm afraid that if I went back, I would have no idea what to get.



I think I got fussed at for taking this picture.  A woman behind me said something about a camera and buying fruit.  So after that, I was hesitant to take more photos, though the colors of Chinatown and street vendors are really photogenic.



I did, however, snap a photo of the purses.  When you walk down Canal Street, you'll here people saying, "Gucci, Louis, Fendi, Prada," trying to lure you in to purchase designer knock-offs.  They'll take you inside somewhere - they can't sell the good knock-offs on the street.

Brooklyn Bridge

Wednesday, we took the subway to the Financial District.











And then crossed the Brooklyn Bridge






There is a pedestrian (right) and bike path lane (left).  Bikers commute across the bridge and travel quickly, so it's important to stay out of the bike path.















The bridge was being renovated, so unfortunately, there were tarps covering the sides and blocking some of the view.









The lock trend (which began after a movie set in Paris) is present here, too -







From the end of the bridge, we walked back towards the river to Brooklyn Bridge Park.



The Manhattan Bridge -













I want to come back here at night and photograph the Manhattan skyline.  It's on my NYC photo to-do list.

July Issue of Sunset Magazine

I love Sunset Magazine.

It's one of the magazines that I keep around to refer back to for design or trip ideas.  After I tagged "sunset camps" to one of my instagram photos I took of myself in Death Valley, they contacted me to license the image to place next to the editor's note in the July edition of the magazine.  If you're on instagram, you can see this photo along with others at @alisontravels

Thank you Sunset Magazine!

NYC Times Square

The only other time I've been to New York City, I remember spending a good amount of time on Times Square.  Our hotel, the Westin, was adjacent to Times Square (we were supposed to stay at the Marriott Marquis, but there was some mix-up with the reservations... which ended up being fine because the Westin was super nice with Heavenly beds), and we rode the Ferris Wheel at Toys R' Us.  Anyway, when I think about New York, I think about Times Square.  Which is why it was incredibly weird for me to have been in NYC for five days, having yet visited Times Square (though I did see the Westin we stayed at when catching a cab one night).  So today when I had some free time, I decided that it was time to make a visit to Times Square so that I'd perhaps be able to better wrap my mind around the fact that I'm in New York City.



Okay, okay.... the real reason I was dying to go to Times Square is because since I last visited New York City, Disney has opened a store there.



The downside is that it seems to be encouraging these freaky Disney character IMPOSTERS....



Who does he think he is????  He's definitely not fooling anyone with that costume... Mickey has yellow shoes.  Hmph.

Anyway, the Disney Store has super cute NYC merchandise...





I need to go back and take more photos of the merchandise.  There is an adorable collection of I (Mickey) NY tees, mugs, and keychains.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find another antenna topper with the Statue of Liberty crown on it.  We had purchased one at the old Disney Store in NYC, but it was taken from our car years ago.



There are only two levels to this Disney Store.  The old store was actually a "World of Disney" Store and had I think 5 levels.  I suppose they had to cut back when moving to a more ideal location.

I was disappointed to not see a lot of adult merchandise.  I also think that souvenirs such as the build-your-own Mr. Potato Head would do well there.  Hopefully, Disney will be able to expand the store in the future.

However, as Dad already knows, I didn't walk out of the store empty handed (I had to use my Disney Visa to get the 10% discount!!) - but if it helps my cause, I did buy something just for you, Dad!



But my bed was empty, and I needed a friend!!!