50x50x2010: Marianne's Year Long Birthday Blog: #9 – NYC for Sharon’s 50th

I have had several life-parallels with my friend Sharon over the 18 years I have known her which apparently made me a candidate for her surprise birthday trip to NYC. We met in a mom and baby play group when our kids, Becca and Kevin, were just learning to walk. A few years later, Dave introduced his friend Robert to my friend Sharon which resulted in an unexpected wedding. Sharon spent time as the interim director of the Colonial Theatre where I also spent a year, however, not at the same time. And finally, for our latest parallel, we were both turning 50 in 2010.

On the morning of Oct 15, 2010, I met Sharon, along with her sister Susan and friend Linda for breakfast. It was there that we told her to go home and pack because we were headed to NYC for the weekend as a gift from her husband. WooHoo! Let’s go!

Susan volunteered to drive her Ford Expedition into the city (not something I would do!). We loaded the back with luggage, coats, and shoes and set the GPS to NYC and pulled out on a pristine fall day. Sharon insisted that we take RT 23 because she hated the Taconic. Since I was in the back seat and didn’t even know where we were staying, I thought I would just ride along and not intervene. After several miles of trying to find RT 23, I finally said “I think it was RT 22 that you wanted and I really think we should just get on the Taconic.” After a short dispute and the realization that 23 was very wrong, we reset the GPS to find the Taconic and off we went…again.

I had met Susan a few times but this was my first time meeting Linda. It became clear to us both that we would be roommates when we arrived at the fabulous Benjamin Hotel. Robert reserved two spectacular suites with living room, kitchenette and, oh, one king sized, plush, multi-pillow adorned bed. We looked at it, then at each other, and then Linda said “Well, I can just sleep on the pullout.” My first thought was “Yes!! A peaceful, snore-less, solitary sleep!” But what I said was “It looks big enough for both of us.”

Marianne, Linda, Sharon, Susan

In Sharon’s room, we had a celebratory glass of “Skinny Girl Margarita” then took them along to check out the hotel. It was under construction and we were unable to find anything except lots of fun people in the elevator who thought we were nuts. Linda and Susan made it their mission to ask for suggestions of what to do and where to go. So, to the Meatpacking District we went – destination: The Spice Market. The Spice Market would be equivalent to our very best restaurant in the Berkshires - on steroids. Everything is supersized and fabulous in NYC. I felt a makeover would be in order to go out another night. After a cocktail, some wasabi peas (that we thought were candy coated nuts), and watching perfect patrons and servers float across the floor, we left to seek out dinner.

How do four people choose where to have dinner in NYC? A seemingly impossible task was resolved by choosing the first place we came across: The Homestead Steakhouse. The place was packed with only four seats left upstairs. The menu was jaw dropping as each item was a la carte and even the burger was $27! We’re not in Kansas anymore. Among the 20oz Rib Eye and 32oz Gotham Steak we found a 10oz filet mignon, ordered two and shared them (not because we are cheap, because we are ladies and more meat than that would just be gross). As exciting as the city is in the evening, we were all a little excited to get back to the Benjamin and experience the Sleep Concierge and Pillow Menu. Choice always overwhelms me and I couldn’t find my readers so I took the recommended Swedish Memory and a courtesy Body Pillow. There was barely enough room on the bed for me and Linda as the abundance of pillows made a nice wall between us. The bed and pillows were amazing until it was time to slip out for a bathroom visit. Climbing over the man-size pillow without disturbing my bed buddy was impossible. The foam man was eventually kicked to the floor and abandoned for the remainder of the evening.

Prada Manequins

SoHo

What do they know?

Another sunny day got the shoppers all excited: Ann Taylor, Anthropologie, Fishs Eddy, and Prada! I would highly recommend Prada for the jaw-dropping experience (because no one reading my blog is actually going to shop there). I was hoping to get some leather boots and I found them in seconds at Nine West. Everyone seemed set on giving me a NYC style makeover and was pulling clothing off racks and draping them over my shoulders: $127 sweater, $520 coat, $80 shirt – STOP! I can get all this at TJ Maxx for less!! I let them bully me into a few things but then I was done. With arm loads of bags, we took a cab to SoHo to see what all the fuss was about. Little streets lined with tiny unique shops and eccentric clothing and accessories. It is easy to get caught up in NYC style as the shopping bullies once again strapped me into a one of a kind black felted ruffled coat. It was stunning and would have been great for the evening we had planned on Broadway, but back at the Berkshire Mall, I would look a bit freakish and terribly out of place.

Back to the hotel via cab and covered in shopping bags, we dressed and primped for our big night out. I had my new Ann Taylor blouse and Nine West leather boots and was ready to fit in. The concierge recommended Ruby Foos and we agreed (and hoped it wasn’t like the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet here in town). Well, it was a spectacular Pan Asian fusion of Sushi and Sashimi, Wasabi Wonton Crusted Salmon, Coconut Sticky Rice, Pad Thai Shrimp, champagne, and more! I didn’t want to leave until every last drip of spicy goodness was soaked up…but we had theatre tickets!

We raced to the theatre, as the curtain lights were blinking, to see The Jersey Boys. At first, it sounded like it would be pretty hokey but it was gripping right from the beginning as the life story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons unfolded before us. We were singing along as we discovered we knew most every song. A great show and highly recommended.

After the show, we took a cab to Max Brenner’s Chocolate Shop as suggested by the clerk at Ann Taylors. I imagined a Ben & Jerry’s sort of bright and colorful place for candy but once again, I was wrong. Max’s was dark and mysterious with a line at 11pm pushing out the door. The smell of dark chocolate immediately envelops you and weakens your knees. The one hour wait forced us to seek refuge at Vapiano’s where we ordered white chocolate truffle martinis to get us through the wait. We arrived back at Max’s at midnight and were seated immediately. Still packed, a limo crammed with 13 year old girls arrived to dip fruit in warm drippy chocolate. Our bodies couldn’t take much more but our brains had so much more to do. We ordered several variations of hot chocolates and admired the treats and prizes being awarded at the other tables. We decided to walk it off a bit and then had no choice as getting a cab at 1:30am is nearly impossible on Saturday night..

In our rooms, our pillow men were quiet, patient and ready to snuggle but morning still came quickly. Sunny again, we took our time to get ready, pack and leave but needed to cram in one more NYC experience – Ellen’s Stardust Diner. This is where aspiring singers come to showcase their talent while earning rent and food money. While Ryan is serving you eggs with hash browns, Rori and Dono are crooning a duet from Aladdin or Happy Birthday to Sharon. But these waiters were hoping for a big break and it wasn’t going to be from us. Many of them live together and sing their hearts out day and night at the diner and at auditions for the small casts all over Broadway. I realized that if you can make it here, you really can make it anywhere.

We were tired on the ride home but shared lots of laughs about the people we met, the goodies we bought, the food we wanted to re-eat, and the pillows we couldn’t fit in our luggage. I had been to NYC several times but this trip was completely different. New people, new places, great memories.

Happy Birthday, Sharon!