NYC Trip Dream Downtown - Chelsea

Here we are on the start of our NYC Dream Downtown-Chelsea trip...smiling away on the train to NYC!

One of my favorite parts of a trip to NYC is the cab ride to the hotel. It is the first rush or buzz of the city. It's like riding in a padded racecar! Looking out the window as the city scape goes wizzing by is so thrilling.

Our first stop was lunch at the Grey Dog in Chelsea...an awesome spot to eat. The staff are really nice and the homemade veggie burgers are out of this world good. Elizabeth really liked the thin cut fries! mmmmmm

While we were at lunch Dream Downtown called and said our hotel room was ready...Very exciting!! Let's go check it out!!

This is the front of Dream Downtown (complete with a Ferrari parked out front!)...the whole hotel has a circle theme.

Here is a great video that shows the ins and outs of the hotel. I have never stayed at a hotel where the staff were friendlier. They must have all gone to the Disneyland School of Customer service. 4 Stars all the way!!! Everything about this place is just amazing. Once you click the white arrow on the video an error will appear...then click on "Watch on Youtube" and it will take you to the video. Let's take a peek inside our room.... This is the foyer area

Inside the closet in the foyer is a nice new robe for you...if you want to take it home they will monogram it for you and charge your room another $100

They had a stocked mini bar...with items like Silver Patron and Grey Goose as well as Jelly Bellies and Chocolates, Sodas etc...there is a little note that says...if you touch the item for more than 60 seconds your room will be charged for the item (all items have a sensor on them)...Elizabeth said trust if you touch that thing for 10 seconds it goes on your room!! LOL

Next let's head into the room proper...for NYC this was a large room! NYC hotel rooms look like a closet but not this one! Here are shots of the room.

Here is a close up of the really cool art work on the wall...

One of the things we judge a room by is the bathroom...oh wow! This bathroom rocked, ultra modern (so much so it took me a minute to figure out how to flush the toilet!)clean and luxury bath products included.

Elizabeth always teases me that she thinks its cute that when I clean our bathroom at home I always fold the toilet paper into a point like hotels do....well...this place has a stamp monogramer that presses the hotels logo into the paper! I need that!! LOL

Have you ever seen a chain shower curtain...me either!

The room had a balcony...unheard of in NYC! In keeping with the circle theme it's a circular opening...very neat. We enjoyed this very much as later pics will show, there was much to see from the balcony!

Here are the views outside the balcony...another Ferrari parked out front...we saw Bentleys, Jaguars, Limos...this is a favorite hotel of the ultra rich...and girls from Connecticut!

So now that we have checked into the hotel...it's time to hit the streets! Here are some street scenes.

While we were there it was a heat wave...let me just tell you...NYC in the frying sun is NOT so pleasant sometimes...why??...the smell!! Everytime you passed a trash can or trash bags on the street you held your nose because it was awful! We decided that Prosecco (Italian champagne)with Mango puree (aka Bellinis)at a street cafe was just the thing to help us beat the heat and take in the scenes on the street.

When we go on vacation we do one thing above anything else...EAT! So now might be a good time to explain the Northeast's new food rating law. Started just a few months ago the health department inspects each restaurant and gives them an A, B, C , D, or F rating...this rating must be displayed on the outside window of an establishment for patrons to clearly see. SO obviously you shoot to eat at the A rated places but we did eat at some B rated places too.

We always look up ahead of time where we will eat...In CT we have NO good Thai food places so it's funny Chelsea has more Thai restaurants per capita than most of the city. There were 22 within blocks from our hotel!! So we were in heaven. This place was THE BEST!! Pad Thai Noodle Lounge...mmmmm!!!

It was so hot outside I kept saying all I want is a glass of sprite with lots of ice, and boy was it great!

The food here was just out of this world good! We had Pad Thai and Maw Kraw Praw which is a spicy dish with tofu and basil. When we go to Thai food places we always order the Green Papaya or Green Mango salad...you can't get this dish anywhere else and it is just so good. This one was green papaya and it had enough hot chilis on it to make your lips burn!

Back on the street we stopped by this lovely catholic church Our Lady of Guadalupe. So beautiful!

Now it's time for some dessert!!! The bakerys in NYC are the best in the world. I am always amazed at the creativity these shops display.

And for my brother...Snowballs! FYI they were $4.50 a piece!

And what did we choose????? Uhhhh the Key Lime Bars!! Which were DEEEEEEELISH!!!

Now on to our second favorite thing to do in NYC..SHOP!!

We went to Ricky's discount beauty store and a really great Thrift Store. Elizabeth got an Argon infused comb she had been wanting and I got this great set of bangels.

We also went to H&M...we were not impressed...we had heard so much about it and thought it would be designer clothes at discount prices...WRONG! It was cheap, trendy crap for the most part but Elizabeth did find this cute top.

Then we went to this very interesting shop that was inside an old church. Weird...kinda felt strange to see high end stuff for sale in what used to be God's house! I had a lady there put 24K Gold exfoliant on my hand to demonstrate some new facial treatment. Yah lady I am NOT buying some 24K gold gel that cost $100 an ounce!

Awww Scottie dogs!! One thing we could not help but notice were dogs...they were everywhere! This area must be very dog friendly...our hotel allowed dogs and many of the shopping places let you bring your dog inside too. SO cool!

Some things you see on the street you just go...Uhhhh What??? This was one of those moments. We passed a synagogue that had this...

So after a long day eating and shopping we decided to hang out on our balcony a little. Who knew that would be so entertaining...the Dream Hotel is known for it's star spotting. Many popular stars frequent the PHD bar on the roof top which has amazing views of the city. We were told when we checked in that because we were guest we were gauranteed entrance to the club until 11pm. Which I didn't think anything of at the time but this is one hard club to get into apparently. Stars like Madonna, Beyonce, Courtney Love, Katie Holmes and on and on go there so getting in is no easy task. It is the place to see and be seen....and every piece of euro trash from NY to NJ knows it! What these "beautiful people" were wearing and what they were doing to try to impress the door man to get in was too much and we could see it all from our balcony! The funny thing is...we went out for a soda and on the way back they were lined up in front of the hotel in their finest...us in our T-shirts and yoga pants walked right past them and in the door. People if you want to get in that bad...Get a room! LOL

A new day and on to more eating and walking on the street.

Breakfast at the Moonstruck diner was sooooooooo good!

When Elizabeth was fresh out of college she worked in the city...we walked by to see her old work place...which is now a Masonic Temple.

If we lived here we would furnish our whole place from this Asian Design house. It was packed from floor to ceiling with imported items from Japan, China and Tibet. The store owners were very nice also.

Golden Girls T-shirt in a shop window!

Now on to Eataly!! This was a highlight of our trip. Our sweet friend who lives in the city Annia recommended that we go here and I am so glad she did! This is a not a store - it is a complex..huge...and everything is imported from Italy. It was a feast for the eyes and nose. It had EVERYTHING!!!! From groceries to gifts to chocolates and pastas just on and on and everything was so beautifully displayed. Many of the things there were REALLY pricey due to the fact they were all imported but things like the produce was at a very reasonable price. We picked up a few things there, like imported Cinnamon which smells so deeelish. This was a great find!

This guy was making fresh pasta by hand...uhhhh yummy!!

Pictures just can not convey the scale of this place...it went on and on and on.

When I say pricey I mean PRICEY...

The bread section was to die for!

Shopping complete!

Back on the street they were filming a new BBC show called Chef Race UK vs US that pits British Chefs against American chefs...they have to race around the city searching with no money and little resources for food items they will turn into tasty dishes...I love that there is a NYC tourist bus going by in one of the shots too!

We passed by the Chelsea Hotel...a famous hotel where many writers would stay to write their literary masterpieces. One of Elizabeth's favorite authors Arthur C Clark wrote 2001 Space Odyssey here. Cool!

It's nice to relax in one of the city's great parks Madison Square Park...you guessed it...on Madison Avenue.

Now it's on to lunch at a hidden gem in the city...The Trailer Park Lounge! I loved this place!!!! It had a great laid back vibe and tater tots!!!!

The decor of this place...you just can't stop looking at everything. Check out this beauty who graced the wall.

Inside was a retro style aero stream trailer!

Elizabeth is such a good sport I made her sit in front of the trailer on a lawn chair for this shot.

No trailer park lounge would be complete without a velvet picture of Elvis...there were also retro TV's that were playing old Elvis concerts. Priceless

The menu...they even had champagne in a can...ewww I wonder if anyone has ever ordered it! LOL

And what did we have...veggie burger and tater tots!!!!!

We never drink beer but seeing as it was a thousand degrees outside...two beers in frosty mugs just seemed perfect...not to mention...I think it would have been a little weird to ask the bartender if he could make two appletini's! LOL Side note check out those great looking thrift store bangels I am wearing! (giggle)

And what is for dessert today...Hello Kitty Cupcakes!!!!!!!

I love love love this wedding dress cake in the window of this bakery in Chelsea Market

Chelsea Market...okay the first day we went there we had to bail...knowing how much we love crowds..NOT!!!!!...There were just WAY too many people as this photo shows.

But we went back on monday and it was much better. We enjoyed doing some christmas shopping in here. We also watched bread being made at Amy's Bread company. It was crazy the thousands of loafs they were pumping out.

Such a cute bakery! They have chocolates that look like deviled eggs. Children loved this place and were delighting themselves looking at all the yummy treats. We have ordered brownies from here on-line and they are toooo good.

Side note....we also saw Mo Rocca of the Daily Show fame while we were in Chelsea Market having coffee with his producer. Star spotting!

We decided we would take a stroll over to Chelsea Piers.

Some really cool buildings over in this area.

Back at the hotel for some R&R at the Pool, Beach Bar...there is actual sand imported and placed under the lounge chairs hence "beach" in the name. And of course the "beautiful people" were out en masse.

In true NYC style... we saw someone we knew! It never ceases to amaze me that in a city with billions of people you will see someone you know. This is the dashing Peter, one of Elizabeth's friends from high school that she had not seen in 25 years! He was staying at the hotel for a Cole Haan conference he was attending. We sat and had great conversation and some lovely Cosmos on ice.

OMG!!!!! Okay the beautiful people aka euro trash are about as stupid as they come. In the fashion mags a new fad of swimsuits with fur hats has emerged and the euro trash love nothing more than imitation....these crazy girls are frying the last brain cell they have in their head in these outfits of swimsuits with cover-up and babushka fur hats!!! Good lord....REALLY???!!!

Our last dinner in the city...Royal Siam Thai...really nice atmosphere, great food and nice music playing really helped us rest from all the days walking. ahhhhhh!

The green mango and avocado salad was the best yet.

Our last meal in the city was a great classic NYC diner. The Chelsea Square Restaurant. The waitstaff were great. I can not tell you how good Elizabeth's banana pancakes smelled!! And oh how I miss NY style homefries! This was heaven on a plate.

And very sadly standing outside Madison Square Garden next to Penn Station...it's time to go...booo hooo! This was an amazing trip and we will remember always. <3