NYC {day 3}

Monday morning, I was up with the sun to knock one of my 31 before 31 goals off the list by running through Central Park. It was a foggy morning and an absolutely beautiful run. It seems strange to even say, but this may have been my favorite part of the trip. The park was so peaceful and I felt like such a New Yorker being up early, while the city was still quiet {or as quiet as NYC gets}, running with the locals and then of course rewarding myself with a Sbux treat afterwards. 

After I was stretched and showered, I met up with the rest of the girls for breakfast at Rue 57. Note to self: eggs, potatoes and a mimosa are a perfect post-run meal!

After breakfast we went to The Redken Exchange for a tour. My aunt and cousin are hairstylists at the salon my aunt and uncle own, so this was something really cool for all of us to see! Plus, they gave me some great advice on a new product to try to help my curls stay longer - score!

After our tour we mosied up 5th Avenue to FAO Schwartz to find some souvenirs for Kenley and stock up on candy for our afternoon bus tour.

Next up was the Museum of Modern Art! I am a HUGE fan of modern art and therefore much prefer MoMA to The Met. I always geek out being surrounded by such incredibly famous works of art created by some of the most adored artists to ever live. My personal favorite is Picasso and every time I see one of his pieces I get giddy. 

Beyond that seeing the works of Van Gogh, Matisse and Pollock {among others} is something truly special!

After MoMA stuffing our faces with New York pizza was absolutely necessary. We went to my favorite spot, Ray's Pizza, and did work. Yes I had two slices...I blame it on the morning's run.

After our tummies were full and our sodas were spiked with vodka, we made our way to the double decker bus once again, this time to take the downtown tour. 

We decided to hop off the bus and explore Little Italy. We found a great little bar which I can't for the life of me remember the name of right on Mulberry Street and stopped in for a glass of vino. 

From there we walked up Canal Street and bought a couple kitschy "I Heart NY" souvenirs then hopped back on the double decker bus to complete the downtown tour. We had plans to go up to the Top of the Rock, but this day was so foggy the visibility from the top was ZERO.  So instead we made our way to Hells Kitchen for dinner at 5 Napkin Burger. 

 {horrendous food photography - I apologize}

After dinner we walked up the block to Don't Tell Mama, an adorable little piano that is now a new favorite place of mine! The bartenders and waitresses are all Broadway actors so they get up and sing with the piano and BLOW YOUR MIND! Our waitress was the former lead in Hairspray! It was so much fun listening to such incredible music! 

At about 1:30am, my aunt and cousin smartly decided it was time to call it a night. My mom and I, on the other hand, decided it was time to head to a karaoke bar. We had been to Tonic before and loved it and decided we needed to stop in for one more drink. Well, one more drink lead to several more drinks, which lead to me rapping Shoop and making friends with some Spaniards who spoke just enough English to make fun of my broken phone screen and understand me when I made fun of them for wearing turtleneck sweaters in May. It was such a fun night and I am happy to have these fun memories with my mama. 

I can't be certain exactly what time we returned to our room, but I imagine it was just shy of sunrise and man did I pay for that the next day.

{Recaps: Day 1 & Day 2}