Girl's Weekend ♥

When I returned and they were still in bed, I tapped Charmion on the shoulder (I remembered that she was always easier to wake up than Sherie was) and said, “Alright, sleepy time is over!" An hour later, we we were in search for food. I made the mistake of mentioning that I could really go for Belgium waffles, topped with strawberries and whipped cream on the side, because after that, that was ALL we wanted. And well, because the girls decided that beauty sleep was more important than food we had to search. Restaurant after restaurant did not have it on their menu. Breakfast and brunch were over! NO waffles for YOU!

But we were determined not to call it quits and when we happened upon Grand Central Market we decided we could pick a little something to hold us over. I got some macarons and homemade chocolates. Charmion got yogurt and Sherie got grapes. I am clearly not the health freak in this group. After we made our purchases, it was back to checking menus in search of a restaurant that was serving our beloved Belgium waffles.

And since we were already at Grand Central we stopped.
There is something so magnificent about Grand Central to me.
Everyone is busy trying to get to their next destination and I remember growing up always wondering where people were off to.

It’s a different experience when you are there and don’t have anywhere to go because you can take it all in.
And that’s what we did.
We stopped, looked left and right, up and down and took it all in.
And then a stranger (accidently) bumped my shoulder reminding me that we still hadn’t found anywhere to eat.

Just when we had almost given up we happened upon Le Pain Quotidien. It seemed like a French inspired restaurant where the servers and several guests spoke French. That was pretty neat, and almost made me feel like we were in a little café in Paris. Almost.

The three of us ended up ordering the exact same things. A raspberry mimosa to drink and Belgium waffles with berries on the side.

The waffles I will admit were different. It was crispier than what I’m accustomed to but it was still very delicious. I'm actually craving it right now.

When we were almost done eating Stacy walked in and we both squealed when we saw each other.
It felt so good to finally be reunited, all four of us together again.

After we paid our check, we went to Zaras that way we could buy some baby clothes for Stacy’s daughter. I have no control when it comes to buying clothes for little ones. When I’m in that section I just can’t pick one. I ended up buying a little wardrobe for Claire and it has been the most fun having Stacy send me pictures of Claire in her outfits that I put together.

After Zaras, we went to Starbucks and got what we always got. Caramel frappachino with whipped cream on top. We decided to sit at Bryant Park and enjoy our drinks. The weather was perfect that weekend and we really couldn’t have picked a better one.

Someone didn't get the sunglasses memo.

There was a wedding party that I could not resist snapping.
Love their colors!

We also happened to be in the city when the United Nations was holding several meetings. It made the trip a bit more interesting because it felt like every block was blocked off and the men in blue were everywhere. It was neat to also see the ones that had to be in the FBI because of the suits, ha. I was so tempted to take their pictures but decided it wasn't a good idea to get arrested for the blog.

Not sure if one would actually get arrested for taking an FBI agent's picture but I figured this wasn't the weekend to find out.

After Bryant Park we walked over to Times Square and there was a farmers/flea market.
The energy was great and it felt so good to be with my best girl friends in my favorite city in the world.

As we walked Sherie saw a guy getting people to wrap his snake around their necks. Right away, I felt sick. Snakes make me sick. But Sherie being weird has it on her bucket list to have a snake around her shoulders. We tried to talk her out of it but she was not having it. She got that snake and for a second she felt joy and then few seconds later she regretted her decision. The snake was licking her! SO gross. But of course I took pictures, from a distance. There were other people who also made the unwise decision but they look a lot more comfortable than Sherie did, haha.

We also walked passed Dean & Deluca.
Is it just me or do y'all also think of Felicity every time you see a Dean & Deluca?

For the rest of the day we caught each other up on our lives and it was like time had not passed and we just picked up right where we left off. We could not stop talking. The funny part is that although we have not been together in years we still found that we were doing similar things. Things that we hadn’t done in college. It was weird.

Soon it was time for us to head back to the hotel to get ready for the night. We got ready and met up with Jihae who lives in the city (remember that was her dream when we were in college). We had dinner at The Park. The restaurant is gorgeous and the last time I went with Stacy and Jihae we had the best experience. Unfortunately, this time around the food was not so good. I got a simple margherita pizza which was delicious but everyone else was not happy with their meals, especially Jihae. I tasted her salmon and it tasted so awful that I told her that she had to request something else to eat. She did and it was not much better but it was better than what she had. Good for drinks, not so much for food.

After dinner we went to Jihae’s apartment to hang out at her rooftop and talk. Jihae is 7 months pregnant and Stacy just had her second child five months ago so there was a lot of baby talk. The type of talk that we never use to have when we were together. It’s amazing that we, the 18-20 year old girls that often spoke about boys, shopping, sorority events and midterms were now discussing babies, careers, marriage, the real world.

The following day we got breakfast together and said our see you laters. We decided that this is something we'll have to do yearly because it isn't right for us to just go years without seeing each other. I felt so sad to see them go (and the hugs felt like they would never end) but I believe in my heart that the friendships I made with these women in college are friendships I will have forever. The friends that have really seen you grow and know parts of your life that others will never know. A bond that can’t be broken. It was this weekend that reminded us why we connected in the first place. Why distance and time cannot come between us. Why after several years apart there were no awkward silences. Why we will always be the best of friends. Why joining a sorority in college was not buying friends but making lasting friendships that I will forever be grateful for.

♥