Sunday surprises

Brooke and I got up ridiculously early, both wanting a drink, and headed down to the soda machine in the lobby. The dollar acceptor didn't work, so we asked for change at the front desk. The woman said that the machine takes dollars and wouldn't believe it was broken until we demonstrated for her. Yeah, it's our first time in the big city, so I understand her position. Whatever. The Duane Reade next door was not open yet, and when we asked her when it would be open, she said, "It should be open now." No argument here, and yet the doors are barred. We ended up digging up enough change in our purses to get some soda, but crikey! That was obnoxious. We went back to bed for a few hours.

A bit later, Brooke and I got out the door early (well, pretty early considering we were up until 4:30) and walked up to Times Square to wait in line for student rush tickets for Grease. While we were in line, Brooke called her friend Dara to invite her to the show. Dara said she'd love to join us and asked what we were doing for the rest of the day. Our plan was to go to Chinatown and go shopping, but Dara suggested that instead we go to her office and shop there. She's a merchandizer for Liz Claiborne accessories, specifically handbags. Sweet. Merciful. Crap. Immediately, I called a sleeping Allie to tell her to get dressed and meet us in Times Sq by noon for free handbags. Generally, she likes to sleep in, but free designer handbags definitely motivate a girl. We got the tickets and walked over toward Dara's office on 7th Ave. On the way, we came upon a huge spectacle right in Times Square around the old tkts booth, where cars were driving around honking like crazy. Allie took the initiative and asked the best-looking demonstrator what the deal was, and we learned that they were celebrating Kosovo's independence. Groovy!

Once we got back, we looked through our loot and relived the whole fabulous experience.

We met up with Dara and went into her office for what was one of the greatest things that has ever happened. We got to see the LC handbag showroom (heaven!!!) and paw through boxes and boxes and closets and closets of bags, bags, bags! They were fabulous. We took as many as we could carry and headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner...first, we had to stop at the Ann Taylor Loft in Times Sq to get Allie a new sweater (an incident on Saturday night had taken her other one out of commission), and Brooke and I made quite a sight waiting for her to shop, standing right inside the door at Loft, with 26 LC handbags, 3 LC hats, and a LC scarf. Haha! We piled into a cab for a short ride back to the hotel. Allie had to put her bags in the trunk, and the three of us barely fit into the back with Brooke's and my purses! Once we got back, we looked through our loot and relived the whole fabulous experience. Then we all showered and got ready for dinner and the show.

We met up with Dara and all took a cab uptown to her apt on the UWS, where we met her adorable little dog, a teacup Yorkie who's a total genius. Then we headed up to Haru on 80th St and met Dara's husband Itai for dinner, sushi and tempura. Fabulous! After dinner, we stopped at Duane Reade for snacks and hopped into another cab for the theatre. We couldn't get 4 seats together, but the seats were only $36, so no one complained. The show was great. I watched the NBC talent search show, so I was glad to see this show. After Grease, Dara and Brooke headed home, and Allie and I arranged to meet up with Melanie and Joe, friends from Alexandria who were in NYC the same weekend. We went to The View, the revolving restaurant at the top of the Marriott Marquis on 45th -- I know, so so touristy, but if you love to look at the city like I do, there is nowhere better. Joe had never been there, so it was nice to introduce him to The View. We sat for one full revolution of the restaurant and then walked south to Penn Station. Joe bemoaned the lack of nut vendors after midnight -- NYC has almost everything 24 hours a day, but apparently it is lacking when it comes to late-night nut needs.