12-26-15 (Ellen’s Repeat Performances)

We went to Ellen’s Stardust Diner again.  We both ate the same things too.  Yeah, we liked it a lot.  Again, the hostess had to pull out the table for one of us to get onto the booth side of the 2 top.  It felt like the time we were in San Francisco at a Chinese restaurant and seated at a table about 3 inches away from another table.

Above: 1-22-09, House of Nanking, San Francisco

Above: Ellen’s Stardust Diner.  See the closeness of the tables on either side of us?

Below: Performers/waitstaff belting out some tunes.

Here’s some pics of us:

We had advance Statue of Liberty tickets for noon.  We made our way to Battery Park.  We were at the complete wrong end of where we needed to be.  We were by the World Trade Center.  Not a big deal.  We hoofed it. The weather was decent and the views of New York Harbor were nice to look at.  Once at the ferry boarding area, a line snaked and snaked and snaked throughout the park.  We thought we’d never find the end of it.  People in line were holding self-printed tickets like we had and some had tickets like you’d get at a box office.  We were pretty mad about the length of the line considering we had “reservations”.  Luckily we asked a parks person who gave us directions to a different, much shorter line for preferred guests. Because we used a Citi card to purchase the tickets, that’s what made us preferred.  Phew.  It was strange and annoying that we had to go through 2 TSA style security checks.  One before boarding the ferry and again before entering the Statue.  Sigh.

On Liberty Island, we made our way through the masses, picked up a audio tour listening device and explored.  We only has reservations for the pedestal.  The crown was booked months in advance.  No big deal.  I’m sure as anyone who has visited her would say “it looks smaller in person.” 

Afterwards we headed back to WTC for a photo since they sky was clearer:

Then on to see Rockefeller Center and some of the department store holiday windows.

NYC was sooooooo crowded.  It took forever just to walk a few blocks.  Getting into Rockefeller Center was the worst.

It was really hard to find a place to eat that didn’t look cramped or to have uncomfortable seating. We tried two Shake Shack locations.  Slam packed, no seats.  Other places we stopped into looked way too crowded or was very pricey. We walked and walked and walked.   I was in the mood for Italian or Chinese.   We nearly gave up and returned to our hotel when just a block up from the hotel up a side street, was an Italian Restaurant, Patzeria Family & Friends .  It was early so and being off the main strip, it wasn’t packed.  The menu looked good.  They had a special that seemed appealing.  We both had Chicken stuffed with mozzarella, prosciutto and spinach. It was drizzled with Marsala and served over a bed of pasta. It was divine. 

I mentioned other places were too pricey.  We didn’t realize this one ended up costing quite a bit because without knowing the price, Jim ordered a side Caesar Salad ($8.95) and a pitcher of White Sangria ($28).  Total bill = $93.47.

After dinner, we returned to the hotel room and vegged.  Our feet, ankles, hips, back and everything else ached.  We needed some downtime.