New York City (Part Three)

On our third and final full day in New York City, we opted to start the day with a world famous restaurant that ordinary travelers and celebrities alike brag about- Serendipity 3.  First of all, I do not recommend you trying to eat here without a reservation, unless you have a limitless amount of time to wait.  The restaurant is not overly large and people wait for hours sometimes (on the street) to get a table.  We had called ahead the night before and got a reservation for when they opened at 11:30.  This restaurant is like Hot Topic meets your grandma or crazy aunt's house.  It has a very eclectic feel with chandeliers and artwork hanging all over the walls and ceilings.  The furniture is a mismatched assortment of patio furniture and dining tables.  My mom and I decided to share an order of their Spudniks (potato skins) and a chicken pot pie.  Unfortunately, the skins were burned and the pot pie was just okay.  Also, some of the workers (particularly the hostess) were a little on the snobby side.  All in all though it was a fun experience to eat at the restaurant where people such as Bill Clinton, Sarah Palin, and the cast of High School Musical had been.  Would I go back again? Probably not, but if I did I REALLY want to try their frozen hot chocolate that makes them so famous (I was too full after lunch).

Just down the street from Serendipity 3 is Dylan's Candy Store (Owned by Ralph Lauren's daughter Dylan) and I had never been so of course we had to stop.  This store is over the top with candy! I mean it has wall to wall baskets and shelves full of candy, the walls and floor are decorated with candy, they have personalized candy, I could go on and on.  I knew going in that the two things I wanted to get were of course a candy bar for the Mr. and a personalized tin of mints for myself.  It is rare that I actually find something with my name on it and my mother-in-law bought me some from Dylan's before so I knew they had Summer!  Surely enough I found it and then we waited in line to check out longer than we were in the store- it's a hotspot for kids in NYC! 

After we got our bellies full and a stash of candy for later, we walked off lunch by heading north towards Central Park.  On the way we actually got stopped by a Latin American heritage parade and it was so neat!  That is one thing that I love about traveling to large cities, you never know what you are going to find and there is always something going on!  I don't think I would ever get bored living in New York!  Once we were finally allowed to cross the street we found ourselves in front of the legendary Plaza Hotel.  Is it possible to go to NYC without a walk through The Plaza?  The outside of the hotel was getting a bit of a facelift, but the inside was just as beautiful as I remembered it being.  One day I will stay at The Plaza... when I win the lottery... and come to terms with spending $900 per night on a hotel room.

After The Plaza, we crossed the street and headed into the most famous toy store in the world FAO Schwarz.  I absolutely love visiting this store and it seems to always be changing.  They have areas of the store that always remain the same, but as popular movies or toy items come out they change areas of the store around to display that merchandise.  I was a little sad to see when we went that they had removed the Harry Potter section of the store... I guess we are the only people who still read the books at least once a year (Mr. P circulates through them regularly).  One thing that never changes though is the Barbie section! The 27 year old little girl in me loves to visit this part of the store and see all the wonderful Barbie things that they add each year.  My mom even indulged her little girl and bought me a vintage inspired Barbie notebook.  Thanks Mom!

No trip to New York is complete without a visit to Central Park.  The solitary oasis of nature in the bustling city has so much to offer.  I have been on a carriage ride once before during the winter months and it was beautiful.  But now the drivers seem to have created a type of union and you cannot seem to find a ride for less than $100.  So we decided to skip that tradition and take a free walk through the park.  My Aunt Pam had been telling us about the Central Park Carousel, which has been a part of the Park since 1871.  Legend states that the original carousel was actually powered by a horse beneath the platform and that it stopped and started based on a tap by the operator on the floor boards of the carousel.  The second and third carousels were destroyed by fire, so in the 1950's they began searching for a vintage carousel as a replacement.  They found an abandoned one on Coney Island that was built in 1908 and it is the carousel that you see today in Central Park, of course it has been through a restoration process and is not operated by a live horse!  For only $3 you can have the ride of your life and I now have a new favorite thing to do in New York City.  

 We were getting a little hungry at this point, so we headed for Rockefeller Center to take a break and grab a snack.  On the way though, we had to stop by the Fox News Headquarters and let my mom see her main man Sean Hannity.  She didn't get to see him in person, but she was happy with a picture in front of his sign!  We headed over to Rockefeller Plaza and took a seat inside watching the people on the ice rink.  Rockefeller Plaza is located very close to another Magnolia Bakery store, so we grabbed a couple of cupcakes to eat while we rested.  Our final stop of the day before dinner was the American Girl Doll store.  I have never been to one, but I can see why little girls love it!  They have everything!  It is 4 floors of girly goodness with almost every doll they have ever made, a cafe, a photo studio, and of course the doll hair salon.  There were hundreds of little girls going wild picking out dolls that looked like them, selecting matching outfits, and they even have strollers and car seats for your little dolls.  Just a warning parents, be careful taking your little ones in this store- they will want everything they see!  Whoops there goes their college fund!

Dinner on our final evening was a no brainer- we wanted Italian, which we had every night we were there!  We decided on Angelo Bellini for its reviews and proximity to our hotel.  It was magical.  It was the best Chicken Alfredo that I have ever had.  We ate until we could not breathe and then waddled ourselves back to the hotel for a good nights rest before heading home the next morning.  We had actually changed hotels earlier that day, because our first hotel only had two nights available, so when we got back to our new room and opened the window we were blown away by our view.  We had not noticed in the daylight, but our room looked out on to the Chrysler Building and at night it was breathtaking!  

Our last morning in the city we had a relaxing breakfast in the Starbucks in our hotel, had the smoothest car service experience to the airport, and boarded our flight home with no major issues. This goes down in the books as one of my favorite vacations!  I had so much fun with my sweet mom, mother-in-law and aunt- I cannot wait for another trip with them! Thanks Ladies!

Check out Part One and Part Two of our NYC trip!

Europe 2013: Day Six

Day Six: Crossing the Irish Sea

Day Six started out EXTREMELY EARLY!  We had to leave The Generator by 5:45am to get down to the docks and prepare to load onto the "ferry" boat to cross over into the United Kingdom.  Thankfully, we decided to skip the morning shower that day since it was such as early departure and when we got onto the bus we were very happy we did.  Apparently in hostels the warm water is not turned on until after 6am in order to reduce energy cost and keep the hostel cost efficient.  Great plan, not so great for 30 or so people in our group who tried to get showers at 5am!  I still completely recommend the Generator and look at those rooms, they were so cute!  

We arrived down by the docks around 7am and quickly went through baggage check and goto comfortable on board.  I really wish I had snapped some pictures on board, because this was no ordinary "ferry" boat rather a miniature cruise ship.  I travelled on one very similar to this the last time I was in Europe and they have areas for short journey passengers and private rooms with beds and showers for those who will be on the ship for a little longer.  I was so sleepy and still feeling very nauseated, so I grabbed some chairs, stretched out and took a solid two hour nap.  When I awoke, I bought Sea Bands (designed to help with motion sickness) and perched myself next to the window just in time to see out arrival into Wales.  We had to go through customs and get our passport checked, load the coach, and we were off to the Lake District of England with an overnight stop planned for Manchester.   

We had a long drive that day, but we did take the time to stop at Beaumaris Castle, built by Edward I (aka Edward Longshanks) in the 13th Century.  This was the largest of a series of castles built by the king throughout Wales in an effort to conquer the area.  Beaumaris is not used today as a residency of the royal family, because of its Medieval structure which is not fit for people to live in.  However, it is a historical site and museum that is worth a visit.  It was honestly one of my favorite places that we visited, because I think it really captures the feeling of Medieval Europe and the mind set that so many of the monarchs had during this time period.  Luxury was not a concern when constructing castles like they were much later in history, rather they were fort like structures designed to protect the king from invasion.  The castle is very open and you can explore for hours on end and there is a good amount of wildlife and livestock in the area to admire such as swans and sheep.  I even got to wear my Hunter boots that day, because it was one of the few days with "rain like conditions even though it never rained (thankfully!).

After exploring the castle we headed into the town of Beaumaris, located on the Isle of Anglesey (the same area William and Kate lived after their wedding).  It was a quaint town with small shops and restaurants.  It was a good chance to hit an ATM for some Pounds now that we were out of Euro territory and we also grabbed some lunch.  We ate lunch at the Triple 8 Coffee Shop which was a small used bookstore with some seating for customers to have lunch as well.  I decided on the ham, cheese, and pineapple panini and it was amazing!  We had a good laugh at lunch, because the menu said that crisps (chips) came with the panini and when our plates arrived we had 3 whole Pringles on the plate!  Not exactly what we expected, but the sandwich and hot chocolate that I had was a great choice.  After strolling through the town and grabbing a Beaumaris Castle magnet it was time to hit the road again.  Next stop: Manchester, England.

We arrived in Manchester late in the afternoon and checked into our hotel, the Britannia.  If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen the picture below which had a capture that read "Best. Hotel. Ever!"  It was an extremely nice hotel and I will be staying there again!  We had two large and luxurious beds and were bummed when we realized that we were only staying one night.  They had a lounge singer, in-house pizzeria, full service buffet, and numerous other amenities.

After an early dinner we hung out in the lobby of the hotel, enjoying free Wi-Fi and pizza.  I think the amount of Americana that was oozing out of us at the end of each day was ridiculous.  Pizza and Wi-Fi were like gold in our minds.  That was one of the things that made travelling abroad for two-weeks without my family bearable though.  Being able to spend time with the group each evening and relax took our minds off of home and having Wi-Fi and my IPad made it so that I talked to and saw my husband and family almost everyday of the trip.  My travel advice is do not waste hundreds of dollars (trust me I have done it) on international cell phones.  The vast majority of hotels have Wi-Fi (mostly for free) and if you have any type of electronic device you can FaceTime or Skype for free.  

So fellow travelers, what is your favorite travel tip?  

Europe 2013: Day Five

Day Five: Dublin!

Hello from Dublin!  We arrived in Dublin late in the evening on day four, so we were ready to hit the ground running the next morning.  Day five was full of sites of the city with a local tour guide and some free time to explore on our own.

We started the morning with Shane, our local guide, and we took a drive around the city to see some of the high points.  We rode by the Guinness Factory (which you can tour), the site of the 1916 Easter Rising (early fight for Irish independence), and Phoenix Park (the largest park in Dublin- bigger than Central Park).  We took time to get off the bus at a few places, but mostly just saw the city at a glance.  Our first actual stop of the day though was St. Patricks Cathedral.

St. Patrick's Cathedral was built in Dublin based on the legend of its namesake, Saint Patrick, passing through the area in as early as the 5th Century.  According to the legend, on his journey through St. Patrick used a well to baptist and convert Christians in the area.  Years later in the 1100's a wooden building was built in this area and was later replaced by the structure that is there today.  In the early 1900's Celtic graves were unearthed and what was thought to be the remains of the well that was used by St. Patrick.  Today the Cathedral serves much as a museum, even though it still operates as a church.  All types of artifacts from Irish and Catholic history have been preserved within the church.

After we left St. Patrick's we had a few minutes of free time so we went to a department store on the same street.  They were offering free truffle pops that day, because it was Easter Sunday and it was also an attempt to raise money for cancer patients.  I gladly donated some euros and grabbed a delicious truffle.  It was amazing!

We then headed off to Trinity College, Ireland's oldest university established by Queen Elizabeth I.  The college was not really what we were there to see, rather the infamous Book of Kells and the Irish Declaration of Independence.  The Book of Kells is an illuminate manuscript of the Gospels and New Testament written in Latin by monks during the 8th or 9th Centuries.  It was breath-taking to see and amazing to think how much time and effort it took to create such detailed work.  Sadly, we were not allowed to take pictures of the Book of Kells, but check it out online.  After the tour of the book we went into the library to see the Irish Declaration of Independence, as well as old original copies of books by famous authors like Charles Dickens, and the oldest harp in Ireland.

Lunch was calling my name by the time we finally finished all the activities of the morning.  So off we headed to an authentic Irish pub.  I probably should have been more adventurous in my eating that day, but nothing sounded more appetizing at that moment than a cheeseburger and that is exactly what I got!  It was really good, but I think anything would have been by that time of the day!          

After lunch we spent the remainder of the day exploring Dublin.  We went up and down the main streets popping into local stores and grabbing some souvenirs.  The big sight seeing of the afternoon was the National Museum of Ireland.  We had heard that they had some bog bodies on display and were eager to check out 2000 year old remains.  They did not disappoint.  Many of the bodies (dated back to the BC era) had hair, nails, and recognizable features still in tack.  It was found that the bog bodies were so well preserved, because of chemicals from the bogs.  Bodies were sacrificed into the bog once a year as part of a Pagen tradition.  A sacrificial victim would be chosen, "fattened" up and then killed and given to the bog.  After the museum, we just took a walking tour of the city and enjoyed a little bit of free time in Dublin.

This cross supposedly held a portion of the cross of Christ at one point.

After a dinner of Bangers and Mash (not my thing) we decided to turn in early for the night, because we had an early wake up time for the next morning.  On day six we crossed the Irish Sea and took this adventure to the United Kingdom!        

Traveling Tuesday: Myrtle Beach

This weekend Daniel and I planned a little getaway.  We never got around to celebrating our anniversary (back in August), so we thought better late than never.  We headed down the Carolina coast to Myrtle Beach for three days of relaxation.  Surprisingly, we had way more things planned than we ever got around to doing.  It just turned out to be nicer to relax and take it easy.  A few of the highlights included a surprise dinner to a new favorite restaurant and a night full of Disney movies.

We stayed at the Bay View Resort.  I think Myrtle Beach is one of the hardest places to find a quality hotel by shopping online, because so many look wonderful on the outside, but the inside is a nightmare.  We took a risk with Bay View and were pleasantly surprised.  The rooms were by no means large, but the bed was comfortable (a king-size for the couple who typically sleeps on a full!), the bathroom was nicely renovated, and the view from the balcony was gorgeous!  Another perk was that there was a full service Starbucks located on the ground level along with a great indoor swimming facility.  We didn't use the pool, but we certainly enjoyed the Starbucks!

 Shopping is one of the primary draws of visiting Myrtle Beach.  They have two great outlet malls along with a traditional mall and countless other places to do all the shopping your heart desires.  We enjoyed the outlets, because they have many great stores like an ADIDAS, Nike, and of course JCREW!  I was able to make a few purchases off of my want list and sadly crossed off a few from my currently craving list.  The polka dot blouse I posted about recently ran astronomically large and the XXS was too large for me!  I got some other cuties though!

Bag (Lauren by Ralph Lauren via Marshalls), Chambray Dot Button Up: Old Navy, T-Shirt: J. Crew Factory, Gingham Button Up: J. Crew Factory 

I mentioned earlier that Daniel surprised me with a special dinner.  He took me to a place I had recently been talking about and it lived up to the hype.  Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is the place to go for an amazing steak.  I had the Mixed Grill and Daniel had the New York Strip.  We left there feeling delightfully stuffed.  The steak was so tender that it melted in my mouth and the chicken and crab cake on my plate were equally as good.  I loved the atmosphere and it was a nice, quiet place to dine and enjoy each others company.  I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of the salad or dessert, but they were amazing as well.  The dessert was a Whiskey Bread Pudding and I dare say it was almost as good as the Bread Pudding at Raglan Road in Disney World.  Almost.  

We spent the rest of the weekend shopping and exploring.  We went to Broadway at the Beach, enjoyed a morning jog by the water, and ended the weekend with a trip to Barefoot Landing.  All in all it was the relaxing weekend that we both needed.  ABC Family was even running a Disney movie marathon Sunday night and we sat on our bed for hours enjoying the Lion King, Cinderella, and Hercules.  Who says you have to stay on the go the entire time your on vacation?  The only thing I stressed over this entire weekend was being able to watch Downton Abbey on Sunday night, but no worries we were able to find it! 

You guys know the drill.  If you want to participate in Traveling Tuesday, just blog about an amazing location you have been to and link up your post in the comments below.  Happy Tuesday and Happy Travels!

20 Places Every American Should Visit

In light of our new series we started yesterday, I am carrying on with the travel theme.  Daniel and I have been discussing on a regular basis where we would like to take a family vacation to next year hopefully.  See, with the exception of our honeymoon, we have never been on a vacation together with just the two of us.  Its a little overwhelming thinking about narrowing down the five million choices that we have come up with.  Some are realistic... some not so much.  Here are some ideas we have been throwing around.... Disney, Europe, the Outer Banks, Washington, D.C., New York City.  I guess we will have to wait and see what happens!

I was recently searching a travel site and came across the "Twenty Places Every American Should Visit."  I found this really interesting.  As much as I love international travel, I think sometimes I should really concentrate more on seeing more of our own country.  American is the home of some truly beautiful sites.  Check out the list below and see which one's have made your list.
(I have traveled to the one's in pink!)

20 Places every American Should Visit

Highway 1, Calif.

French Quarter, New Orleans, La.

National Mall, Washington, D.C.

Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, Nev.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.

Times Square, New York City

Nashville, Tenn.

Grand Canyon, Ariz. (Flew over on the way to Las Vegas)

Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, Calif.

Disney's Magic Kingdom, Orlando, Flordia

Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, Penn.

Taos Pueblo, N.M.

Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.

South Beach, Miami, Fla.

Civil Rights District, Atlanta, Ga. (I have been to Atlanta, but never the CR district)

Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pa.

Architecture in Chicago, Ill.

Ellis Island, N.J. (I have seen it on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, but I have never been inside)

Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, Hawaii

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, N.Y. (Only the outside)

Question of the Day: If you could choose any place in the world to vacation, where would it be?

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/07/28/20-places-every-american-should-see/

Traveling Tuesday- Disney World (Part Two)

Over the weekend, I started brainstorming some ideas for trends that I could try to start on my blog.  Since traveling is on the top of my list, I thought why not start "Traveling Tuesday."  I am by no means a world traveler, but I think its awesome to share travel stories, because insider tips are the best to have when traveling to new places.

Each week I will feature information on trips I have taken in the past.  Once I run out of travel stories, I guess I will have to convince Mr. Pennington to take me somewhere new.  I would absolutely love to include some guest post on here, so if your interested in sharing information about traveling and great tips please let me know!  Also, if you want to participate on your own blog just post the link to your blog post about your travel experience in the comment section below!  Happy Traveling!

This week we will resume with recapping our Disney World vacation from last summer.  If you missed part one, check it out here.  Today, we will be going to the Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, and Downtown Disney.

Day Three- Animal Kingdom

So if your really just not into the Disney-thing, but find yourself there on vacation, Animal Kingdom is a great place to be!  Of course there is Disney-themed memorabilia everywhere, but its also an accredited animal conservatory.  It's the largest of all the Disney theme parks around the world and you can spend days exploring the wilds of Africa, Asia, and the Americas from the comforts of central Florida.

Every guest begins their journey through the Animal Kingdom at the Tree of Life, it is truly a spectacular piece.  We spent the day seeing some amazing shows (The Lion King), animal watching, and riding the best ride Disney has to offer... Expedition Everest.  We rode it 6 times!

The roller coaster is in the mountain!

The Safari is absolutely amazing.  They load you up on a "jeep" and set out to capture some animal poachers.  Along the way you see zebras, elephants, giraffes, flamingos, gazelle, hippos, and much more.  The way Disney has create a wildlife perserve for these animals, yet still allowed the public to experience the wild of nature is truly breathtaking.

The Nemo show, A Bug's Life (in the Tree of Life), and Mickey's Jungle Parade are all must sees as well.  In case you have never been to Disney, when you arrive each day at a park they have maps for the park with times listed for all the events going on at the park that day.  Its a good idea to find the more popular attractions (the one's listed above) and make a plan for when you are going to see each one.  For the shows, arrive early and take that time to rest.  The seating area fills up fast and in August air conditioning is much needed.

We rounded out our day at the Animal Kingdom with dinner at the Yak and the Yeti.  Its a great restaurant  especially if you like Asian inspired food.  It was not my favorite place we ate, simple because Asian cuisine is not at the top of my list, but it truly was delicious.

The very last ride of the night was the Dinosaur ride.  I knew something scary was in store for me when Daniel and Mr. Rex nearly broke my hip trying to jump on the ride before me so I could have a certain seat.  I won't spoil the ride for you, but just know that its not for the faint of heart.

Day Four- Blizzard Beach/Downtown Disney

Water parks at Disney World can go one of two ways- you love them or you hate them.  I enjoyed a brief love affair with Blizzard Beach on the day that we went, but that only lasted for about an hour.  Water parks in Disney World in August are some of the most crowded places that you will ever go.  My tip for Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon is GO EARLY!  The only way that you will enjoy the rides at the park without waiting in line for over an hour is to get there when the gates open.

We arrived at Blizzard Beach as early as possible and moved from slide to slide as quickly as possible.  By lunchtime the lines were so long and the beach chairs were completely full so we decided to call it a day and head back to the resort.  I don't have any pictures to share, because we didn't take our camera to the park.  Using the Disney Photo Pass though is a great way to get pictures all around the park without having to worry about your camera, especially at a water park.  But just remember, much like everything else at Disney the photos are not cheap.

After a short nap and showers, we were ready to head out again.  The agenda for the evening was dinner and shopping at Downtown Disney.  Now if you are not familiar with Disney World, you may be surprised to find out that Disney is way more than an amusement park.  One of the most common questions that I get asked is, "What is there to do there besides ride a few rides?"  Oh how much you have to learn about Disney World!  Downtown Disney is a restaurant and shopping center created by Disney that caters to kids of all ages.  At nighttime it becomes the scene of Orlando nightlife with bars, clubs, and shows like Cirque du Soleil.  There are more restaurants than you can imagine with almost every type of cuisine being represented.  Stores range from Disney themed merchandise to ESPN, Lego, Little Miss Matches, and so much more.

Florida in August... Hot!

Ahoy! The Pennington's own the Black Pearl now!

Dinner that evening was at Raglan Road.  This is an Irish pub style restaurant, but it is very nice.  They have very authentic decor including Irish brews and dancers!  I had the Shepard's pie and it was to die for.  The star of the meal however was dessert.  Bread pudding is without a doubt the most delicious dessert in all of Disney!

(Sorry for lack of pictures... Blogger is being funny... tune back in later for more pics)

BEST DESSERT EVER!
Bread Pudding at Raglan Road

 That wraps up day 3 and 4!  See you guys next week on Traveling Tuesday for the Magic Kingdom and Epcot!  Feel free to join in next week with a travel post and link it in the comment section below!