Russian Tea Room - NYC

Recently, I was lucky enough to take a trip to one of my favorite cities ever: New York City. It seems things there are always changing, evolving. Blocks of shops, cultures abound. Beer, music, people everywhere you look. Yellow cabs and black town cars lining the streets, but this blog is not about all that,  it is not about shopping, or site seeing, it is about the Russian Tea Room. I have missed out on afternoon tea too many times. I really was getting frustrated. So I told my aunt we had to go to tea. It was either the Ritz or the Russian Tea Room.  I wanted something less typical, so I chose the Russian Tea Room. I figured it would be an amazing place full of Russian stuff- I love Faberge eggs and Russian artwork.
My cousin had just graduated from his medical program (Congratulations Dr.!!!) and he was able to join us so the day was going to be great.

When we first arrived we stopped at the bar for a drink. We had Moscow Mules, I felt this was appropriate with us being in the Russian Tea Room. They came to us in typical Moscow Mule mugs and this gave us some time to scope out the place. The room was full of Russian Art, gold and glass. It was very decadent.

When we sat down we ordered which kind of tea we desired. Even though I don't usually drink anything with caffeine I opted for the Darjeeling Tea, it was black tea, and it is the only kind I drink when I drink tea (which is extremely rare). As we sat with tea steeping and having conversations about our jobs, a man came in and sat down behind us. This is a very nice establishment, and I do not want this experience to dampen or make anyone not want to come to this place, but he was carrying a mannequin. Yes, a mannequin. It was very heavy as he lugged it in and out of the booth. At first we thought it was a dead person, because honestly, that is what this mannequin looked like. A dead person. He ordered and sat there. It was interesting how the wait staff and management handled it. They seemed just as baffled by it as we were- yet remained extremely professional. I wanted to take a picture- but yet I really didn't want to be rude. I overheard the man tell the waiter, "No he's not a real person". It all seemed very strange. He ordered, ate, and left. It was very quick and we all watched as he hauled this very heavy life size doll out the door with him.

The first tray of little sandwiches was interesting. I liked them. I had no problem with any of them. It was typical, I guess, I wouldn't know, I had never been to high tea before. Then of course came the scones and desserts. It was all delicious and nice. We had wonderful conversation, delicious sandwiches, delectable petit fours, and we all got to see something bizarre. I think this sort of thing happens only in New York. 

Where we went: http://www.russiantearoomnyc.com/ 

NYC- The Statue of Liberty

Lady Liberty. A gift from the French and a monument to our freedoms. (We paid for the pedestal, they did the rest.)  She certainly is an interesting statue to look at and you can see her from really far away at the port welcoming boats in the harbor. Most people who are emigrating to the US come in on planes now, but she is still waiting in the ocean. This is one of America's most iconic landmarks and has been used in numerous films over the years.

My first tip is if you are planning on going to the Statue of Liberty you must buy your tickets way in advance. Especially if you want to go up into the crown. Just like most national monuments there are only so many people they allowed in everyday. I got our tickets a month in advance.  The ticket includes a ride to Ellis Island for the history of emigration (if you are into that sort of thing).

We bought tickets for the Pedestal, which is basically just bottom of the statue. The crown was sold out for months, so if you are planning to go up there buy tickets in advance.  We took the elevator up and the stairs down. It was a lot of stairs. I recommend taking the elevator. There is security again before going inside the statue. It seems a little excessive because we had to go through security to get on the boat to the island, but I guess it's better safe than sorry.  It is a national landmark.

Inside there is a statue of the torch and a museum.  The, y have a replica of the foot, which my hilarious aunt pointed out the sign reads, "Don't stand on the foot" and she kept saying what else are you supposed to do with a foot???




It was a lot of fun to walk around the island. My aunt and I took selfies and we walked around the statue. Here's some more pictures.

Here's more information about the statue and how to get there:

http://www.statueoflibertytickets.com/?gclid=CKOTqdW95M0CFQQbaQodlSYBbA

The Empire State Building

Our tour of NYC would not be complete without venturing up the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. This giant building used to be the largest in the world, even though it is not anymore it's still an impressive site to behold. The top of the building is actually on the 102nd floor, but the main viewing deck is on the 86th floor. It takes about an half hour to reach the top. The elevator ride is only about 2 minutes, but it was crowded, they pack as many people as they can safely fit in it.  Also, it is old, so there are some strange sounds. Only so many people are allowed up at a time, so the time you are there needs to be carefully coordinated. Luckily, this time when my aunt and I visited we made it up in about 45 minutes. It really depends on the traffic.
 

Entering the building is like a blast from the past. Everything is marble and gold. It looks so, 1930ish, which makes sense because the building was built in 1930, but obviously it has been renovated to it's original designs. It is designated as a historical landmark and it even has it's own zip code (The more you know....)

There is security all over the building. Post 911 has made everyone more cautious, they screen you through a metal detector, you cannot have glass bottles (obviously you could throw it off the building and kill someone or use it as a weapon), and you must put your bag through a x-ray machine. 

There are four sides to the 86th floor. This is only my second trip, but I learned how to distinguish what we were looking at by finding the Flatiron building. It's like my true north (I am aware it's not north- it's really kind of in the middle). I only know where things are in Manhattan in correlation to where the Flatiron building is... (at least in respects to where my hotel was located and where my cousin lives) but that is a story for another time.


You may purchase tickets to go all the way up to the 102nd floor, it's a just a little more money and it's indoor, but on a clear day they say you can see about 80 miles out.

There are so many things to do and see in NYC, you don't have to do touristy stuff, but it is a good view from the top and there is Wifi available if you want to broadcast videos on Facebook. Also, there are pictures available for purchase if you are into that sort of thing.... obviously we were!

This is where we went: http://www.esbnyc.com/