Weekend Tourists- Challenge Completed!

What a weekend we had! We were quite the tourists and the "Thirty by 30 Challenge" has been completed (with one item, No. 9 becoming a thirty while 30...). And boy, was it completed with a bang!

On Saturday, we had a blast with No. 7:

Hit all 5 boroughs in one day and sample cuisine from each

And on Sunday, we took advantage of No. 3:

Bike ride and paddle boat in Central Park

(Although, they don't have paddle boats, not sure what I was thinking on that, they're row boats, but fun none-the-less!!!)

Once again, I'll try and limit the words in this post cause that could go on forever so the story of the weekend will be told in pictures below.

Saturday, 3/21/09

9:50 am- begin in our hometown borough (had to fix my terrible spelling of "burrow" in original challenge post) of Manhattan by walking down to 57th and 2nd to start the day with some very tasty bagels, served by one of the nicest bagel servers we've ever had the pleasure of chatting with.

There's just something about a fresh, NY whole wheat bagel
with a schmeer of veggie cream cheese- yum!

10:25 am- leave "Hot Jumbo Bagels" and take the 5 train to Staten Island Ferry for the next borough.

Enjoy gorgeous views of the City and Lady Liberty on our 25 min ferry ride.

11:25am- exit Ferry and arrive 15 min later at this adorable "Everything Goes Book Cafe."

We enjoyed excellent organic tea (mine had chocolate and mint-mmm)
with a chocolate biscotti and shortbread cookies.

This was the cutest little place with very sweet, artsy owners and tons of used books, records, etc for sale. We even picked up a nifty "how-to" kitchen book where we learned that you can bake muffins filled in a coffee mug in the microwave!!!

12:30pm- Back on the ferry and back to the City!

1:00pm- Arrive back in Manhattan and head back to the 5 train to the Brooklyn Bridge stop

1:15pm- Walk across Brooklyn Bridge into borough #3!

2pm Enjoy some of the best ice cream at the "Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory"!
From their five flavor selection, Steve got peach and I (of course) got
chocolate with chocolate chunks.

Taking in more beautiful views of the bridge.

2:30pm- Venture to next borough via the A-G-7-N trains: whew!

3:45pm- After getting to know NYC transit a little better than we really care to,
we arrive in Queens. Quite hungry, we enjoy a delicious lunch at this very popular
Greek restaurant in Astoria.

Salad with feta cheese- mmm...

Fried cheese- I know... :)

Broiled cod with lemon potatoes- delish!!!

Cheesing it up in front of the interesting artwork at "Taverna Kyclades"

4:50pm- Stuffed and exhausted, we decide to stop back home via the N-7-6 trains
before heading to the fifth, and final, borough.

6:30pm- Take the M101 bus to 4-D trains, then Bx 36 bus to final destination for dinner with some friends.

7:45pm- Arrive in Little Italy in the Bronx!

8:30pm- Finally seated at Enzo's - well worth the wait!

Simple, light tri-colored salad

Penne with vodka sauce- yummo!!!

Such delicious food and an amazing atmosphere! The owners and staff loved our "borough" idea and that their restaurant was the final stop. They had us all cracking up, especially when the camera came out for cheesey smiles...

There I go winking again... Let's try one more time!

And then this happens. (This pic is for you, Summer!:)

Steve and I, Lauren and Nate, and Jessa and Todd

(Todd swears he had the best food he's ever tasted that night at dinner :)

10:05pm- Leave Enzo's and take Bx 36 Bus to D-4-6 trains back to Manhattan.

11:35pm- Rides on eight different trains, two buses, a ferry, and with about $85 less in our pockets (which really ain't all that bad for all that food!!!) we arrive home and crash...

What a day!!! We had a blast and I have to say, each place had the friendliest people! All of the food was quite good and it was definitely a worthwile experience, to say the least. I think we slept quite well that night.

Now onto Sunday...

As this was the day I "took a day off of work for no reason" (No. 30), it was a great opportunity to take advantage of bike riding and row boating in Central Park. So after a yummy brunch with the Sholes after church, we conquered the final item, No. 3 on the "list."

Fun times, indeed! And definitely experiences worth repeating. The park is completely different on those bikes- it was great.

At some point, I'll write more about what was learned on this great "Thirty by 30" Challenge of mine and things that have stuck and will continue, but this is long enough as is.

It's been a wonderful year - challenge completed!