NYC Summer Weekends Kick-Off!!

Have I ever told you how much I love NYC in the summer??  Yeah, I'm sure I have.  There is so much going on all the time and a lot of it is free!  I kicked-off this season of weekend fun in an incredible way!  I would have shared sooner but I was hoping to get some pics from Robyn, who I spent the bulk of the weekend with.  I still haven't gotten them, so I'm blogging on without them, friends!

It started on the first official Thursday night of summer back in June when I met Lucy and Liz at The Bowery Hotel for some FREE art + music.  It was the fact that Rhett Miller was going to be DJing the soiree that got us there.  He also did a short acoustic set.  But, what impressed us most was the space.  The Bowery Hotel may just be my new favorite spot!  The event space is half indoors and half outdoor terrace.  It is beautifully decorated.  After walking about 5-steps in the doorway I said to Lucy, "I think I love this place".  She did too.  And then when Liz came in a bit later, she'd already planned her entire wedding around the space by the time she found us - ha!  The art that was on display was pretty fantastic as well.  A couple of ladies who have an art gallery in upstate New York brought some of their goods down to show off to us city folks.  It was an impressive collection and fit in so well with the space.  I hope to attend many more events in this special little spot down in the Bowery.

I only took one picture at the Bowery Hotel...should have taken many more.  I wish it had turned out better, but I thought this fireplace was gorgeous.  In the design magazines and blogs I've been flipping through lately, I've seen a lot of displays of wood like the one on the sides at the top of the fireplace.  Love it...wish I could put the idea to use (could use it anyway, but would be kind of weird since I don't have a fireplace).

Saturday morning (5:30AM to be exact), I headed for Central Park where I spent 8 hours with my friend Robyn.  We were waiting in the line for Shakespeare in the Park tickets.  They are FREE which makes them difficult to get, but it's a rite of passage for all New Yorkers, so it had to be done!  The day went by extremely quick.  We brought games, magazines, and snacks with us, but mostly ended up chatting and people watching the whole time.  The two guys manning the line gave out #'s for places that would deliver food to the line.  We had breakfast sandwiches brought right to us - it was pretty funny!  The wait really wasn't bad at all - if you're going to have to wait for 8 hours in one spot, it might as well be in Central Park!  And, we got the tickets!!  I am so glad we went early in the season - I had friends go this past weekend and the ones who got there at 2AM got tickets, but the ones who arrived at 4:00AM did not.  5:30AM isn't sounding so bad now, is it??

We split up for the afternoon and came back that night for the show, along with our friends Bethany and Megan (Robyn and I could each get 2 tickets).  Robyn brought pizza and I brought wine to enjoy while watching the show.  We saw The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jesse L. Martin (you'd recognize him from Law & Order and other shows).  It was SO good and the perfect evening to be out in the park enjoying some theatre.

That Sunday, I went to teach the kids at church in the morning and from there, Hillery, Robyn and I went out to Governor's Island to attend our first polo match....for FREE, of course!  Governor's Island is just off the south end of Manhattan, not far from Liberty Island (where the Statue of Liberty is).  It was an extremely hot day and very, very crowded so that put a bit of a damper on our fun.  We got to see Prince Harry play, though, and that was worth it!!  I'd love to go to a Polo match another time...but maybe one that isn't so crowded!

The tents were just for the people who bought

$250 tickets.  I tried to win tickets,

but no such luck.  Maybe next year.

Here come the players!

That'd be Prince Harry trying to get the ball

At half-time (or whatever it's called in a Polo Match),

everyone got to go onto the field to stomp the divots

back in the ground - I've always wanted to do that!

We knew there were lots of celebs there (Robyn had

a friend working in the tents and he updated us on who

was there).  We tried to spot some, but no luck.

Pretty views of the city

Harry again!

That evening, I managed to make it back to Manhattan in time for church followed by Rooftop Wine & Cheese.  Lucy and her roommate, Jessica, have been hosting these fun parties on their rooftop after church about once a month.  This was the first time I was able to go and it was so much fun!  I got to talk to lots of people - ones I rarely see and met some new peeps, too.  And life in the hot city is always better when you're on a rooftop!

It couldn't have been a better weekend to kick-off all the summer fun!