We left Boston around 6 in the morning after bringing Fred to grandma and grandpa's house. We were a little smarter than usual for this trip. We stopped at the first Starbucks that we saw! Sounds silly but after the Framingham plaza Starbucks are few and far between. We got our coffees (matcha lemonade for me) and some dairy free pumpkin bread and made our way to The Met Cloisters. We arrived a little after opening time and luckily found a parking spot right out front. We wandered up the stairs and paid the suggested entry fee (If you have it why not support the arts). We opted for a map alone and began wandering the area. We went in and out of the various rooms, gardens, and courtyards. While we didn't spend a lot of time here we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. We loved the art, history, and the calm (even finding a small seating area where we relaxed and enjoyed the weather without being disturbed). After our visit we headed into the city and made our way over to the Millennium Hilton One UN Plaza our home away from home for the night. For future reference the hotel address is 1 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017 however the valet and hotel entrance is on E 44th St. We had stayed at this property a few years ago when it was just the One UN Hotel and were happy that it's now a part of the Hilton family. Once we parked we had a good time joking around with the Bell Service staff! We discussed my car and who has or hasn't been to Italy. Very humorous conversation. We headed inside to the check in desk and our room wasn't ready yet but we did get upgraded to a suite (yay Hilton Honors). We dropped off our luggage and decided to go to lunch. We couldn't decide on where to go. Do we head to Bareburger and try an Impossible Burger (worried about how my body will react to it though), do we head to Chelsea Market right away and get sandwiches at Num Pang, or do we head back to Momosan Ramen for Ramen and Sake? Finally we decided on a savory and comforting bowl of Ramen. The hostess welcomed us right away and sat us at the bar. Perfect for us! After perusing the menu we ordered the lunch specials of Tonkotsu with a small order of Guydon and Tonkotsu with a small order of curry. To accompany our meal we opted for the Morimoto Sake Flight. While the meal was slightly on the salty side it was very satisfying with the combination of flavors and textures. This was our 2nd visit and we can't wait to return again. Once a year and only in New York I head to Desigual for some shopping. In previous years I have purchased a coat, jeans, and purse that I always get complimented on. This year I lucked out with 2 purses thanks to their buy one get 50% off sale! Purses and shoes are my favorite things to buy so this made me a very happy camper! With bags in hand we walked on to Chelsea Market. At this point the temperature outside was pretty warm so our first stop was for some sorbetto from L'Arte del Gelato. Greg opted for the dark chocolate while I went with passion fruit. My passion fruit sorbetto was delicious and refreshing. Unfortunately, Greg wasn't impressed with his and wished we could head to Grom for theirs. We continued our walking tour of NYC and headed back to the Millennium Hilton One UN Plaza. We checked in again and our keys were ready and waiting for us. We were in room 3343 a one bedroom suite. The room was bright, large and clean. The room was almost perfect except for a few large tears in the carpet in the living area. At this point we decided to cool down and relax in our room for a little while. Around 6 we went to the 30th floor to the Sky Lounge. The snacks weren't to our liking so we opted to spend $10 on two glasses of red wine. At a small table we sat side by side and talked about our day while we sipped on our drinks. We went back to the room and had time before our dinner reservations. Unfortunately I started feeling sick. I had previously been having some sinus pressure and a sore throat and I think the warm air caused me some more discomfort. My head was pounding, my throat scratchy, and my eyes were bloodshot. We decided it would be best for me to hang in tonight and try to get some rest. We cancelled our reservations at Sake Bar Hagi 46 (we'll see you next time) and made our way to Shake Shack for some take out. We ordered burgers (mine gluten and dairy free), french fries, and strawberry mint lemonade. A quick walk back to our hotel and we were enjoying our food before heading to bed. On Sunday morning we knew check out time was 11:00 a.m. so we got up early grabbed some breakfast at Starbucks and walked 3 miles to Chinatown. We stopped along the way for some pictures of the skyline and some street art. Once in Chinatown we headed to Keki Modern Cakes. If I'm going to deal with the pain of my dairy allergy it should be for something amazing. Keki Modern Cakes makes wonderful Japanese bouncy cheesecakes. The cheesecakes are light, airy, and not overly sweet. We also purchased a fancy cheesecake for my parents. According to my father it was a piece of heaven! Since we were running out of time we took a cab back to our hotel. We grabbed our luggage, called the valet, checked out of the hotel, and were outside only a few minutes before our car pulled up. We hopped in the car, turned on Waze and made our way home. A short while after leaving Manhattan I have to admit I fell asleep. It could be part of the cold I have but I also have a bad habit of falling asleep during road trips. I don't know why but being in a car is relaxing to me (maybe the car was used to soothe me as a baby lol). I had heard about a BBQ restaurant in Sturbridge MA and as we were about a mile away I mentioned it to Greg. We decided why not give it a try. We pulled into the full parking lot at BT's Smokehouse. We ended up parking behind the restaurant in a baseball field lot. Once we were inside the restaurant we were confronted with a very long line of people. Rather than stand in the crowded area we went back outside and ordered online. We got a confirmation email stating that it would be ready in 30-40 minutes. We decided to go across the way to a local coffee shop for refreshments and to just enjoy the wonderful weather while waiting for our order. Finally our order was ready. We picked up our brisket, ribs, pulled pork, whole wings, cole slaw, beans, and carrot salad. On the counters you will find a variety of sauces to package up so we selected 4 different types. Hopping back in the car we made our way home where my parents would meet us with Fred so we can all enjoy the food we ordered. The food from BT's Smokehouse was pretty good. I would say the restaurant is in my top 5 BBQ places we've tried so far. The meats were tender, and flavorful although a tad on the salty side. My favorite was the lean end of the brisket. Greg enjoyed the cole slaw while I loved the carrot salad. Unfortunately the sauces were too acidic for my taste. We both agreed we would venture back out to Sturbridge for a 2nd visit. All in all it was a wonderful weekend getaway for the two of us!
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