How The Bush Grows

Only 2 more hours till 2009! I can’t wait to celebrate the new year…

On Day 4 we went and toured the United Nations. I loved it. If I could work anywhere in the world I would be a human rights activist here. It was very neat to see all the different donations from all the countries and just to see a little of how the UN functions. Very beautiful building. The only downside was that the security was super tight. It was worse than the airport to get in the building.

On the way back to the hotel we saw the famous Waldorf Astoria. It was a very nice hotel.

For lunch we ate in times square at the Roxy. It was very delicious (like all New York Food!) But we could tell that New York was getting packed for New Years. I hated to leave but it was kinda nice to get away from all the crowds arriving.

Overall the trip was a blast. I would move to New York in a second if the opportunity ever arose. Eric and I got along GREAT! He truly was the best husband ever. He made sure that I had the perfect trip and for that I am very grateful. Thanks baby!

Due to popular demand…(by Dana) I am blogging to show everyone my Christmas decorations!

Day three in New York was very unusual. We walked at least 4-5 miles (if the scale on the map is correct). Our journey took us into a lot of the non-touristy areas of New York that made our walk so unique.

We started out the day by eating the best bagel of my life. I can not stress enough how good the food is in New York. They really know how to do all food well. Even the corner coffee stand kicks Starbucks butt. I LOVED everything I ate. I really miss the food…Seriously!

After breakfast we took a subway down to Ground Zero. It was a very sad and damaged place even after all of these years. I had no idea how much damage was actually done from the news reports on TV. It was crazy how much was wiped out by the twin towers collapsing. It took us a good hour just to walk around half of the damaged area. Below are some pics from that experience.

After Ground Zero we walked along Battery Park and saw Lady Liberty in the distance. It was a VERY long line to go out to her island so we just took pics from land. So next time we are there we will take the ferry over. It was SOOO windy near the water.

Once we saw The Statue of Liberty we walked on over to the Wall Street district. There we saw everything from the Immigration Building, NY Stock Exchange, Supreme Court Building, etc. Below are pictures from that area of New York…

We then took a subway over to Brooklyn then took a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to get back on the Manhattan Island. The view was breathtaking. See below…

On the other side of the bridge it looked like we had crossed into some European town. It is just so crazy how one street to another can make you feel like you are in a completely different country. So we kept on walking over to China Town. Now this place was Eric’s favorite place of New York. It really felt like you were in China. It was not a tourist spot and all the people there were Chinese and we did not get the best of looks so we quickly walked through the town.

Two Streets over from China Town was Little Italy. There we had the best Pizza and Calamiri ever. It was from the “Oldest Pizza Place in the World” you could go in and see them cook the pizza in this really old brick oven. The people there were really nice and moblike. The host looked like he was straight out of the mob. We think they had a side job going on in the back of the restaurant.

From Little Italy we walked thru SoHo where the young and trendy celebrities live (Such as MaryKate and Ashley Olson and Where Heath Ledger died) . It was alright. It did not live up to all the hype. I guess it would be cool if we were the bar and expensive boutique type people but since we were not it was just kind of boring. But we did see this really cute mouse spray painted…

We walked all the way thru SoHo, Tribecca, and Greenwich Village then took a subway to Grand Center Station and there we took a connection to Times Square. Went back to the hotel and rested and then later that night we went to see Benjamin Button. Below are a couple of images from later that night…

The Largest and Most Comfortable Seats Ever. I wish the theaters here are like this.

Largest McDonald’s in the World. 3 Stories.

Night View from the Hotel.

Day #2 in New York was Amazing. A perfect day. The weather was chilly but not too cold once we were all bundled up. It all started with us seeing them film the Today Show…

Then we hopped on the Life Style of the Rich and Famous Bus Tour. It was three hours long but perfect. The bus of only 8 people drove around different parts of New York and we were able to visit different celebrities homes and see places that they hang out. The best thing about the tour was we went through different neighborhoods that we would have never seen if not for the tour. We also learned a lot about the city and all of the happenings. Below are just a few of tons of pictures I took on this tour.

Dakota Hotel: View of where John Lennon- Beatles was shot. Yoko Ono still lives in the apartment along with Lauren Bacall and several other celebrities. 

Madonna’s Apartment- That is the treadmill that she works out on a lot. 

View from the top of Time Warner Center- Overlooking Central Park

Stings Apartment- I wanted to go over and knock on the door but Eric would not let me!

Lumi- Where Charlotte’s Water Broke in Sex and the City

After the tour we walked on over to Central Park and took a carriage ride through the park. We saw the poets statues, ice skating in Central Park (Serendipity), the carousal, children’s zoo, chess station, and all the lakes and bridges. 

Walking over one of the bridges.

“The Pond” Frozen

Once we left Central Park we walked over to the largest Apple Store that is open 24 hours. Like lots of places in New York the actual store is below ground. You go into the class tube and take the glass stairs down to a very HUGE Store. 

After walking down and touring Tiffany’s (pictures not allowed) and several other very nice boutiques we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our Anniversary Dinner. Once ready we took a cab (very scary) to Tao. A very cool Japanese restaurant where I had the best sushi of my life. (Dana I wanted to bring some home from you but did not think it would keep well.)

We then walked down the very romantic night streets and Eric surprised me by taking me to a Broadway play. We went to see the Lion King. It was an experience like no other. I promise I have never heard anyone sing as good as the people in the play. It was such a great surprise. 

We then wrapped up the night by walking thru times square again to get Eric a midnight slice of Sbarro. I just ate my yummy Cheese Ball!

We are finally here. It seemed like we would never get here. Last night we left Birmingham around 1:00 am and drove to Atlanta. It was a long drive but I was so lucky because Eric drove and I got to sleep the drive over. After taking a quick nap at the airport and on the plane we checked into our hotel. We are staying at the W Times Square. We love it!

Here is a view from our room…

After checking in we headed out for lunch. Of course the first place we had to go was a neighborhood pizza joint. It was delicious…

After lunch we headed back to the room to take a quick nap. We were so exhausted after being up well over 24 hours. At 3:00 we were back on the streets and headed over to Rockefeller Center. It was amazing. The city is so packed and you can just feel the hustle and bustle in the streets. It is festive here still. Even though Christmas is over around other parts of the world, people are still in the holiday spirit here.

Here were are with the Rockefeller Tree…

After walking around Rockefeller Center we grabbed a cup of coffee then headed over for the NBC Studio Tour. It was really cool. We learned all about the history of NBC and even toured the Saturday Night Live and Conan O’Brian sets. It was very surprising to see how crappy these sets really are. I was expecting some amazing stages and it really is not like that at all. We could not take pictures during the tour but here is a pic from the lobby…

Next stop, 5th Avenue! Window shopping was beautiful. That in itself is a sight to see. Here are a couple of pics to show you what I am talking about…

Juicy Couture

Saks 5th Avenue

We then strolled on over to the Modern Art Museum. We saw paintings from some of the Greatest Artist of all Times. Van Gogh, Picasso, Klimt, Dali, Pollock, and Warhol are just to name a few. It was wild to be surrounded by all these paintings you only see in books and calendars. The only downside was that is was a free night so it was super packed. You can see the crowds below…

After MoMA it was off to dinner. We ate at this little Irish place. The food was good but service was REALLY slow. I guess that is what you expect coming to the wildest city the most crowded time of the year. 

Walking back to the hotel after dinner was fun. We walked all up and down Times Square. It feels like daytime in the middle due to all of the lights. You do not even need a flash on the camera it is so bright. Very strange…

Well I guess I am going to go to bed now. Eric has been asleep the whole time I have been making posts. He was exhausted after a long day and only 2 hours of sleep. We have to be up and over to our Celebrity Bus tour at 8:00. Post more soon!- Good night Lauren

We had a great but crazy Christmas. It all started with Christmas Eve dinner at Aunt Debbie’s…

Christmas Morning we woke up at 7:00 and did Santa at the house…

Then we went over to Tanner and Nichole’s to watch the Bella and Taylor open up their Santa gifts…

Next we headed over to Susan’s to do Christmas with the Bush’s…

Followed by Christmas with the Baker’s over at Mam-ma’s House where we all got Lucky Jeans from each other thanks to Kendall’s discount…

Later that night we went and saw Marley and Me. This is a MUST SEE MOVIE. Super sad but a very great movie. Anyone who loves dogs has to see this. But don’t forget to bring your tissues.

Finally we were on the Road to Atlanta by 1:00 AM to catch a flight to New York!!!

Tuesday Night all of us went to the Christmas Candlelight Service at Church. It was very beautiful service and a great message. After the service The Bush Family, The Ansley Family, and The Baker Family all got together for dessert at my Mom and Dad’s house. It was so nice to have everyone together for the holidays. 

Look how beautiful all the candles were at church…

Ok…So i know that I am a little behind on the whole blog thing but this Christmas has kept us pretty busy. 

But anyway, Monday night Jonny, Dana, Eric, and I went to Surin 280 to celebrate our First Annual Best Friends Dinner. We just wanted  a special night to celebrate our friendships and how lucky we are to have friends we can always count on to be there no matter what. After dinner we went back to the house to watch “Christmas Vacation” and “Elf”. It was a great night except Eric one the Phase 10 Game not me!

Today we went and saw yes man. It was really funny. It really makes you think about life and doing more. I have been trying to get Eric to take flying lessons with me. Maybe now he actually will…

PS: It really stinks some time being married to a writer. He critiqued my original title of this post “Yes Man” he said that was not catchy enough. He has also instructed me that we need to put an image of Jim Carry to draw your attention. So the image below is all because of Eric. -Lauren