New York City Day 3

Thursday was more of a relaxed day... not as much running around as the day before.

We started off with visiting the Rockefeller Center and doing a bit of shopping. The Anthropologie there is HUGE. They had these cute little bowls I wanted to buy (and they were on sale for $1.50) but I couldn't have really carried them home via airplane. I was bummed. And just a little tidbit... I thought the ice skating rink was going to be ginormous... but it's actually really small.  

We also saw Hoda filming her segment.

We then went to lunch at 'wichcraft. I ordered a pastrami sandwich with whole grain mustard. No big deal, right? I can handle whole grain mustard. Eating this sandwich was one of the most painful eating experiences I've had in my whole life. The mustard was packed with horseradish. My mouth wasn't on fire- but my nose sure was. It was so awful- my eyes even started to water. I usually pride myself on my ability to be able to handle spicy foods- but this was crazy spicy. It burned in my nose. It was the oddest thing.

Right by J.Crew (part of the Rockefeller Center) is St. Patrick's Cathedral. We were just in time for an afternoon mass- it was quite interesting. Very different from my usual church service. It felt more showy- like a performance or something. The way they take the sacrament is also different. Everyone walks up to the front and partakes of the sacrament. Same with their version of tithing. A few men carry around baskets with sticks attached and push them into the pews. No one really sings the hymns either- except for the lady at the front (who sang in an operatic style) and the homeless man with much conviction behind us. We also saw the confessionals. I am still confused about the repentance process within the Catholic church... does one have to confess ALL of their sins to the priest or just the big ones (infidelity, etc...). Does the priest help them through the repentance process (like an LDS bishop) or is just confessing good enough? I'm glad I went to the afternoon mass- it was very interesting and made me more appreciative of the way the LDS church functions- it seems more private and personal within the LDS church. The  Cathedral was gorgeous inside. Very ornate.

After mass, we went to the American Girl Store. If I was ten years younger- I would have been in heaven. The bathrooms were hilarious- they had "doll-holders" in the stalls. They even have hair salons for the dolls!

We then went to Serendipity 3 for frozzzzen hot chocolate. It was very yummy.

After our yummy dessert, we went back to the hotel and rested until our dinner reservations at Kefi (greek food) on the Upper West Side. The decor was so lovely and the food was SO GOOD. They bring out this yummy bread with insanely delicious olive oil to dip it in. We got the greek meatballs for an appetizer and shared the lemon roasted potatoes during dinner. My mom and I both ordered the Lamb Shank with Orzo (which was so tender it fell off the bone). And my sister ordered orzo with shrimp and feta, which was very yummy. This was probably one of our favorite meals of the entire trip. It was probably $60 for all three of us (no drinks), but we did get an appetizer and shared a side during dinner (which we really didn't end up needing- our actual dinner was plenty of food).

After dinner- we went to the LION KING on broadway! It was AMAZING! I don't know how else to describe it. The puppetry was the coolest thing ever.

And we went back to the hotel and fell asleep. It was a good day.