mother's day Part 1: Our 'You've Got Mail' tour

Technically, this would be my second mother's day, but Levi was still in my belly, so the extent of 'mothering' him was eating well, sleeping like a champ, and at that point, complaining about how my body was breaking down, oh and dealing with his feet in my ribs. :)
This mother's day was perfect, but it almost wasn't. Just like every other Sunday (when we actually made it out the door) getting to church was a big question mark. Do we try for the bus? will in come in 2 minutes or 30? Do we haul the stroller up and down the subway stairs? Is it raining? how long will we have to be standing out in it? how much stuff do we have to haul along? It was always a nightmare, and this day was no different. We left, and of course, there were absolutely NO buses coming anytime soon, and the train we needed, was down for the day. So, we tried to catch a cab. NOPE, no cabs, anywhere.

At that point, we were going to miss most of church anyway, so we decided just to go to lunch. I was bummed, I was really looking forward to church. As I walked solemnly toward the train (drama much?),  Scott said he had an idea that would hopefully make the day better. We got off at the 96th subway stop, and walked through the Upper West Side. He kept asking if I knew where we were going, nope. We arrived in Riverside Park, and he asked again, nope. Finally he broke the secret. We were at the 91st street garden, where Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan meet up at the very end of You Got Mail! You know the scene, "Don't Cry, Shopgirl, Don't Cry" "I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly", then the screen gets blurry because you're obviously crying. Don't say you didn't. We all cried.
I was so excited! We talked for 2 years about taking a walking tour of all the sights in the movie, but ya know, life happened. So, in his brilliance, when I thought Mother's Day was ruined, he was quick thinking and we started the tour. The day ended up being spectacular, one of my favorite days ever.

 Levi couldn't hang.

 After walking through the garden, and talking to an elderly couple who upkeep it, we headed to the 81st street Starbucks where Joe and Kathleen bought their coffee every morning. 

We didn't get drinks there, but I've been in a few times (what NYC Sbux didn't I try?).

 Then, walked across the street to Zabars. You'll remember it from the scene where they are grocery shopping and she doesn't have cash on her, and Joe comes to the rescue.

We shopped around for a few, and I bought a mug and some delicious brioche!

(Thankfully it wasn't a cash only line!)

 Although we were meandering toward our lunch at Cilantro Mexican, we stopped by the famous Gray's Papaya to have a hotdog. It was soooo good!

 Levi was mesmerized by the hanging fruit.

Our last stop before lunch, Cafe Lola on 83rd street. Where she waits for her friend with a rose, and Joe realizes she's Shopgirl.

I wish we could have eaten there, but alas, maybe next time.

So, we took this a few weeks later, on graduation day, but we couldn't find it the day of our tour! (we walked right by it) Verdi Square: They sat on a bench in this spot, there was also a farmer's market in the square. 

 We ended our morning tour with lunch at one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants, Cilantro. This was our first successful restaurant outing with Levi. It went really well, he tried to eat a piece of lettuce most of the time. :)

 Thanks for reading part 1, the second part of our day with pretty grand. Stay tuned!