First New York Post

November 3, 2005
Day 1

Up at 3:30 a.m. to leave for the airport at 4:00 a.m. Our plane left ontime and we went through Dallas with a short stop then off to New York La Guardia. We landed at 11:50 a.m. ten minutes early. The approach was what I only could dream of. First I saw the statue of liberty. It looked so small on the island and in the middle of the harbor. Then the Manhattan skyline. It is what I always dreamed it would be, stunning.

So we got our luggage, got in a cab and started on our way to the hotel. Well the taxi driver stopped us a block away from the hotel and then told us we had to walk to the hotel. Well we were not about to drag our luggage. The cabbie tried to tell us it would take an extra hour to make the block. Well we made him take us directly to the door. He was so huffy about it so he only got a thirty cent tip.

The hotel was so cute and from the moment we entered everyone was so nice. We were too early so we could not check in, but could leave our luggage and go out and about. We did however find out that for some reason we had been upgraded to a jr. Deluxe king room. Not to look at gift horse in the mouth we said great and went to find lunch.

On our way to Trump Tower we passed radio city music hall (the musicians were striking), the ice rink, St. Patrick's Cathedral and so many other places. We ate in the bottom of Trump Tower. I had a cajun turkey sandwich (it was surprisingly spicy), a piece of white chocolate mousse cake and a sprite. They had the 'good' ice! (same as sonic ice!) The food was yummy, but pretty expensive.

We left lunch to find the Fendi flagship store that was supposed to open today. Well obviously our invites got lost so....We went to Tiffanys. They have elevator attendants! I bought two things. A present and then a ring for me. The ring says "Please return to tiffany's" I love it!

We left there and went to Bergdoff's shoe department. There were so many pairs of Manolos that I could have passed out! My dream pair, that I did not know existed, a pair of cheetah print kitten heel shoes, were there. They are still there :(

We left the store and went by the Plaza hotel, it is closed for remodeling. We were on the side of central park. Then through times square to our room.

We got checked in and what a room we have! We have so much space and there is even a couch. We were a little too tired having gotten up early and walking all day so we went to a place called Smiley's. It is like a convenience store with a buffet I got sesame chicken, noodles, papaya, pineapple, chicken Caesar salad, yogurt and a cherry coke. When we walked back after filling up our to go plates we went back through times square. I was so shocked by how many lights were on! It was brighter tonight than it was during the day. Off to sleep!

November 4, 2005
Day 2

My eyes popped open a little after six. I took my shower, got ready, and we hit the road. We walked to where they tape the today show. We saw Matt Lauer, Katie Couric, and Al Roker. We got a great surprise when across the street at the ice rink at Rockefeller center Dorothy Hamil was skating. She looked so beautiful and graceful skating along.

We met two ladies who were going to run the marathon on Sunday and exchanged info with them. We considered going on the NBC studio tour, but instead decided to go to the top of the rock (top of Rockefeller center). We found out it just opened on the 1st. We got a coupon for buy one get one free tickets. We took a very cool elevator to the top. They had a clear ceiling that projected pictures. Also all the way up there were neon light sticks leading the way up. The view was amazing! You could see for miles. It really gave me a great perspective on the city. Wow what a view!

From the top of the rock we headed out for some shopping. American Girl, Burberry, Barney's, and Bloomingdales. I have discovered at Barney's there is no way I can ever afford to purchase anything at all! I am in love with Burberry. I want the $695 long poncho, but will dream about that for a very long time! In my dreams!

After shopping we went to China Grill to eat. The food was great. I had Confucius chicken salad that four people could have eaten and still have leftovers and then crab cakes. Susan had these wonderful crispy spinach. If every veggie was like that I would become a vegetarian!

After lunch we came back to the room to freshen up before heading to Queens for the taping of Hope and Faith. We left and walked to the subway. Yikes! It wasn't as bad as I expected. I was so freaked about things that I made sure I brought antibacterial wipes for the ride to Queens and then some for the way back! It was much cleaner than I thought. There was no spray paint anywhere. The only graffiti was etched on the windows.

We got off the subway at Hunter's Point and went out to catch the shuttle to the studio. We checked in and waited then were let inside the studio. After of course going through a metal detector and having our purses searched.

The set looked SO good. It was just like I was with them. We got settled and come to find out we had this audience warm up guy named Phil Stiller who was hilarious. He was there to keep us entertained. He did this in so many ways such as called our loved ones and talking to them. We got them to call JJ. Phil asked him where he was at and JJ said a birthday party. Phil asked him why he was having a birthday party for me while I was gone.. JJ came back with a "they are more fun without her." Well the audience went against JJ. Before they got off the phone Phil made JJ tell everyone in the audience how wonderful I am. JJ also made some comment that I cannot remember that Phil responded with "well she married you didn't she?!" Well I got a hat out of the deal which I want Kelly Ripa to sign.

I found out that the studio we were at as the same studio where they taped sex and the city! Chris Noth had once been there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also the lady who does the costumes for Hope & Faith, Patricia Field also clothed the sex and the city girls. She really stood out with her RED hair and a yellow jacket that had black cat fireworks advertised on the back. What an outfit, but she coud totally pull it off.

This taping was better than I ever could have imagined. They fed us pizza and cookies and gave us "Hope and Faith" water. The cast interacted with us. It was SO great. Faith Ford made a joke that made me laugh so hard. They were talking about boys being brownies and Phil asked what they would be called and Faith said brownies with nuts! It was really nice to see how the taping went. They would perform then the director would tweak a few parts or rewrite then they would do it again and continue the process until they were happy.

There were mistakes of course in the episode we saw. (#310 which will be aired on November 25th so watch) Ted threw his award on the table and it broke. Also when Ted was going upstairs but first had to do an impression of the hulk he could not stop laughing. Oh my Ted is SO cute! He does not look a day older than he looked in Happy Days! After they finished taping they did a Christmas PSA and one to run during the soul train awards. Kelly had a hard time getting the words out correctly. It was so great to see when they were finished the cast were all hugging each other and really looked like they all cared about each other. Oh I forgot that the three kids were sitting during downtime doing special handshakes. Then the youngest two were throwing a tennis ball to each other. During downtime Paulie Litt came up in the audience and sang Frank Sinatra. He is so darling!

When the taping finished we got back on the shuttle to the subway and rode it back to Manhattan. It was very well lit and I was not worried for on minute about being underground.

On our walk back we saw a movie being taped called gardener of Eden. It did not look interesting so we came back and got in our jammies. They delivered our milk and cookies and we are about to go to sleep...finally!

If you have made it this far you will have to stay tuned for the next few days.