NYC: friday

this is our room in the hostel: 1 of 3 sets of bunkbeds (pepper's the top) and ample lockers
here's breakfast in the common room:
 

before we join our pizza tour on friday, there's time for some shopping in soho (where i buy pepper some leggings and a tee shirt) and chinatown (where we are tempted alot - but resist)

and - of course - we stop for a sweet treat in little italy:

mine's the lemon dreanm- pepper went for the brooklyn blackout

during the pizza tour, we visit a classic fromagerie (did you know you can make fresh mozza at home with milk?) and pepper has a taste
the verdict: without salt, it's pretty yucky :)

we start at lombardi's where the mozza is fresh and the coal oven is crazy hot.   best part:
we get to bypass the huge line-up and are shuttled to a back room like we're celebrities something :)
then as we digest, we take a tour of little italy and the bowery and visit a restaurant supply

we're given a 'loot bag' and let into the kitchen to see the coal oven at work
at the 'pizza box' we taste typical deck-oven style pizza (and learn why pizza has the cheapest start-up costs of any business, and why there are a thousand ray's pizzerias)

at john's on bleeker street it's back to the super hot coal fired oven but here they scrape the burn edges off off the bottom and the mozza is shredded - a sure sign it's not the fresh kind. 

we quickly drop off our purchases at the hostel and head to the MOMA for their free-fridays.  we are mostly surprised by the sizes of these (familiar) pieces.
did you know dalis are smaller than their posters? and picassos take up whole walls? (ok, monet deserved to fill the room.  that was a sight to see)
and then we shop, like mad
we spend 3 hours at forever 21... where you have to line up just to try on the clothes! (as well as pay for them)
pepper tries on a strapless pale-pink ruched dress that looks amazing on her - too amazing for a 13 yo. we're talking 20 yo model gorgeous! so, no - not for her prom...


macy's is so big there's a man handing out maps at the door. we search, we shop, we try-it-on...

and then:
sucess!

pepper finds a prom dress
and i buy her first real high-heels


we finish our late night with a visit to 5 guys and i turn into a burger lover.  what?!