I’m back! I LOVED NYC (it was my first time there), and I kinda want to move there. And I really love and miss all my blogger friends that I spent so much time with!
Anyway, I wanted to just share with you guys what I did while I was in NYC! I really was slacking in the photos department this year (for instance, WHY do I not have a nice picture of the city skyline or of Times Square or almost EVERYWHERE ELSE I WENT????) so I apologize for not so many photos here.
Tuesday
We got up really early for our flight but we were upgraded to 1st class so the hubs and I (the kiddo was staying with my parents) were really excited because we’d never flown 1st class before. The plane got in early in the afternoon but we had to wait forever for our SuperShuttle to come pick us up. It was raining so we couldn’t actually see much of the city as we rode in but we made it to our hotel and they gave us cupcakes!
The view from our hotel room
Then we went and explored a bit, going to Times Square, the NBC gift shop and out to dinner at Le Parisien (very delicious!). Then we hit the Strand bookstore and tried to see the 9/11 memorial but it was already closed. Then we went to the Comedy Cellar and it was hilarious. Aziz Ansari just showed up and did a set! Definitely worth the money and the late night out.
Times Square
The YA section at Strand Books. Heaven!
Wednesday
Wednesday was the BEA Blogger Con, and I got to see Kate from Midnight Book Girl again, as well as meet Pam from Midnyte Reader, Jessica from A Midsummer Night’s Read, April from Good Books and Good Wine, Ashley from Nose Graze and tons of other bloggers! There were some YA panels, so I chose to go to those, but the panel that was the most informative, for me, was the one about blogging platforms, because I’m seriously thinking about switching over to Word Press. I also got a few books at the Blogger Con, which was nice.
There was also a Networking Happy Hour and I got to speak to a few different authors, like Cathryn Constable and Jeff Hirsch, and I spoke to representatives of publishers like Scholastic and Quercus.
That night the hubs and I went to Junior’s for dinner and then we went to Dave & Buster’s for a bit because he had never been to one. We ended up with lots of tickets and got some toys for the kiddo.
Thursday
Favorites from my overall haul
We went to Colicchio & Sons for dinner and OMG it was fantastic. I highly recommend it as your fancy, expensive dinner while you’re in NYC. We ate in the Tap Room and it was fabulous. Then we went back to our hotel room and crashed.
Friday
Then that night was the BEA Blogger Picnic! It was so much fun! We had over 30 people show up and my awesome husband ordered a cake from Carlo’s Bakery (from the show Cake Boss) for us. For those of you who came, here’s the list of all of the wonderful people were there, too!
Organizers:
Alexa – alexalovesbooks.com – @alexalovesbooks
Andrea – theoverstuffedbookcase.com – @OverstuffedBook
Jen – jenryland.blogspot.com – @JenRyland
Katelyn – talesofbooksandbands.com – @KatelynTorrey
All the lovely ladies that joined us:
Christina – allodoxophobia.wordpress.com – @allodoxoph0bia
Steph – www.thefakesteph.com – @fakesteph
Kate – www.midnightbookgirl.com – @Midnghtbookgirl
Kellie – www.reviews.snarkybooks.com – @Kellie_Sheridan
Pam – www.midnytereader.com – @MidnyteReader
Ashley & Nicole – thequietconcert.blogspot.com – @TheQuietConcert
Caitie – caitieflum.wordpress.com – @caitief
Becky – bookbitereviews.blogspot.com – @bookbitereviews
Lauren – loveisnotatriangle.com – @laurayjames
Anna – annareads.com – @annareadsbooks
Elena – novelsounds.net – @novelsounds
Jamie – www.perpetualpageturner.com – @brokeandbookish
Shelver – shelversanon@blogspot.com – @Shelver506
Hannah M. – thegirlinacafe.blogspot.com.au – @thegirlinacafe
Sarah – everydaybooksofgems.blogspot.com – @bluereadergal
Tara – hobbitsies.net – @hobbitsies
Asheley – intothehallofbooks.com – @BookwormAsheley
Jen – www.almostgrownup.net – @Almost_Grown_up
Lindsey – www.astormofwords.net – @lindsey_allyson
Steph – www.poetrytoprose.com – @poetrytoprose
Katie – www.bookishlyyours.com – @isolateme
Linda – light-of-day.net – @lindazge
Shanese – thebo0ki3.blogspot.com – @Bo0KJunki3
Hannah – paperbacktreasures.blogspot.com – @PbackTreasures
Anastasia – heretherebebooks.net – @heretherebebks
Julie – storypushers.wordpress.com – @jmgeduld
Elizabeth – gossamerobsessions.blogspot.com – @AnimeJune
Isalys & Vanessa – booksoulmates.blogspot.com – @booksoulmates @IsaBookSoulmate
Memory of Stella Matutina – http://xicanti.livejournal.com – @xicanti
Allison – www.goodbooksandgoodwine.com – @bookishfeminist
Thanks SO much to everyone who came! It was so awesome to meet all of you!
The four organizers! Katelyn, Alexa, Jen, and myself.
Thanks to Alexa for the pic!
I think this was almost all of us. Thanks to Alexa for the pic!
The cake from Carlo’s Bakery! Yum!
Afterwards, some of us headed over to Connolly’s Pub for some food and drinks. It was definitely a fun night!
Saturday
Saturday morning I woke up so tired and my feet were still so swollen and in so much pain that I decided not to get up as early as I had on the previous days. So I ended getting to the Javits Center around 9:30, thinking I would just get straight in the line for Gennifer Albin’s autographing session (Altered was my one MUST HAVE book). But it was pretty empty so I ended up able to get a signed copy of Unraveling as well. Then I got Altered and I headed out.
I kind of clammed up around
Gennifer Albin, but she was sweet!
The hubs and I went to Carnegie Deli for lunch and then to the 9/11 Memorial. And then we had to say goodbye to New York City, which we were NOT happy about. We LOVED it there!
Freedom Tower near the 9/11 Memorial
9/11 Memorial
Overall
Basically I spent all my time at the conference in lines. Lined up until they opened the doors, lines to get galleys that publishers had “dropped” (although there weren’t always lines for those, but sometimes there were), lines to get autographed books, pre-lines to get autographed books, lines for food, lines for the bathrooms, lines to check your rolling suitcase, lines to drop off books at your rolling suitcase, lines to pick up your rolling suitcase at the end of the day. And being on my feet all day meant that THEY STILL HURT. They’re still swollen, although they’ve gotten a lot better.
My only real complaint about the conference was that the shuttles between the Javits Center and the hotels were not very organized. The first day, I watched a shuttle go right past our stop, and then we had to wait 30-40 minutes for the next one to show up. Then on the second day, on the way home, the driver skipped the second stop and decided to make everyone left on the bus get off about 2 blocks away from the final stop. And then another day I’m pretty sure they started the afternoon service about an hour late. I didn’t want to wait so I took a cab. All these things seem like maybe a lack of communication between the conference and the shuttle company. More buses would probably help as well.
But my favorite part about the whole thing, though, had to be meeting other bloggers and book lovers. It was so awesome to be talking to someone and then say, “So, are you a blogger?” and then they’d say, “Yeah, my blog is…” and it would be some blog that I’d been following for forever but I’d never seen a picture of them, so I had no idea that’s who I was talking to. And it was really cool to see bloggers that I did recognize, and to meet them as well. And it was also really fun to make new blogger friends. (I will follow all of you on twitter and subscribe to your blogs VERY soon!)
So if you have the chance to go to BEA next year or sometime in the future, I highly recommend it. Hopefully your feet won’t swell up like mine did, and hopefully the shuttles will work a little smoother, but I’m sure you’ll have an absolutely fantastic time even so! Oh, and I’ll be sharing my BEA haul this Saturday in my Stacking the Shelves post, so be sure to come back for that!
Christina @ Allodoxophobia
June 4, 2013 at 1:30 pmAwesome write up! I'm glad you had a good time :) And it was SO great to meet you and hang out. Next year can't come too soon!!
booksarethenewblack.com
June 4, 2013 at 1:46 pmIt was so great to meet you at BEA! I wish I could have made the blogger lunch in the park. It looks like so much fun!! Maybe next year :)
Lindsey Allyson
June 4, 2013 at 1:59 pmIt sounds like you had a great time and I'm really glad to read that! It was great to meet you (I believe it was in line for Kat Zhang?) and thank you so much for co-organizing the blogger picnic! It was definitely highlight of the trip and it was great to meet so many bloggers. Also, thank you to your husband for the cake! I'm glad you have a picture of it because by the time I arrived, it had already been cut into and I couldn't completely make out what the picture on it was, hahaha. :D
Kimberly @ On the Wings of Books
June 5, 2013 at 12:45 pmI loved NYC as well, but I wouldn't want to live there, it's more of a visiting place for me.
So glad you had a great time! That cake looks awesome as well :)
Sarah
June 8, 2013 at 12:17 amI'm glad you got to go and have fun! I lived in Brooklyn and while I love the city, I am not a fan of living there.
Also, subways! Below ground is always better than above :)
bookrockbetty.com
June 8, 2013 at 5:05 amI was already sad that Kelly & I didn't make it to the picnic… but HOLY CRAP— THAT CAKE!!! and it was a CAKE BOSS CAKE!! how amazing! glad you had such an awesome time at bea! so glad i got to meet you!
fakesteph
June 9, 2013 at 12:47 amI dreamed about that cake last night. Your husband deserves an extra special pat on the head. And I know you were most excited about meeting me. ;) It was such a great time! I need to post my recap this week.
Midnyte Reader
June 12, 2013 at 2:57 pmIt was great meeting you and thank you for organizing the picnic. It was awesome. I'm glad you had a good time for the most part in NYC.