We left early in the morning for our 4 hour trip to Hoboken, NJ. We got there around 12:30 p.m. I was surprised by how close Newark and Hoboken were to NYC. They literally are on top of NYC, with only the narrow Hudson River dividing them. The roads by Newark and Hoboken are very confusing. We got off course at one point and went through a bit of Newark, which was very dirty and run down.
I was glad when we got to Hoboken and went down Washington Ave. and saw the Carlos Bakery (95 Washington St). There was a line outside the bakery, which is what I expected.
It was hard to find parking, so we ended up parking the car at the lot on the corner. It cost us $20.
I was finally going to go inside Carlos Bakery, from the TLC show, 'Cake Boss'. I asked the worker there if any of the family members were working today and he said Maddalene. However, when we got into the store, none of them were there. They had a bunch of pictures of the family on the wall inside. I had another 20 minute wait once I got inside. It was pretty crowded.
I bought a cannoli, lobster tail, and red velvet cupcake w/buttercreme frosting. I highly recommend all of those. Before I came to NY, I looked at some videos on the TLC website. One of them was of Buddy Valastro saying which items he recommends in the bakery. His favorite is the lobster tails. He also likes red velvet cake. He has good taste.
After we got our goodies at the bakery, I called my high school friend, Matthew Johnson, who now lives in Hoboken with his wife, Jocelyn. They got married in 2010. She is from Connecticut. She used to work at Amazon in Seattle and Google in NY. From her reactions, I don't think she liked working there. Now, she works from home at Zazzle. Matthew is a composer and teacher at Mannes College in NYC. He said he goes there about 3 times a week.
They bought a condo on Bloomfield St.
My mom wanted to find a cool restaurant to go to in Hoboken, so we went to Piccolo's. It was known for playing Frank Sinatra music all day.
The owner of the restaurant, Patty, was about 52 years old. He said he loves having a restaurant, but it is hard work. He said Frank Sinatra Jr. would come into his restaurant anytime he was in town.
He sat at our table and told us all about the restaurant and Frank Sinatra. Due to music licensing laws, he isn't playing the music anymore. There is a fee to play Frank Sinatra's music.
There were pictures all over the wall of customers with him. I asked him if he met any celebrities and his response was that all of the customers are celebrities. I asked him if we could have a picture with him and if he would post it on his wall. He said he would gladly put us on his wall. Jocelyn said she would bring him the picture.
He knew Buddy Valastro, from Carlos Bakery, since he was a small kid. Buddy's mother lives in Hoboken in Maxwell condos, which overlooks the Hudson River.
This is a friendly neighborhood restaurant where you could come for a steak & cheese sandwich. I love restaurants like this.
Then, we went to see where Frank Sinatra was born and the church he was baptized in.
We stopped for coffee and then went back to Matthew and Jocelyn's condo to see that. It was very nice inside. Jocelyn said there was bad flooding in Hoboken from Hurricane Sandy last October, but it didn't affect their condo, as they are on the 2nd floor.
I was very glad we were able to meet with them. They are wonderful people.
Rhonda wanted to stand in line at Carlos Bakery as she wanted to buy some more things there. I was surprised she wanted to do this again. Rose, my mom, and I walked down to the waterfront in Hoboken and got a great view of New York City. I think this is the best spot for a photo of the city. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy and cold day outside.
I had to walk down the alley behind Carlos Bakery, as they have had scenes from the show there.
That night, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in North Bergen. It was confusing to get out of Hoboken, so was so glad to arrive at the hotel and not have to move the car for 2 nights. The hotel has shuttle service for $7 roundtrip into New York City. It drops off at 42nd and Fashion, near Times Square.
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