Just got back from a whirlwind six-day trip to NYC and Washington DC. We're still reeling... Contact was fabulous and The Lion King was simply unbelievable. We enjoyed the most exquisite and memorable meals we've ever had at Nobu, Il Mulino and Bouley Bakery. Shopping at Fifth Avenue and Soho was so much fun and a little too productive. The Metropolitan Museum alone made us want to live in New York. The train ride to DC was great - for an extra $30 we were on business class and were able to catch up on our sleep. DC was amazing. The Vietnam Memorial, sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at night overlooking the reflection of the Washington Monument on the pool, the Capitol, the Smithsonian, everything made us think about who we are, how we got here and how lucky we are. A most exhausting but exhilirating trip -- thanks to all of your helpful advice!

Thank YOU, Nancy, for the upbeat follow up report. Sounds like you really were on a whirlwind, but a fun one. What will you do next time that you didn't get to do this time?

Nancy: Did the 100 degree plus weather affect your plans or did you just plug on? As a resident of NYC, it was the hotest weather in 24 years, it wasn't a whole lot of fun.

Ess, there are so many other things we'd like to do on a return trip: Go to the ballet, go to some nightclubs (we were too exhausted from walking all day), go on the Staten Island Ferry, go to more "normal" restaurants, walk or jog through Central Park (yes, it was REALLY hot), go see Letterman (they were on a break), walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, etc., etc. I wish I could live in New York! In DC, we didn't get to see all the museums, didn't have time to get to the Jefferson Memorial, and since we were there mostly on the weekend, we didn't get in to see any of the government buildings. Nonetheless, we're pretty amazed at how much we did manage to cram into six days. The hot weather didn't come as a surprise, since we had been checking the forecasts before we left. But we did hit a major thunderstorm that caused a huge flood in the mall (The Post said it was the worst flood in decades!). As we were sloshing through the sewage backup (yuck!), we couldn't help but laugh. We had some nice people take some photos of us in our predicament. Definitely added to our adventures!

It's unfortunate that you had such crummy weather, but if you like NYC in the dog days of summer, you'll like it at any time of year!

We loved it all -- We even enjoyed riding the subways. In fact, some of the friendliest people me met were on the subways. While we were poring over our map, people would offer to help us figure out where we were going. In fact, the only unfriendly person we encountered in our entire trip was the maitre d' at Bouley Bakery. Not bad, considering all the people we encountered and the bad rap New Yorkers sometimes get.

We live in California, and when we have our heat waves, the last thing we want to do is tromp around town. But when you have two women on a mission -- look out!