You may remember back in the summertime when for my birthday, Steve
surprised me with an autumn trip to New York. That bucket list item can now be crossed off!
Steve loves the country more than the city and I'm in between, a lover of both, but there were times on this trip that we wanted to get out of the crowds [couldn't believe how busy it was!]. Times Square surprised us. It seemed more las vegas strip than we expected. However getting out into the more charming areas of NY makes you feel a bit of traveling withdrawals when you get home. I worried that 4 days wouldn't be enough time to visit this place I've always wanted to go, but it ended up being the perfect amount of time.
I took more pictures of buildings than I ever have before but what do you do when that beautiful raw brick is artfully tagged and the stone of the old + the glass of the new morph together?
I surprisingly left my camera at home and documented the entire trip with my iphone. With constant rain, it turned out to be the better choice.
Any Seinfeld fans out there? Our first dinner stop was to The Soup Man.
Fire escapes may seem unordinary to city folk, but to us, they were a work of art.
The biggest dilemma of the trip was deciding where of the many recommendations to eat.
You can't go to NYC and not see a show on broadway. We saw Wicked for our second time.
It took us a couple of days to master the subway but once we did, it was smooth sailing.
Thank goodness for all the walking because their sure was a lot of dessert eating.
What a good day to visit John; on his birthday.
Who knew that central park was all man made? I can't imagine that city without it, one of our favorite spots of the trip.
Walking the high line on yet another rainy day, but enjoying every step of that gorgeous walk.
The flower pots hanging outside of this building made me so happy.
Favorites of our time in the NYC//
Food//
Shake Shack. Lived up to its hype. Am still craving that shroom burger. We don't normally prefer those crinkly cafeteria style fries, but they were really good here.
The Soup Man. Once again, the famous soup nazi from Seinfield. Just a walk up to counter and take away. It was perfect for our first night arriving when it was cold and wet.
Ellens Stardust Diner. Definitely a tourist attraction and not everyone's cup of tea. The waiters/waitresses perform throughout your dinner. The music was really loud [although some real talent] but the food was good [We both got burgers, him regular, mine veggie with fries] and the entertainment was kind of fun.
Milk Bar. Possibly the best dessert I've ever had. Cake bites + Crack pie.
Bistro Milano. A more upscale dining experience. The second we didn't order wine, the good service diminished but my spinach ravioli with pumpkin cream sauce was divine.
Amy's Bread. Really yummy fresh bread.
L'Arte del Gelato. Could have sworn we were eating a fresh mango.
John's Pizza. We tried Johns and Lomardi's and John's won our NY Pizza vote. Really really tasty, however stay away from the garlic bread; the large garlic bits won't leave your taste buds for at least a day.
We tried Juniors Cheesecake for our NY Cheesecake experience and weren't all that impressed, Magnolia Bakery was talked up a lot but definitely didn't live up to its hype [stale cupcakes, tasteless hot chocolate] maybe it's because it was the end of the night? It was completely crowded and almost impossible to even order anything. We spent a lot of time in Starbucks [requested a non-menu item, white hot chocolate...mmm mmm mmm].
Attractions//
Chelsea Market. The atmosphere, the energy, the good food, the cute shops, it was all a part of my dream. go there!
Highline. If we didn't have friends in NY, we wouldn't have heard about this; it's not your usual hear about to-do item in NY but it was possibly our favorite day of the trip. An industrial/modern walkway along the city, lined with beautiful gardening + artful buildings + a breath of fresh air. Not to mention, darling artisan food carts under the bridge.
Central Park &
Strawberry Fields. These are pretty common for any visitor but I can't imagine NY without that beautiful park. We loved just walking and walking and walking [it's so big!] and finding tree lined walkways or gazebos or carriages or cafes and most of all peace. And well, we couldn't have picked a better day to visit Strawberry Fields than on John Lennon's birthday. Too bad Yoko Ono didn't come out. However the band that serenaded his memorial was pretty entertaining.
Statue of Liberty. We did buy tickets, ride the ferry, and visit the island to see the Statue of Liberty, but my vote would be to skip the actual island visit and visit her from afar while walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Unless you're into headphone tours of course. The statue was fenced off during our visit and so we couldn't actually go in; I'm sure the visit would have been more exciting if we could have. However if you do decide to visit the island, buy your tickets online. It saves you hours and hours of standing in that horrendous line because you get to take your printed ticket into the short line and pass everyone up!
Grayline Bus Tour. We bought a 3 day pass to hop on and off of a sight seeing bus tour that travels uptown, downtown and to brooklyn. We have mixed feelings about our experience. We loved the fact that we were able to see and hear details about so much in the city in so little time, however, most of the staff was rude, unreliable [specifically in describing where stops picked up and dropped off] and we had a crazy bunch of tour guides that may or may not have been high on something. So, it's good for getting a full city experience but you have to remember that it will take a good majority of your time because a big 'ol bus aint gettin' through NY traffic very quickly [aint just sounded good right there].
We also visited common stops/areas such as the Rockefeller center [loved this building, would have loved to run into Tina Fey though], the MOMA Product Shop [gorgeous], September 11th Memorial [really busy, a good one to buy online tickets as well], SOHO [a lot of really great shops in this area and a little more of that charm], and the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market [no one wanted to barter with me?].
