My friend and I are back safe and sound from a wonderful whirlwind adventure in New York City.
Our hotel was fabulous. The service was amazing. The extra locally made sweets at turn down, the hailing of cabs, the late night deliveries of creamer and excellent location were all appreciated. Archer Hotel is highly recommended. The weather this past weekend was nice enough to get away with only a couple of layers (thankfully for this Florida gal).
Central Park was a highlight. If we had more time, we both would have loved to explore this area further.
Zebrietto's Espresso Bars were a favorite. We hit them up twice. I ordered the Marocchino both times. Delish.
Betony offered up the most incredible dishes one after the other. Culinary heaven.
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The view from our bedroom. |
We ended up snagging tickets to Phantom of the Opera from the TKTS booth in Times Square for half off. Normally $155 we got two for that price. The seats were center of the orchestra and perfect. A most excellent first musical experience for myself.
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YESSSSS!!! |
Dinner the second night turned into across the street rather than south in Chinatown. We were pooped and wanted to stay closer to our beds. Anthony the concierge recommended this place and he was spot on. The most amazing General Tsao's Chicken to hit this tongue.
Grilled cheese sandwiches with hot apple cider in Bryant Park.
Tiffany's building decorated in multiple sparkling brooches. |
Random models having a photoshoot in the street with fog machines and all.
The subway had a bit of a learning curve, but we figured it out before we almost ended up leaving the island of Manhatten :-o By the end of the trip we could get anywhere we wanted on that tubular beast.
Lil guy reminded me of home. |
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Russ & Daughters in the Lower East Side, around for 100 years and it felt like it hadn't changed one iota. |
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My first ever bagel and lox (with capers, thinly sliced red onion and tomato) and I do not think I can top it unless I go back to Russ & Daughters one day. I hope I can. |
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The last thing I ate in NYC. Affogato, espresso with Spekuloos icecream on top. |
This was in LaGuardia as we were departing. I had a deja vu moment at these people movers and suddenly had the scene in When Harry Met Sally, where they were in the airport on these movers and she was trying to avoid him recognizing her, in my brain. I thought.... "this could be them!!" Even if not, I shall pretend.
My bring homes for myself. I also pre-order a Chanel polish in Sweet Star that looked mesmerizing swatched on the sale lady at Macy's. It should come in on Black Friday. The girls got spoiled rotten with trinkets. We had a blast and here are my final Darts and Laurels:
Dart:
- Bringing the wrong sized camera lens. I swear I could shoot nothing I wanted. Need a much smaller one next time. Plus it weighed a metric ton.
- Not taking the time to really figure out the subway system before embarking.
- Not getting to the Statue of Liberty earlier in the day. Crazy packed. But this was due to the above.
Laurels:
- Having a plan and reservations for most things but still being flexible when stuff happens.
- Using the TKTS booth.
- Magnolia Bakery cupcakes.
- Free MoMA tickets on Fridays from 4-8pm (get in that line at 3pm!)
- Staying hydrated through various DuaneReade stores.
- The Rome2Rio app was very convenient. I plugged in where I was and where I wanted to go and it gave me the time via walking/sub/taxi/bus and how much each cost and which routes to take. Amazing. And free.
Thank you for the well wishes and advice. It was the trip of my dreams and I hope to go back again one day.
Wow, what a view from your room!! I'm so glad the weather was nice. Today it is 34° and there was a bit of frozen snow on my car. Brr!
ReplyDeleteYour food pics...shrooms on pizza and affogato, nom. I hope to be on your culinary tour next time! :)
Keep warm up there!!!
DeleteYes! I would love to meet you for lunch or dinner next time I am up there. My sisters and I are planning to go in a couple years.
I am so excited to see that you have blogged and posted pictures of your New York trip! I love the Dart and Laurels list that you made and I know will come in handy when we can do one day. I am excited to hear more about the details and especially want to take a sniff at the Serge Lutens Parfum!
ReplyDeleteAlready looking forward to going again with you!!! Xoxo!
DeleteI would love for you to smell it. It is not everyone's cup of tea but I adore it. NaLonda was kinda shocked how much it was :-0 it was definitely a huge splurge!
Looks like an awesome trip. Hubby and I always feel like we waste our yearly trip to Minneapolis because we just don't know how to do anything in the big city. We are such small town country bumpkins, we feel like dorks when we're there.
ReplyDelete~Deb
I was kinda nervous about not being big city savvy but once I was there my sheer enthusiasm took over and we just hit the streets. I think planning ahead some things we knew we wanted to do first helped us use our time. I bet Minneapolis is cool. Lots to do! Are y'all going back next year?
DeleteWhat a fantastic trip!!! & fantastic photos!! Im uber jelly you got to see The Phantom!! I dream of going to NYC one day.... <3
ReplyDeleteWell if you ever need a travel buddy........ Ahem......
DeleteYay!! So glad you posted about your trip & your photos!! Awesome!! So jealous but so glad you had a fantastic time!! Love your photos!! They are gorgeous & so are you, sweet friend!! :-)
ReplyDeleteAww thank you Tricia! I bet you would love the New York a Public Lubrary. I hope you get to go one day. So much hustle and bustle and excitement.
DeleteThe picture of the artist in central park! I love that one. And you are so stylish and pretty Julie <3 Your hotel room looks amazing and the food pics ---wow.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I loved reading about your exciting NYC trip!!
She was very talented. It was neat to watch her paint. Thank you for your kind words <3 I had a really great time up there. Definitely can't wait to go back.
DeleteSo happy you had a wonderful trip, Julie! Central Park looks beautiful!! and that Chanel polish... what a gorgeous color!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lynda! <3 I am so grateful to have been able to go and have beautiful weather. The Chanel Polish was an indulgence for sure. But I will have it for a while. And think of NYC each time I use it.
DeleteSuch great photos (especially of that gorgeous bell jar ;) I <3 New York in the fall--the colors are amazing and so many fun things to do. So glad you guys had a wonderful trip!
ReplyDeleteThe bell jar!!!! Kate, I am in love. I feel glamorous when I dab it on. You are absolutely right, NY in the fall cannot be beat. It was perfect crisp weather with colorful leaves.
DeleteBagels and lox! The freedom tower! Lady Liberty! Coffee and cider and sandwiches! THAT VIEW!! Your selfie is cute! Cheap tickets! NEW YORK MUG!!! Polish! 'Fumes! The park! GAH~!!!! Everything looks incredible and it looks like you had a blast!! Thank you for sharing your photos! <3<3
ReplyDeleteLolo!!! I love following your train of thought. It was a blast for sure. I tell ya, if I get to go back I am staying at the Archer again. If you went what would be something you HAD to do?
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