Travel Diary: New York City
Day 1
We arrived in New York City off a red-eye and were incredibly sleepy. The first order of business was of course coffee. Once traveling into Manhattan, we stopped into the cutest cafe and restaurant, Sant Ambroeus on Madison Ave. The pink cups, coffee bar and dessert cases were like a a scene out of the Grand Budapest Hotel.
After fueling up, we took a break on a bench in Central Park and then proceeded to stroll through Bryant Park and into the New York Public Library. The library was massive and breathtaking to say the least.
We then took a cab closer to our hotel and stopped at Grand Central Station. The astrological scenes on the ceiling were so gorgeous and right up my alley. We even checked out the market and stopped for a bite at the Grand Central Oyster Bar - so so good! I couldn't believe how much this place has to offer as far as delicious food.
After a whole lot more walking and then checking into our hotel, we got freshened up for some live music at The Iridium. We watched guitarist and pianist Stanley Jordan perform some incredible jazz, blues, experimental sounds and even some Beatles and Jimi Hendrix covers. I have never been so blown away by a live performance before. The Iridium is right past Time Square so walking through it at night was another surreal experience.
Day 2
We stayed at the Radisson Martinique on Broadway. The location was ideal and the room was beautiful. I loved waking up to this dreamy cityscape in the morning. We even had a view of the iconic Flatiron building in the distance.
In the morning I was desperate to get a mani and pedi and luckily stumbled upon Sabrina Nails, right on the edge of Koreatown, and just a minute's walk from our hotel. After a bit of pampering and a fresh lavender mani, I met up with Kyle and we proceeded to track down some authentic New York bagels. On the way, we passed by the breathtaking Chrysler Building (perhaps my favorite landmark).
We ended up at Zucker's where I ordered Novia Scotia Lox on an onion bagel and an iced coffee; it did not disappoint! We also planned out our day in Central Park, mapping out our walking route and headed off.
On the way, I couldn't help but stop into this cute little bakery to grab an apricot and pistachio tart for the road. I also managed to pop into Bluemercury, a beautiful makeup and skincare store, to pick up a new Jo Malone scent. The selection here was insane! They had all of the luxury skincare brands that I've been dying to try out.
We also passed by the St. Patrick's Cathedral (a landmark straight out of Europe) right as a wedding ceremony was ending. The huge crowd outside of the church was there to send off the bride and groom. I'm not entirely sure if we would have even been allowed inside without this stroke of luck.
Making our way into Central Park was like stepping into a lush and serene landscape, a little bubble of peacefulness in the middle of the city. I was more than a little excited to try my hand at the rowboats in the lake.
The rowboa idea was a major success- super fun, a little challenging, and an overall incredibly chill and cool experience! Kyle did most of the rowing while I enjoyed the view.
After the sweet (and incident-free) rowboat ride, we proceeded to take the long way through the park, and out to the MET. At this point we were pretty tired of all the walking and beelined to the rooftop garden. The view was epic and a glass of Prosecco was the perfect compliment.
We ended our day at sick little restaurant and bar called Bangia in Koreatown. This place was below street level and when you walk in you're greeted by the glow of the bar and Korean music videos lining the walls. We had delicious Lychee Sogu cocktails, an entire octopus (?!) and a clam pancake- all very very good.
That night, we had plans to go to a show in Brooklyn at Baby's All Right. After a failed attempt to cross the Williamsburg bridge via subway (and getting stuck for an hour and a half!) I was beat and defeated. We headed back for an earlier than anticipated night (although we were still out till about 2 am) and I got some much needed beauty rest.
Day 3
I was determined to see the Flatiron building up close this morning. It was so cool and another favorite of the iconic landmarks. We proceeded to travel through several little pocket parks and down streets lined with my favorite stores. I couldn't help but stop into Madewell and Aritzia along the way. Greenwich Village was my favorite area and I was so excited to see Bookmarc right there on Bleeker Street. This is a bookstore by Marc Jacobs, featuring a highly curated selection of art, music, food, and travel books- I know right!
We walked for so long that morning, but we eventually ended up at The Butcher's Daughter in Soho right in time for brunch- somewhere I've heard so much about. The vegetarian menu was so good! We thoroughly enjoyed an Eggs Benedict with curry potatoes, an egg sandwich platter, watermelon and yuzu plate and a ginger juice.
After brunch we walked over to the Glossier Showroom in Lower Manhattan, which was of course as exciting and amazing as you would expect. I tried pretty much all of their products and walked away with tons of goodies. We walked through Chinatown, where I happened to bump into and gush over the beaut, Yamina Mayo (ahem, @spicy.mayo). Chinatown was so cool and we stopped at Labor Skateshop (for Kyle) and then got some bomb pizza and beer at Scarr's Pizza. There were so many shops along the way that looked super interesting. That's really something to love about NYC, the diversity and opportunities for local businesses to thrive. It makes being a shopper so much more fun. One cab ride later, we arrived at Tompkins Square Park for the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival.
Day 4
Every hotel stay calls for room service at least once. This morning, we planned to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on foot. While Kyle searched for coffee in Tribeca, I popped into Zara and found the most gorgeous early-Fall maxi dress. This came in handy after a few hours because it was HOT and jeans would just not cut it.
Crossing the bridge on foot was another incredible experience. While I'm not usually too excited about very touristy things (and this surely was), this experience made me want to embrace that side of travel a little bit more. These are such famous and popular attractions for a reason, after all.
Once across the bridge, I made a point of finding the oh so photogenic Washington Street for an epic bridge portrait. At the end of the street was a cute park with a rocky little beach as well.
After two failed attempts at hitting up a rooftop bar in Brooklyn and Williamsburg, we settled for a so-so Mexican food restaurant (us San Diegans are so spoiled in that regard) and a really yummy smoothie from Davey's Ice Cream before heading back to Manhattan. The trip would not be complete without a visit to the Refinery Rooftop, just a short walk from our hotel. The nighttime view of the city was of course stunning and the frosé was excellent as well. Cheers to an amazing time in New York City. I'm already itching to return! Have a favorite spot in the city? Let me know in the comments!
