I love New York. I love, love, love, love, love, love New York. It is fast-paced and aggressive and fun all at once, suiting me to an absolute tee. Everyone seems to have a purpose and the city is always moving. You could stand perfectly still for a full day and still see and learn so much. It has incredible shopping, food and scenery. The grid system is super easy to work your way around and the subway is fast and efficient. It is more affordable than London but has just as much to offer. Plus, it showcases all 4 seasons at their best; hot Summers and snowy Winters. We were there during the height of Autumn, enabling us to walk down all of the tree-lined avenues and admire the huge variety of colours taking hold of the leaves. It is different to London in a great way. I really do love them both. In an ideal world I would definitely like to spend some time living in New York, even if for a short period, and particularly as a young professional, as the city has such an incredible amount of fun things to do. I was in no way ready to leave after just 4 nights!
The long:
Tuesday:
We pulled into Penn Station at 6:30pm and the first thing Thomas noticed about New York was that he was the only one wearing shorts, which made him incredibly happy as it meant it was cooler here than it had been anywhere else we have visited recently. I could not share his enthusiasm. We hailed a cab and I proudly asked the cab driver to take us to the address that the owner of the apartment that we had booked via airbnb had provided me; 1325 5th Avenue. I should probably not have gotten so excited by the "5th Avenue" part when booking and google mapped it, since the first few numbers of the address meant that our intersection was on 111th street, i.e. very much Uptown and not quite next door to Times Square like I had envisioned. (Not that it mattered, since the subway system is incredibly efficient and the apartment was located not far from a metro stop, it was just rather amusing). We dumped our bags and did a quick beauty top up before heading back out to meet Tina, a friend of mine from UCL's girlfriend who is living in New York for the time being, for a dinner date at Lombardi's, the BIRTHPLACE of the New York pizza. Thomas and I were pretty damn excited.
And with due cause. The restaurant was packed at 9pm on a Monday and we had to wait for a table. Having been made to stare at the raised circles of glory on people's tables and inhale all the doughy wonderfulness for the past 10 minutes, I was practically drooling by the time we were shown to our table. We ordered 2 large 18" pizzas with 4 halves covered in different toppings to taste and share; pepperoni; pancetta and mushrooms; meatballs and spinach, and sweet cured sausage with roasted red peppers, all washed down with 2 icy bottles of Pinot. It was pure heaven.
Lombardi's is renowned as serving the best pizza in the whole of NYC and, although (sadly) I won't be able to accurately test this by the time we leave, I am sure it is very much up there, as it really was utterly delicious. With food babies and smiles on our faces we waddled out of the restaurant and into China town, choosing a cute little outdoor bar for some post-dinner red vino.
It was such a lovely, fun, tasty, evening, which was all the more enjoyable for me as I got to spend time with Tina, someone who I have wanted to get to know better for a very long time, so that was a real bonus to our first night and pizza experience in NYC. The three of us shared a cab home as Tina lived "en route", she forgot to mention that she is living IN the actual Ritz on the corner of Times Square. Jealous doesn't even cut it. It was 2am by the time we turned in for the night so clearly a good night was had by all.
Wednesday:
With slight hangovers we rose from the dead and spruced ourselves up ready to explore the streets of NYC and attend our first New York "boozy" brunch, hosted by Balthazar, a very highly recommended French bistro.
Thomas and I both ordered the "Eggs Norwegian" and rolled our eyes in delight when we took our first bite of perfectly runny poached eggs with supreme quality smoked salmon slathered in hollandaise. The mimosas also went down an absolute treat.
It all flew by a little too quick for me though as both my plate and glass were empty before I knew it. Serious sad times. AND Thomas spotted one of the actresses from Bridesmaids (a film I bloody love and he hasn't even seen) whilst I was asking someone for directions.
We left and caught the subway to 59th street to do a spot of window (only) shopping along 5th and Madison Avenue. But it wasn't long before I spied Steve Madden; naturally I just HAD to take a "peek"... of course I left with a bulging bag. Sorry Mr Budget! Nike Town and MBA World got their fair bit of cash from us as well. Thomas was in an especially good mood as he had managed to finally track down a Celtics jersey for his friend that he had been looking for hi and lo since we started our road trip. Saks Fifth Avenue was also paid a visit; I so wish we had them in the UK.
One can dream, eh?
We stumbled across a "Winter Market" set up in Bryant Park, complete with its very own ice rink, and paused to watch kids and friends skating (or attempting to) around, which brought a smile to my face.
I even went wild and ventured from my usual Starbucks order by getting a pumpkin spice latte to swallow up a little taste of Christmas.
We continued on to Times Square, throwing ourselves head first into the tourist throb.
I even made some friends along the way:
A trip to New York just wouldn't be complete without checking into M&M World.
But upon being told that my M&M colour was brown I quickly grew bored and was happy to leave. We walked down Broadway to "Ellen's Stardust Diner", an American restaurant providing ginormous portions served by aspiring singing waiters and waitresses.
The place was absolutely rammed full with an ever growing queue outside. It had an amazing atmosphere as the singers/waiters really get all of the customers involved and you can't help but become completely transfixed on the current performer. Plus the singing was second to none so I wish them all the best in landing their dream roles! It was also a great warm-up to our much anticipated Broadway show of Jersey Boys.
Even though I had been really looking forward to it I have to be honest and say that I was a little apprehensive about the show we had chosen since the story line didn't massively appeal to me, but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it. The singing was unbelievable and the lead singer in particular absolutely blew both Thomas and I away. I have never heard a voice like it; at one point I even got goosebumps. It was also the first time that Thomas had EVER seen a musical (how is that even possible; who doesn't see Lion King as a child?!) so it was great that he lost his musical virginity to a good show!
Afterwards we walked over to the Rockefeller Center to go to the "Top of the Rock", in other words, the 67th floor, to get a magnificent panoramic view of the whole of New York at night.
Despite being frozen to the bone I couldn't get over how beautiful it was with all of the twinkling lights, and it was awesome that Thomas wanted to do it at night as I did it with mum in the day when we last visited, so I've been fortunate to have two very different experiences.
It had been a jam-packed day so we were happy to head home once we finished admiring the view and get a good nights kip to prepare us for the following day. Only, a good nights kip is the exact opposite of what we had, because a family with a baby had moved into our apartment whilst we had been out for the day, and the little cretin spent the entire night screaming and wailing its head off. I have honestly never heard a baby cry for that extended a period of time without a break. I felt very sorry for the family, but much more sorry for us. It was a dream come true when they set out for their day nice and early, leaving us to get one decent hour of sleep before the alarm went off.
Thursday:
Thomas and I caught the subway to Central Park. It was a gorgeous morning with the sun shining and a fresh (chilly) breeze blowing through. We meandered through the park and literally walked right into this cute little scene dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen. Naturally Thomas and I had to have a picture with his statue to show our pride!
I then lead us to Central Park Loeb Boathouse for a spot of food. I was really excited to take Thomas there as I loved it so much when I went with mum and it was the perfect day for it.
Not even 12:30pm and the place was packed full for lunch with a 30-minute wait. Luckily smarty pants me had reserved so we were whisked straight to our table. Mimosas and veal bolognese was ordered (obviously a winning combo):
I cannot fault the place. The complimentary bread is to die for and the service is outstanding. It has such a great buzz with the waiters flying around and the clinking of cutlery, glasses and chatter filling the room. The view is just an exceptional bonus. Once we had finished our meal I dragged myself away and we continued on our little tour of Central Park. It really is such a beautiful park, and is definitely on par with my love for Hyde Park! I particularly enjoy how many street entertainers there are, from musicians to dance groups to sketch artists and so on; there is so much to catch your interest.
We took the subway to Bleecker Street in the East Village for some wandering and good people watching. The street has loads of boutiques as well as designer stores and plenty of cute coffee houses and bakeries to just sit and chat in for hours, which is exactly what Thomas and I did. We took a trip the the famous "Magnolia Bakery" (as seen in SATC and raved about all over NY).
If the queue was anything to go by then we were in for a treat. I got myself the favourite red velvet cupcake whilst Thomas opted for the apple crumb bar. Armed with our goodies we headed for a Starbs to get some accompanying hot beverages.
It was possibly the biggest let down of my life. The sponge was dry and the icing flavourless. Thomas' apple crumb bar absolutely blew it out of the water. I was in food hell with jealousy. I even threw half of it away, which really, really shows how little I enjoyed it. Oh well, more room for our big finale dinner!
After a quick change back home we took a cab to the Peninsula hotel and headed up to the 22nd floor rooftop bar.
Don't you just love when you open the drinks menu and cocktails are priced at $24? Outrageous. On top of it we had some really poor and rather rude service, which I had no qualms complaining about to the manager, which had the absolute desired effect with the second round received free of charge, making the original drinks price a bit more stomachable and the last laugh had by us! The views of the city are amazing and the ambience outside lovely, with fairy lights and heated lamps dotted around the place.
Next stop, the holy grail of restaurants, Buddakan. The time had finally come. Having booked it months and months in advance and bigged it up to Thomas throughout our entire trip, neither of us could have been more looking forward. The restaurant is SO cool with its dim lighting and nightclub atmosphere. The prices are reasonable for the quality of the food and the cocktails superbly tasty. Being a little tipsy and in very high spirits I was overjoyed when we were sat at the exact same table as I did when mum and I visited. To be fair, what are the odds? The face of excitement:
We obviously went to town on the menu and ordered everything that we agreed sounded great, as we were going to share everything. We started with king prawn & lobster siu mai and pork belly buns:
The pork belly buns were hands down some of the most delicious things I have ever put in my mouth. The tenderness of the meat in its sticky sauce combined with the sharp, flavourful vegetables encased in a cloud of doughy wonder were enough to send me over the edge. We then shared crispy duck with hoisin and pancakes:
I say shared but Thomas had all of 2 pancakes and I polished off the lot so that was some fairly uneven consumption. With my critical hat on I will say that it was very good but it was not the best that I have ever had, lacking ever so slightly on the "crispy" front. On the other hand, that also meant that it was leaner and less greasy than usual so I had that to be thankful for! By this point in our meal we had become very good friends with the couple on the table beside us, and had engaged in deep conversation with them on various matters including living in Brazil, Paris, London; Korean food; jobs and future life. They were really lovely and it was cool to natter away with some fun older people. They finished their meal before us however so we enjoyed our mains "in peace" and reflected upon our trip and all the ups and downs that we've had and amazing memories that we've made.
Our main courses consisted of black cod (yes baby Jesus), king scallops with truffle mushrooms, and lobster fried rice. It didn't take long to remember why black cod is my favourite fish on earth and to enter a completely new realm of food heaven. Thomas had never even had black cod!!! I was more than pleased with myself to have been able to introduce him to its glory.
Dessert time arrived and I surprised myself by ordering apple tartin over either of the 2 chocolate options.
As it so happens though I learnt that I should not be so daring after such an amazing meal and should play it safe as, although it was a tasty enough dessert, it was in no way of the same standard as the rest of our meal. Note to self; chocolate all day every day.
Time flew by with all our munching and chatting; it was already half past 11 by the time we paid the bill. We hurried out of the restaurant and paced it to the Standard High Line rooftop bar where we had arranged to meet Tatiana (a friend from summer school), her boyfriend, and Tina, for which we were incredibly late. Once we had made our apologies we settled down and got a round of drinks in. It was so nice to see Tatiana after so many years (seriously, nothing changes with summer school kids) and to spend more time with Tina. It was the perfect last "real" evening for Thomas and I and is one that I will treasure for a long time to come.
Friday:
We got up with both renewed energy and dread for our last full day together. Neither of us could believe the time had come! We went to Mercer Kitchen in SoHo for lunch, where Thomas ordered calamari and the burger and chips, and a side order of a sad face.
We had a really cool table with an awesome view straight into the open kitchen, so I spent my time multitasking between gawping at the chefs and their delectable creations and being a techie hard at work.
Once we finished we strolled through SoHo and headed south towards Little Italy and China town, lapping up how authentic the mini communities are.
I almost exploded with joy when we spotted this:
I thought they only existed in the Christmas adverts! Never have I seen one in real life before and it made me even more geared up to become Santa's little sidekick whilst I briefly return home to the UK and must embrace as much Christmas spirt as possible. Michael and I are setting a new record this year with my first Christmas meal being held on the 4th of November.
Anyway, Thomas and I circled back into the heart of SoHo and checked out some of my favourite shopping streets; Greene; Spring; Prince and Mercer. We popped our heads into a Fro-Yo-esque store but for rice pudding! So you choose your flavour and then add your toppings. Genius if you ask me. I tried the butterscotch flavour and have to say I was very impressed; I could definitely work with that back home! Once we finished checking out the area we caught the subway to Times Square to purchase some (Belgian) choccies for Thomas' dad. In fairness though, American chocolate is c*** and the Godiva shop allowed you to choose the individual chocolates that you wanted to include in the gift box, enabling you to personalise it slightly, which I thought was pretty neat. I hope you like them Nick, they're bloody good! Somehow time had once more managed to slip away from us and it was already nearing 5pm, so we caught the subway home to change and get ready for the spookiest night of the year. We passed so many kids out trick or treating before it was even dark, running around with their little buckets of sweets, it was sooo cute! It was also very apparent that ninja turtles is very much an "in" costume this year.
We changed and got the subway to the East Village, where we headed to Cork n' Fork for our final meal, located near to where Tatiana lives. It was a tapas bar decorated with melted wax running down the walls and spider webs strung between all of the wine bottles; scary and pretty all at once. The food was also pretty good!
We ordered calamari, scallops, pork belly buns, seared tuna, chicken satay and lamb sliders.
I have to say that the pork belly buns and chicken satay in particular hit the spot for me. We couldn't believe it really was the last meal of our trip; where had all the time gone?!
For the last 5 weeks Thomas and I had been discussing what we were going to go as for Halloween and throwing ideas back and forth. Finally, the day arrived when we actually had to make a decision. I had decided to keep it easy yet effective (and cheap) and gone with a skeleton, which Thomas also went for in the end. Having bought face paint earlier in the day when we were out and about, all we needed to do now was to actually paint our faces. I had searched the internet hi-and-lo to try to find a face painter in New York, as my artistic skills are not exactly my strong suit, and I was dreading what, ultimately, I was going to be responsible for making us both look like. So when I spotted the well-painted skeleton waiter, I couldn't resist asking him who had done his handiwork. (I was secretly hoping that he was going to say that it was him so that I could ask him to do ours). He said that his mum had done it for him. I still just had to ask if, on the off chance, she wanted to do ours. Amazingly enough he said that she would, and within 10 minutes Thomas and I were joined at our table by his mother who sat and painted our faces in the middle of the restaurant, proving once more why "don't ask, don't get" is the statement by which I will forever live my life.
Come on, you've got to hand it to her, she did a bleeding good job!
Our wet faces did make drinking a little difficult though, resulting in our $85 bottle of wine from Napa Valley, which we had saved for our last night and had travelled over the whole of the United States with us, having to be consumed through straws. Classy as ever.
Damn delicious though. We had a good time at Tatiana's drinking and chatting with her and her boyfriend Avi for an hour or so, before we took a cab further Downtown to one of his friends houses for a house party. I have never been inside a house that rammed full with people before. It was insane. Everyone was shouting at one another and shoved up against each other. It would have been the funnest party ever if we had known even a few of the people there, but it wasn't the kind of environment in which you try to make friends, so after a couple of drinks Thomas and I bowed out of the celebrations and made our merry way home. The traffic was absolute murder so we still only ended up crawling into bed at gone 3am (having sneaked a few of our host's double stuffed Oreos from the kitchen in the process, whoops!). Our last night on the road was truly over. Happy Halloween everyone!
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