New York Trip
Last weekend my family took a trip to New York City. My brother wanted to tour some colleges there, so we figured that was a good excuse to make a trip out of it. This was actually my first time ever visiting New York, and I absolutely loved it. It’s definitely a little intimidating at first because it’s always so busy, but I found the hustle and bustle to be energizing. Here’s what we fit into our three days there:
Friday
We took a red eye from San Francisco to Newark Airport on Thursday night. This worked out well because we landed on Friday morning around 8am, so we were able to make the most of the day. After landing, we took a car into the city from the airport, which took about an hour. We stayed at a boutique hotel called The James in NoMad. I would definitely recommend The James; it’s in a really central location and our rooms were spacious, especially by New York standards. The staff were also very friendly, and everything was spotlessly clean.
Once we got to the hotel, we dropped our bags off, got ready, and headed out. It was really nice weather on Friday — sunny and high 60’s. My brother’s first tour was at NYU, and we decided to walk to explore the neighborhood and get our bearings (it also turned out to not be too far of a walk, only about 30 minutes). We were all in need of coffee, so we stopped along the way at a coffee shop called Newsbar, a cute local spot that serves La Colombe coffee and breakfast. While my brother was touring NYU, we walked around SoHo. SoHo was definitely my favorite neighborhood. It feels very European with its beautiful cast-iron buildings and cobblestone streets. It’s also quite the shopping destination; every designer seems to have a store location there.
When my brother was done with his NYU tour, we took an Uber to Columbia, which took almost an hour. Columbia’s campus is gorgeous, but there isn’t as much around it in comparison to NYU (the neighborhood is definitely up and coming though). While my brother was doing the tour, we walked down a few blocks and found a cocktail bar called Elis Wine Bar to cool off with an Aperol Spritz. It’s also more of a local spot and not really the kind of place you’d go out of your way to go to, but it was perfect for some happy hour drinks and appetizers.
After that we went back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. We were meeting some family friends, so I had made a reservation for The Smith in the Flatiron District because it was only a 5 minute walk from our hotel and seemed good for groups. I was a little hesitant because I was easily able to get a reservation there while so many other restaurants were booked out, but we were all very happy with my choice. It had a super fun atmosphere, and the food was really good. They also have a full bar with fun cocktail options, so we went a little early to get drinks at the bar first. After dinner we went to an Irish bar nearby called Oscar Wilde, which was so fun. We sat outdoors, but it was very lively inside and they had the whole place decorated for Halloween. Luckily we were able to just walk back to our hotel after!
Saturday
We had another early start on Saturday morning because I had made a 9am reservation at Sadelle’s in SoHo. It was so worth it though, and the place was already buzzing. The restaurant has such a quintessential New York vibe, and it was one of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had. I ordered the salmon bagel plate to ensure I would get one of the famous bagel towers.
We walked back to our hotel along Fifth Avenue and did a little shopping on the way. Fifth Avenue has a lot of good stores, including Alo, Zara, Aritzia, and Madewell. We also stopped at the Fifth Ave Ralph’s Coffee, which is owned by Ralph Lauren and is of course extremely aesthetic.
Following a quick stop at the hotel, we took an Uber to Ground Zero, which is definitely something you have to see while you’re in New York. From there we walked up to Wall Street/The Financial District because my brother wanted to see it. It’s pretty touristy around that area, and I wouldn’t go out of your way to see it unless you’re super interested. We headed back in the direction of our hotel and stopped by St. Patrick’s Cathedral. There’s a lot more shopping around that area, including Anthropologie, Zara, and a huge & Other Stories. Some of the stores already had decorations up, and it felt very festive around there as it started to get dark.
That night we went to Pastis, a French restaurant in the Meatpacking District. Originally it had been all booked out, but I set up an alert on Resy to notify me if any reservations opened for that night. Luckily I got an alert earlier in the week that one had, so I took it right away. Pastis had such a cool vibe and was sophisticated but not stuffy. The food was also amazing — we shared oysters, paté, and the bacon mac and cheese to start, and I got the linguine for my main. Our waiter even told us that Anne Hathaway had been there a few nights before. I mean, if it’s good enough for Anne, it’s good enough for me!
Sunday
On Sunday morning I had another early start because I had signed up for an 8:30am SoulCycle class in NoHo (I really like to fit it all in!). I took Sam Y’s class and it was super fun, plus it was exciting to be able to do a SoulCycle class in the place where it all began. There’s a Levain Bakery near the studio, so of course I had to stop after class to get one of their famous chocolate chip cookies. It lived up to the hype and was one of the best cookies I’ve ever had.
The last major activity on our agenda was visiting The Met that afternoon. The main reason I wanted to go was to see a current exhibit called “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.” The exhibit walks viewers through a history of American fashion using the analogy of a patchwork quilt and a different adjective to describe each look. I thought this approach was very engaging. You don’t have to get separate tickets to the exhibit, but you may have to line up to enter if it’s busy. The line moved quickly though, and we only had to wait about 10 minutes. I recommend having certain pieces or rooms that you want to see in mind when visiting The Met, because the entire museum is huge and can be a bit overwhelming to navigate.
After The Met, we walked through Central Park. We ended up on the Upper West Side because we were trying to go to a Shake Shack there. The Shake Shack had a huge line around the block, so we ended up finding a restaurant called Asset to get brunch, which was really good. They had a lot of the streets around the area closed off for a farmers’ market, and it had a cute neighborhood feel. Once we were done with brunch we took an Uber back to our hotel to pick up our bags, then we headed for the airport.
Notes
Since it was a quick trip, we didn’t bother trying to figure out the subway and just took Ubers to get anywhere that wasn’t within walking distance. Looking out the window on these rides was also a good way to see some additional sights! Obviously this is not the most cost-effective approach if you’re on a tighter budget, but we didn’t find the prices of the rides to be unreasonable.
The weather forecast had predicted mid to high 60’s and partly cloudy, but it ended up being a lot colder than we expected. I went with more transitional fall outfits, but in hindsight I definitely would have brought a coat and full-on fall clothes.
This is probably an obvious one, but wear shoes that are comfortable for doing a lot of walking. I wore new loafers on the first day there and was in so much pain.
Dinner reservations are a must. Make them as far in advance as possible, because they are extremely difficult to get at the popular places. A lot of the restaurants use Resy, so utilize their “Notify Me” function and you’ll be alerted if a spot opens up!
I would’ve loved to have more time in New York, but we managed to fit a lot in over the course of three days. I’m already looking forward to going back and seeing more!
SoHo
The Smith
Walking down Fifth Avenue
Brunch at Sadelle’s
Ralph’s Coffee
Financial District
Dinner at Pastis
Central Park
The Met exhibit
