NEW YORK CITY, holy moly people.
I don't know what it was inside me that needed to book a trip to the big apple but a few months ago I had checked prices of flights and they were too cheap to pass up. It also helped that one of my best friends lives in Manhattan. The weeks leading up to the trip I could not wait and I still had no idea what it was going to be like.
It did not disappoint.
We'll start with the flight's descent into La Guardia Int'l Airport. It was about 10:30 pm, so Manhattan was all lit up. The way that the bright lights would abruptly stop at the island's ends and the ocean's black shore was beautiful and all the more mesmerizing. I don't think I had ever seen anything like it.
I was soon headed to my friend's apartment in the Stuy neighborhood of Manhattan. After a proper tour of his New York City apartment I let him know the very few things I wanted to make a point of doing. One of which was to go to a cool NYC spot and get some sunrise shots. He happily agreed but also with a look of mental preparedness because it meant that we were going to have to get up at 4:30am and our phones said that it was going to be close to freezing at that time. We stayed up talking and catching up for about another hour or so but then called it a night before the early morning at the Brooklyn Bridge.
Morning at Brooklyn Bridge, Amazing Food
I haven't been as cold as I was that morning at Brooklyn Bridge in a very long time. I couldn't use my phone with my fingers because they were so frozen and numb. But it couldn't have been more worth it though. I was there for the NYC experience and this was an amazing start.
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Once we finally gave into the cold we went to Tompkins Square Bagels. I referred back to my mindset of getting the New York City experience so I ordered lox on an everything bagel. I had never had a lox bagel before so I gave a blank look when asked what else I wanted on it, my friend quickly answered for me, "He wants capers, tomato, and cream cheese." See my NYC vlog to see what it looked like but for explanation purposes, GOD DAMN THAT WAS GOOD.
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Here's a list of the other notable/ amazing food I had on the trip..
- Lox on Everything Bagel Sandwich @ Tompkins Square Bagels
- Lobster Mac N' Cheese @ Todd English Food Hall
- Mussels @ Todd English Food Hall
- Oysters @ Todd English Food Hall
- Pepperoni Pizza @ Prince Street Pizza
- Octopus & Alliums @ Riverpark
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After bagels, we "rested". I was on such a high from the morning I just uploaded my content and did other work on the computer. I soon realized I was going to need as much rest as I could get.
Official Beginning of my NYC Trip, Style Hunt
All of this already happened and our day hadn't even started. Day one was filled with sight seeing such as the Flat Iron Building, riding the subway, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and the Plaza Hotel where we ate at the above mentioned Todd English Food Hall. Two other places stuck out to me though. First, Barney's. Now, I believe I have been to a Barney's before in another city, maybe San Francisco but seeing the store with my recent interest of men's style was a new experience. Most things are crazy, crazy, crazy expensive. I do not think anyone doubts that. The Madison Ave Barney's that we were at had 7 or 8 floors I believe? With everything probably no less than $200. This includes socks, wallets, shoes, t-shirts, everything and the longer you're in there the more you talk yourself into purchasing something. It's dangerous. Some things are overpriced seemingly for the reason of the designer's name. Others though, seem genuinely cut from different material, made with a more careful touch and a hell of a lot more justifiable than some. On my NYC style hunt I got the Tech Jacket from vince. and a Givenchy wallet. The tech jacket is unbelievably comfy a perfect fit. Check out my Style Hunt video to see it and other pickups from NYC.
Now for Trunk Club. A high-end clothing store where most are coming in by appointment. Connor's girlfriend worked here as a stylist and they had an open bar for their customers. We were technically "customers"? A Stella or two into just hanging out with those two and another stylist, the two girls suddenly perk up and start mouthing/ whispering while looking at the door. They later shared that it was Ramona Singer from The Real Housewives of New York City? Only celebrity I saw and I had no idea who she was.. It was cool though, very attractive woman.
We finished our drinks then I asked what the plan was since we had an early dinner. Connor and Jacque laughed and said, "No, no, no we have dinner reservations at LAVO for 10:30 pm"... 10:30 pm??
Last Full Day in the Big Apple
The dinner the night before was amazing, a 4-course meal but not as fancy as you're probably imagining, quite relaxed actually. The night ended with a trip downstairs under the restaurant to the club part of LAVO. Cool place, a bit small, similar to XS in Las Vegas but even a little smaller than that.
Next day, was about the same but a little slower pace, not by much though. We made our way down to SoHo and saw everything it had to offer. Stores like Kith, Supreme and then I got my New York pizza fix at Prince Street Pizza. Later on, we made our way to Riverpark for a nice last dinner then went out to Marquee.
Marquee is the type of club you picture when you think NYC Club. High ceilings, multiple floors, well-known DJs and confetti explosions.
In general, I fell in love with the city. If I could come up with the means to live there I would immediately start the moving process. It was everything and more. Aware of the fact that I lived as a vacationer there with all the dinners and shopping and everything but New York City is a lot more than that, and definitely can't see much in only two days. I do plan to live there one day.
Overall Takeaways
This trip was in a way spontaneous but it also wasn't. I acted quickly on an itch but the key to these trips is to plan what needs to be planned and leave a little room for unexpected fun changes so that you can fully enjoy yourself. You're going to spend money on trips like these, it's inevitable. Start to plan a trip today, tomorrow, sometime soon, I can't explain enough the enjoyment that there is in new places.