For my birthday this year, Ryan & I went on a fun trip to New York City! It's the first time I've been in almost ten years, and it was Ryan's first time going ever. I really wanted this to be a fun and inspirational trip, where we could wander and discover all kinds of magical moments. I also needed a break from the every day, getting bogged down with minor annoyances instead of being grateful for my life. I needed a step back so I could see the bigger picture.
Thanks to amazing recommendations from friends like Lila, Yao, and Mel, the trip lived up to everything I hoped for and more.
We stayed at the Marlton Hotel right in the heart of Greenwich Village. Could not ask for a better location. And thanks to it being in its soft opening, we were actually able to afford it over many AirBnB options and other boutique hotels. The hotel was very European-style sized and nicely renovated. I absolutely want my future home to have the same gorgeous pale blue tiles and antiqued gold fixtures. Oh and that waterfall shower was super nice!
Our trip was mostly a mix of seeing the more interesting touristy spots & eating the most we could around town. I'm really into casual travel, which involves a loose list of places I'd like to visit, grouping them in a general direction, and wandering out. Just not having a schedule feels wonderfully indulgent, and satisfies my sense of adventure. Fortunately you can do a ton in NYC within a very short period of time.
The first day was kind of shot due to a six hour flight delay because of the terrible shooting at LAX that happened the day before. We got in really late, but thankfully it's Manhattan and it was a Saturday night. We wandered through the adorable West Village, and found an Italian restaurant still open for dinner at 11pm and had pasta.
The rest of the trip, we visited:
The Highline
Chelsea Market
Uniqlo
Times Square
Grand Central Station
Bryant Park
New York Central Library
SOHO (Harney & Sons, Muji, Uniqlo)
Carrie Bradshaw's Apt Exterior
Central Park
Fish's Eddy
Brooklyn Bridge
Catbird
Mast Brothers
Brooklyn Art Library
And ate at:
Magnolia Bakery – for a birthday cupcake
Shake Shack – at Grand Central Station
Momofuku Milk Bar – had the cereal milk soft serve, candy bar pie, & crack pie
Rosemary's – lunch near the hotel
Stumptown – also near hotel, they serve Momofuku Milk Bar baked goods here so I got the much hyped compost cookie (p.s. worth the hype)
The City Bakery – get the famous hot chocolate with marshmallows
Eataly – really cool concept store/eatery
The Mermaid Oyster Bar – easily my favorite spot of the whole trip!
Molly's Cupcakes – for a second cupcake
Balthazar – for birthday breakfast, of course
Pies 'n Thighs – made these two vegetarians make an exception
It was an amazing trip and a great start to a brand new year. Exactly what I wished for! You can see more photos from our trip if you follow our hashtag #shenshawnewyorkminute.
Now back to recovering from the 40 degree (high!) weather!
