New York City travel diaries
It has been a whole month since we have come back from New York and I am still not over it. I believe that holidays should take you away from your every day life and make you think and reflect and this did just that. Both my husband and I absolutely loved this trip, I would put it up there in 1st spot alongside Tokyo now. I love a metropolitan city though, they are my favourite!! Everything we saw and ate lived up to the hype, if not more, which is rare to say!! One thing to mention about this trip, we booked a package deal, which meant the transfers to the hotel and back were included, which was so useful!!! We went in February, which is stereotypically the coldest month to go, but can also be the least touristy. If you pack well enough and have thermals then you'll be absolutely fine. Our first 2 days it was -15 which was a little extreme I will say, but it did warm up and the last 5 days was around 5 degrees which felt like Summer by that point!! We were there for 10 days, but you could honestly do it in 5 days, we ended up going back to our favourite places as we had time. A few tips to mention, before I go into our itinerary and recommendations:
1) Book transfers, it will be far easier and cheaper
2) Pack and dress appropriately for the weather to be able to enjoy yourself
3) Catch the subway everywhere to save on your legs a little bit
4) Pre-order that e-sim before you arrive as you will need it for navigation
5) Book your restaurants and activities in advance
ARRIVAL DAY -
By the time we had arrived and unpacked, it was about 4pm. I always like to do this whenever I arrive, even if I'm only staying for a few days. We desperately needed to stretch our legs from the flight and get something to eat, so we headed out to Joe's pizza and from here we got our bearings of where we were and wondered around fifth avenue and then Times Square. Joe's pizza was incredible and set the standard of pizza very high from day one!!
DAY ONE -
Jet lag woke us up super early this morning, so we got up early and walked to Starbucks for coffee, where we waited until Liberty bagels opened. It was -15 this morning and the wind was so cold, we really struggled and ran to get inside Starbucks!! It was here that we rearranged our diary so we were inside more for the day!! We decided to get lots of the shops done like Target and Macy's in the morning and then hopefully it would warm up by the afternoon a little bit so we could walk around the West Village, Soho and then China town and Little Italy later in the evening.
On our way to Starbucks, can you tell it's -15 and I can't feel my face??
Liberty bagels was our first bagel spot and I think it was the best one of the trip, I still dream about these bagels!!! I had a Churro bagel with a maple bacon cream cheese and my husband had a vanilla bagel with a birthday cake cream cheese. These were honestly so delicious, it's making my mouth water right now.
After the morning of shopping, we headed over to the West Village to explore, our tip for the cold was not to stay outside too long and to keep going into shops and cafe's to defrost. There were so many cute cafe's and shops here in the West Village and the houses were stunning. I would say if I was comparing this to London, it gave Notting hill vibes for me. It was one of my favourite areas in New York for sure.
My husband outside the friends building.
We then wondered over to Soho and went into Bloomingdales. I have to say but at this point I was a little bit disappointed with the department stores, I didn't feel like they were anything special and I have heard these names all my life and hyped them up a little. Close by there was a bakery called Levain bakery where I had heard good things about and they did not disappoint! We just had the chocolate chip cookie and it was still warm and so soft.
We finished our day by going to see Little Italy and China town, where we had our dinner. I'd researched a place called Joe's Shangai which was cash only, so we came prepared. The food was absolutely incredible, but be warned that the portions are big, so we over ordered and had to take loads home, which thankfully we had a mini fridge in our hotel.
DAY TWO -
We didn't need to have breakfast this morning as we had leftover bagels from the day before, so we finished those and then headed to go and see the empire state building from the outside. We didn't go up as we were going up the Rockefeller centre the next day.
You can see how cold it is by the fact that the fountain in Bryant park is frozen!!!
We went to go and see Grand central terminal, so I could have my Gossip girl moment.
Then we went to the New York public library, where Carrie and Big were due to get married in Sex and the City.
It had warmed up a little bit then by the afternoon, so we decided to go and walk around Central Park. Even though it was still very cold, the sky was clear blue and the sun was bright, so it was a beautiful day. We loved Central park, it was such a little haven in the middle of the city and the city behind it was just gorgeous to look at.
On the way home from here, we stopped and had Joe's pizza again and had Juniors cheesecake, which was delicious! We had an NBA game to go to, so couldn't have a proper sit down meal. The NBA game was held in the Barclays centre in Brooklyn and was an interesting experience. I can't say I would go again as I couldn't get into it. They were only on for 10 minutes at a time before they were called off for a performance. It was more of a show than a game, but a good experience none the less. Plus I was still so jet lagged, I did struggle to stay awake!!
DAY THREE -
For day three, we headed back to the West Village to do lots of things that it was too cold to properly do and enjoy on our first day. We headed straight to Carrie Bradshaw's apartment and wondered around her local neighbourhood, including magnolia bakery where we had the viral banana bread pudding. This was nice, but nothing special in my opinion.
My husband is really into his music, so here we also found Jimmy Hendrix's music studio called electric lady studios.
We went for lunch at our second bagel spot of the trip, pop up bagels. The concept is different here where you pick your bagel and they give you your fillings in separate pots and you dip it in. I really like the concept with the cream cheese, but I found the butters too hard and we couldn't really dip, maybe when it's warmer this is a little bit different. All these food places are take away also as they are in small shops and it was so cold trying to eat everything outside, but it didn't dampen our moods or spirits.
Next for the day was going up the Rockefeller centre which is called Top of the rocks. We booked this in advance and it was such a great experience. The view was so beautiful, I really recommend doing this. Personally we chose this one because we wanted the empire state building to be in our pictures and I was pleased with that choice.
DAY FOUR -
Again this morning we ate leftover bagels for breakfast and headed out to explore Maddison Avenue and park avenue in Upper east Manhattan. I would say this reminded me of areas like Sloane square in London and had such a nice vibe. My husband wanted see JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, which we walked past on our way and also The Plaza hotel so we could have a home alone moment. I wanted to do some preloved shopping, so we went into Michaels luxury consignment store, where I got a vintage Ralph Lauren jacket and also browsed in the Real Real.
We had coffee at Ralph Lauren's cafe, which was very touristy, but fun to do.
We had booked a slot at the Tiffany's café for the late afternoon, so by the time we had walked back along Madison Avenue to 5th avenue, we were hungry. The café gave breakfast at Tiffany vibes and I couldn't resist recreating the Audrey Hepburn moment.
We went back to the hotel to chill and then went for food at the Red lobster, which was pretty standard, expect their bread rolls. What do they put it those??? They're like rosemary and garlic cakes that melt in your mouth. Then I'd booked a slot for us to go to the Carnegie club. There was no Jazz on that night, but it was still a very cool vibe. It's a cigar lounge, so the atmosphere is very dark and very cool.
DAY FIVE -
Day five is what I would call my husband's day, we did everything he wanted to do this day. We took the Subway to the 9/11 spot and walked around wall street. We had Leons Bagels for breakfast which were very good, although still not as good as Liberty's in my opinion!
In the afternoon, we went into the MOMA museum, I was desperate to see some Picasso, Monet and Van Gogh in real life.
We went back into the Rockefeller centre in the evening to get some food, we had a burger. There are so many good food options in there!!
DAY SIX -
Day six we went to explore the lower east side of Manhattan. This was a very cool area with lots of vintage shops and it was very trendy. It reminded me a lot of Shoreditch in London. I really wanted to try the Kats Deli pastrami sandwich, which is famous from the where Harry met Sally film, it's the orgasm scene. It was very busy in there, but the queue's moved really quickly and it was very organised. The Sandwich was insanely big, so we shared it, but it was so delicious!! I highly recommend this!!!
We were hoping to try Mary O soda bread scones, but we didn't realise they sold out so quickly in the morning, which is a shame. So if you want to try these, you need to be there at 7am!! We instead went to spirals to have a cinnamon roll, which was delicious. We also found this really cool Coffee and matcha spot called Not so Bitter that I would recommend. It looks like a wooden hut from the outside and the decor inside is really chic. It has very authentic matcha, I watched them whisk it up properly. I had a coconut matcha which was 2 shots of matcha and 2 shots of coffee with coconut milk, very yummy but very strong!
In the evening we went out for dinner with my cousins to Korea town, I have family in New York which is nice to have someone to recommend good places to eat!
DAY SEVEN -
This was one of my favourite days actually as we fell in love with Brooklyn. We got the subway over to Brooklyn bridge in the morning, which was a great experience and then we explored Dumbo. The food market there is really great!
We wondered further in the Brooklyn heights, which is where we really fell in love and started to rethink our life plans. We could imagine living there, that's for sure!! The streets and houses are so beautiful and it's perfect for runners like us. We got a great view of the statue of liberty here too!
It was valentines day, so we rushed home then to get ready and go to Dinner at Buddakhan. This is a restaurant I booked in advance as it's hard to get a reservation. It the place where Carrie and Big in Sex and the City have their rehearsal dinner. It's Japanese food and it was so delicious. It gave similar vibes to Nobu, which we also love.
DAY EIGHT -
We finally went for pancakes on day eight and they were delicious, but very filling!! They were from Brooklyn's diner in Times Square and they gave us all the energy for the day.
We explored the Upper east side this day and went to see the Banksy hammer boy mural before going to the Grand Bazaar vintage flea market where I was in my element.
We walked from there across Central Park as I realised that we handed been to the MET yet and I couldn't miss that!! It was so busy though, so my husband told me I had one chance for a photo! I think we nailed it!!!
We had dinner in the West Village with some of my husband's childhood friends and then we went to Blue note as we had booked tickets to see a show. My Dad really likes an Indian bass player called Mohini Dey and has got my husband into her and we couldn't believe our luck that she was performing while we were there, so we snapped up tickets and she was incredible!
DAY NINE -
Being in New York for ten days was nice and generous and meant we weren't rushing anywhere and could go back to our favourite places, so in the morning we went back to the West Village and had Mama too pizza. This was our pizza winner of the trip, it was so nice and thick but crispy, I don't know how they do it!!!
We then walked to Soho and went into the Preloved store what goes around comes around and it had the most incredible stock, including the famous LV bag from Sex and the City!
We went to the New York or Nowhere store, which is very touristy but cool to go to, I got a keyring.
We went to Mimi Froyo's after this, which I had seen all over Tiktok and it did not disappoint, there were so many toppings!!
We did go to Queens after this as we felt like we hadn't really left Manhattan, other than Brooklyn, but we didn't stay long as in all honesty it was a bit depressing and not really our vibe. We had Pink Taco's for dinner which was delicious and then went to our hotels rooftop bar.
DAY TEN -
Our final day in New York was sad and we were clock watching all day. We went to Liberty bagels again as it was our favourite Bagel place of the trip and we wanted to taste it once more. I tried the Churro bagel with the Dubai cream cheese this time and it was too good!!
We went back to Brooklyn heights to have a walk and soak in our favourite place of the trip!
Before heading back to pack up all our things and head to the lower east side again. When we were there on day six, we noticed so many Japanese restaurants and we made a note to come back for dinner on our last night. We picked a spot called Raku where we had the best ramen ever. So good that we have been trying to recreate it every week since we have been back!
We headed to bed early as we had a super early flight the next day. What a trip, we left feeling so happy to have experienced it and we left knowing that we will be returning multiple times in the future as it's now one of our favourite places in the world!!
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