Our Long Weekend in NYC
If there’s anything I love, it’s surprises. There is truly nothing like catching someone off guard, especially when it’s something major, and in this case, our NYC trip was major.
Peter turned 26 on January 21st, and this year I really wanted to give him an experience. So when I saw some cheap flights on Google flights, I knew it was a sign.
Oh, sidenote: I’ve always teased Peter about never having been to NYC and have always hoped I would be there when he first got to experience it.
Here’s how it went down:
I have had this trip planned since November 2021 and knew I wanted to surprise him on the day of the trip with boarding passes at the airport. In my ideal world, he would’ve allowed me blindfold him in the car on the way, but *spoiler alert* he thought that was extremely bizarre/creepy and it didn’t pan out. Regardless, our flight out of Cleveland was Friday night, which meant Thursday morning I started doing several loads of laundry. Which I know you’re thinking, “Okay why are you telling me that weirdo?”. So let me just tell you, my friend. Peter was particularly busy with work that week, which meant I could start packing away his clothes without him noticing. I strategically hid the suitcase under our couch and tucked away a pair of socks, shirt, jeans, etc. one by one over the next two days. I left the laundry basket in the living room and had constant loads of laundry running so that if he asked for a particular item, I could scurry to the couch and take out that item. Smart huh?
Fast forward to Friday when Peter was taking a shower, and I ran my suitcase, backpack and his carry-on full of winter gear down to my trunk, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
I knew I couldn’t ask him too formally to go on a date without him reading into it, so I waited until 5 PM to casually offer that I take him on a date. He excitedly agreed, and we headed out. I brought a bandana to blindfold him, but upon Peter’s refusal to wear it, said silent prayers that he didn’t know we were going to the airport. His incessant questioning and curiosity drove me nuts as I drove towards the airport park-n-ride. By the time we pulled into the lot, he was convinced we were going to an event in the nearby convention center. I put the car in park and reached into the back seat where I had a printed letter & itinerary revealing our plan.
He was in complete SHOCK.
He laughed in disbelief as the bus pulled behind us and I gathered the luggage from our trunk. You could say this was my best surprise yet.
The Best of the Big Apple
Day 1: Touristy Things
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☆ Hop on Hop Off Bus Tour
We woke up early to catch the Hop On Hop Off Bus tour I had pre-scheduled used the Go City app. We absolutely love doing these tours in all the cities we visit because they usually do a good job of giving us a sense of direction in a new city. The only downside of our experience was that it was a crisp 10° outside, which meant our toes and fingers were frozen as we whipped through the streets on the upper deck.
We rode the entire lower route before hopping off near Times Square for a bite to eat at All'antico Vinaio . If you are ever going to NYC please please please go here. They had one in Florence, Italy that was the most iconic spot for a panini, so when I saw this cafe in NYC I knew we had to go!! Was it overpriced? Absolutely. $18 for a panini isn’t so cute, but is it phenomenal? Of course. There really isn’t room to sit inside, so know that it will likely be a to-go situation, but I say if you’re in Midtown looking for a bite, this is a scrumptious option.
☆ Times Square & Tourist Sights
Overall, I have to say Times Square wasn’t really our thing, but it is a classic spot to check off the list. I would recommend checking out the Half Priced Ticket Booth if Broadway shows are your thing. It’s a stand in the middle of Times Square where you wait in line for discounted show tickets - the only catch is the lines are long and the shows are all over the map, so I wouldn’t bank on it if you’re dying to go to a specific show.
We walked from lunch to the Rockefeller building where we went to the Top of The Rock. It offers some of the best views of the city (better than Empire State according to locals) and is a great place to snag those classic city pics. I will say the $40 price tag isn’t amazing, but it is worth it for first-timers.
☆ Where to stay
I have to say that choosing a hotel was a tricky part of planning for me. With each neighborhood being so vastly unique, it was hard to choose exactly where to call home base. I had several hotels reserved on Expedia, and thanks to some persuasion of local friends, chose to follow-through with the one in Soho. Boy am I glad I did that.
We stayed at the Walker Hotel in Soho and it was a wonderful location/hotel. It’s incredible how tiny the rooms are in NYC, but we both found our little queen bed and petite bathroom to be homey in its own way. The hotel itself was in a prime location near the metro and surrounded by stores that you could window shop for days. It was also attached to a Blue Bottle, which just so happens to be my all-time fav coffee shop. Don’t even get me started on the New Orleans Iced Coffee… I could cry.
We rounded out our first day thawing out at the hotel before walking across the street to Au Cheval where we had amazing seats facing the open kitchen, so close in fact that we chatted with the chef as he was building an elaborate multi-layer cake and plating it with the utmost perfection. It was such a classic New York moment; sitting next to one another drinks in hand, me a espresso martini and Pete and Old Fashioned, in a dimly lit swanky restaurant chatting about our twenties over divine cuisine. It was incredibly surreal.
A mere 20 steps from the restaurant was a black unmarked door, leading down several flights of stairs to, Saint Tuesday, a warm speakeasy with that moody underground atmosphere that is best experienced on a chilly winter night. The live band equipped with chello, trumpet and saxophone filled the small space with a cozy energy that could’ve captivated me for days.
☆ Getting Around
As former DC residents, we are no stranger to the metro system. In fact, I would say that metro is arguably our favorite means of transportation in almost any city. However, what we did realize about the subway in New York is that it is not nearly as clean as the one in DC, but it was by far the most efficient/affordable way to get around. If you have never taken the metro before, here’s some tips to know:
NYC has a ticket system that can connect to your phone, so if you have your credit card hooked up to your Apple Wallet, you can simply hold your phone over the sensor when entering the subway gates and you’ll be let right in! This is way easier than buying the old-school printed tickets from the machine, because I swear we somehow always seem to misplace them in the shuffle of it all
Using Apple Maps is a great way to learn which train to take - they will tell you exactly which lines to get on
We overheard tourists talking about how they are scared to take the metro because they heard of freak accidents happening, and I want to say that I understand the fear, but if you are traveling in groups and stay aware of your surroundings, there is nothing to fear
Day 2: Eagles & Pizza
One thing I didn’t consider when planning this trip was football. Turns out the Eagles (Pete’s #2 love) were in a playoff game that Sunday afternoon which meant we had to find ourselves a TV for game time (don’t worry I did some researching beforehand). With that in mind, we woke up early to cross off some more touristy sights off the list before heading to the game and eventually a pizza tour, yes pizza tour.
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☆ Museums + sight seeing
Chelsea Market
We woke up early to head to the Chelsea Market which was something I had read about online. If you’re looking for an indoor market full of food and drinks, look no further. Unfortunately, we were there before most of the vendors were open, but I can only imagine just how magical it is during the day. I would for sure recommend stopping. We also popped by the Starbucks Reserve next door which was a really interesting spot to check out, but be warned it’s very expensive for drinks that aren’t all that amazing.
911 Museum
Next on the docket was the 911 Memorial which was high on Pete’s list of things to do. It was a very fascinating museum that we both would recommend visiting - you don’t need a ton of time to go through it, I would say a couple hours max. I would recommend buying your tickets online ahead of time, and going at the beginning of the day so that you have more time to explore.
Greenwich Village
With game-time quickly approaching, we headed towards Wogies Bar in Greenwich Village, which was an Eagles fan bar I found thanks to some light Googling. While it was unfortunately booked up, we found a dive bar across the street that was phenomenal for the game. It was a total dive with no food at all, ripped up bar seats and a tv from 2005, but it was perfect. The entire bar was a sea of eagles green, with the team chant playing over their speakers. We loved it.
☆ Pizza Tour
When gathering fun suggestions for NYC, my friend told me I could not miss Scott’s Pizza Tours, and who am I to disagree? I actually snagged the last spots in the tour about a week in advance so make sure you book early!!
How it works:
We did the East Village Walking Tour and it was awesome, although I’m sure all are fantastic. We met with our tour guide at Luzzo’s, which had the most beautiful heated patio that might actually make you think it’s you’re in a garden oasis. We were greeted and brought to our table where we met our fellow pizza aficionados to kick off the tour, who just so happened to be another young couple and a group of teenage gals + their moms on vacation. From the first introduction, we could tell our tour guide was extremely passionate about pizza. So much so that he was offended when I said I enjoy pineapple on my pies - such a sin, I know ;) He brought us to the kitchen where he explained the heating process, dough consistency and all the things that create an ideal ‘za. While it was interesting to watch the chefs creating pizzas, it was clear that everyone was most interested in was the tasting portion.
Included in your ticket cost was a slice of pizza from each of the 3 stops, which was more than enough for me. I suppose now is a good time to tell you that I’m pretty lactose intolerant, so too much pizza for me could end poorly, if ya feel me. Also, @Lactaid, sponsor me?
Anyways, we continued this process at each of the three stops. This was without a doubt the best part of the trip for Pete, who was cheesin’ (pun-intended) throughout the entire tour.
And if that wasn’t enough carbs + marinara, Peter was determined to grab a slice of Prince Street Pizza on the walk home from Greenwich Village to Soho. I know, the kid is ruthless. While the snow fluttered down and we wandered the streets, we agreed that there was magic in a wintery NYC night.
With a sloppy piece of pepperoni + ice cold coke in his system, we headed back to our hotel to cozy up for the night.
Day 3: The one where we searched for a bagel & a hat
There were two main objectives of our final day before our afternoon flight back to CLE: eat a proper NY bagel & find me a baseball hat.
I am not sure if you know this about me, but I LOVE baseball hats. Maybe it’s my inner tomboy coming through or maybe I was an incredible athlete in my past life, but I can never have enough hats. So when we were flying out on Friday I let Peter know my only goal of the weekend was to find a Yankees hat, which turned out to be quite the adventure…
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☆ Ess-a-Bagel
If there was one food I wanted to try, it had to be a New York bagel baby. Now here’s the thing…neither Peter or I are actually huge bagel fans, especially as a lactose intolerant queen, but I did know we had to try one from the mecca of bagels. So I embarked on a Yelp-review quest to find the best place that offers non-dairy options, which brought me to Ess-a-bagel. Oh, Ess-a-bagel, you sweet little angel, how I love you.
We knew made the right choice when the line wrapped out the door of this little shop. The piles of vegan cream cheese had me drooling, while Pete was enthralled by the bagel sandwiches being passed over the counter. I went for an onion bagel w/ vegan garlic + herb cream cheese, while he went for an everything bagel w/ lox.
We walked towards Central Park and ate our bagels in bliss…. well bliss for me, not as much for Pete who quickly learned that lox is not his love. Props to him for trying though!
☆ Wandering Midtown
I won’t bore you with the details of how finding a Yankees hat was nearly impossible, but I will say it brought us around town. We first walked through part of Central Park, then Grand Central and eventually found ourselves at Times Square. It may sound simple to you, but let me say our feet were sore by the end of this quest - oh yes, I did get my hat, don’t you worry.
We ended the day at our hotel in Soho, relaxing in the lobby sipping our final Blue Bottle before heading to the airport, our whirlwind weekend coming to an end.
Have you ever been to NYC? We are dying to go back when it’s warmer out! Let me know if there are any places we have to go in the comments :)