I know, I know. It seems near impossible to write a blog post about a weekend in New York City without referencing at least one song paying ode the city that never sleeps. Because my love for Billy Joel runs deep, I just had to use a title from his catalogue because “…it comes down to reality. And it’s fine with me ’cause I’ve let it slide. Don’t care if it’s Chinatown or on Riverside. I don’t have any reasons, I’ve left them all behind. I’m in a New York state of mind.”
As mentioned in my previous post, I took the train to New York City last weekend. My sister, Megan, hopped on in Trenton, NJ and we arrived at Penn Station, where we met up with Megan’s sister-in-law, Ashley, our host for the weekend. We took a taxi to her midtown apartment (which I, of course, fell in love with), dropped our bags, and then hit the pavement to grab a bite and drink at Bravest. After lunch, we hit Chelsea Market and some other shops, took the subway down to the financial district (more on that below), and then went to happy hour at The Roost, where one of Ashley’s friends was celebrating her birthday. Let me tell you – The Roost just may be my favorite place ever because it is a coffee shop and bar. Sign. me. up. After the festivities, we ate a late dinner at Three of Cups and despite the frigid temperatures, appreciated the bustling city at night.
Cheers.
The next morning involved Megan and I waking up early, despite not having our kids with us (the effects of motherhood, I suppose). The three of us got coffee at Ground Central and enjoyed walking the near-empty streets. I took a touristy picture in front of one of my favorite New York landmarks and then popped into a couple of stores for refuge from the chilly air. We had brunch at The Smith and then made our way to Broadway, where we saw Kinky Boots in the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (ceiling pictured below) – it was absolutely spectacular.
Everything bagel with scallion cream cheese from Ess-a-Bagel.
Megan and Ashley
For what it’s worth, I’m team Chrysler Building.
It seems somewhat grim to say that one of the highlights of my trip was the National September 11 Memorial and the Freedom Tower. Since I hadn’t been to the city since 2004, Ground Zero has evolved quite a bit since I had last been there. We didn’t go to the museum but walked around the grounds.
Seeing the footprints of the towers as the North Pool and the South Pool was sobering. The name of each victim of the terrorist attacks on that day are inscribed along the perimeters of the two fountains. Seeing the names reminded me of how in Love is the Higher Law, David Levithan wrote “What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.”
I’m thrilled that I was able to spend the weekend in New York before leaving the east coast this summer and squeeze in a trip with my sister and Ashley. Clay and I are trying to see if his schedule will allow for a trip to New York City with the kids before we leave but the jury is still deliberating on that one. Whatever the outcome, I’m just happy to have experienced the New York state of mind once again.
