Last weekend I met up with two of my great British girlfriends in what is the 'middle' between London and Portland. New York! Three days and nights in the Big Apple doing exactly as we like. No children calling out every 2 minutes. No household chores. No real agenda.
There was rather a lot of 'Popemania' going on last Friday, so we changed our plans around and avoided the areas where crowds were gathered and security was at it highest level. Instead we took a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and all around Dumbo. Admiring the fabulous Brownstones, neighborhood streets and great views back over to Manhattan. A lunchitme cocktail, instead of the usual afternoon car-pool drive, was a perfect escape from the norm!
A fabulous meal at Gelso & Grand and then discovering an even more fabulous cocktail bar, the Mulberry Project, down some steps under a handbag store, certainly started our Friday evening off well with one of the best Lemon Drop cocktails, ever.
We found a great breakfast stop just a few minutes from our hotel, which we visited two of our three mornings. Greecologies is a Greek yogurt lab! The most delicious yogurt, topped with a selection of either fresh fruits, amazing honey, granola, rose petal preserve or feta, olives, tomatoes. Delicious and so worth a visit.
On Saturday we stopped at Hugh Jackman's non-profit coffee shop, Laughing Man, for what was an outstanding latte (but alas, no sighting of Hugh!) and then moved on to visit the World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial and admire what a fabulous architectural momument now marked this tragedy. We took a stroll along the High Line Park, which really is a great use way of this disused railway and a major NY tourist attraction now and enjoyed equally by locals.
New York has such a great vibe. Every corner hold something new and interesting. I loved the street art ("grafitti" seems to give it an unexceptable feel). Typical scenes like fire escapes tumbling down the outside of apartment blocks, small community gardens, neighborhoods each having their own distinct feel even when just one street apart. We stayed at The Sohotel which was a perfect location and a great little rustic boutique hotel with everything we needed and super comfy beds, which we all we needed after a long day out in NYC.
Just having the time to wander, catch up, people watch and soak up all that is NY was the perfect getaway. Here's to the next time!
#newyorkcity
