Travel Tuesday: New York City
My first trip of 2017 was to New York City with my cousin/best friend Katy, who thankfully had been there like, eight times before — because this was my first time ever, and she knew exactly how to cram everything we wanted to do into four short days.
If you're young and broke and have never been to NYC before, this might be a fun, quick guide to what's good in this big, bright, beautiful city.
I’m going
to break this down by neighbourhood, cool?
BED-STUY,
BROOKLYN: This is where we stayed for our three nights in NYC. Our friend
Marina is currently studying at NYU and offered us her room in this hip ‘hood
while she was home for the holidays, and we totally loved it. Bed-Stuy is
up-and-coming, blossoming with polished homes and funky businesses but still
boasting just the right amount of grittiness.
UPPER EAST
SIDE, MANHATTAN: Katy and I are shameless Gossip Girl fans and were puuuuuumped
to splurge on a “fancy” brunch in the stomping ground of ~MANHATTAN’S ELITE.~
We actually went here first thing upon our arrival after dropping off our shit
in Bed-Stuy, and it was rainy as f*ck, so we sort of slid into the first place
we could find. But The Penrose happened to be super nice with exposed brick
and twinkle lights and yummy mimosas (everything basic bitches like us need,
really), and we spent most of our time there Instagramming our drinks and each other.
CENTRAL
PARK, MANHATTAN: After our “fancy” brunch we sloshed over to a very rainy
Central Park and spent a few hours getting lost in there. It was beautiful even
in the gloom and I peed, illegally, in a bush. (Too many mimosas.)
CHELSEA,
MANHATTAN: We emerged from Central Park and made our way to Chelsea, where we
were planning to meet my friend Katie (I only befriend Katy/Katies, apparently)
for drinks. By that time Katy and I were soaked and pretty much in agony from all
the walking (we’re unfit, okay?) (although our iPhones counted we walked 17,000
steps that day, so, yeah), but despite this we
found the High Line and frolicked on it for
about 15 minutes while we waited for Katie to finish work. The sky had finally started to clear and a beautiful pink
sunset was washing over the city.
Katie
suggested meeting at The Park, a pretty bar and restaurant in
Chelsea right by the High Line, and as soon as we walked in there we warmed
up, body and soul. Katy and I sipped red wine by a real fireplace while we
waited for Katie to arrive, and when she did we all got so wasted I honestly can’t remember much after
that.
I do remember forgetting my new wallet at a pizza joint… and then Ubering back there to, miraculously, retrieve it unharmed… And then the four of us trying to get into a bar, but being turned down because I was, allegedly, “too wobbly…”
Anywho.
BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN: We spent our second day, December 30, exploring Bushwick — a cool, industrial part of town that’s run-down in a trendy sort of way. We’d heard it has a big thrifting scene, which turned out to be totally true. The finds and deals were so awesome that is actually inspired Katy’s 2017 New Year’s resolution: to buy ONLY second-hand clothes. (Seven months later and she’s still on it — check out her blog here for more sweet deeeets!) I bought some sweet yellow mules that are probably my favourite purchase ever, and Katy snagged a cool red university sweater.
I know it's currently July and no one really wants to talk about wintertime right now, but suck it. I am, to this day, depressed that we weren't able to skate at Rockefeller Centre, which was our next stop. The line was too damn long.
After that, we headed home to pre-drink, prep and plan the rest of our night. I put on my new yellow mules, Katy donned the red velvet dress she'd made herself, and we decided to head to The Village.
GREENWICH VILLAGE: I only barely remember tripping our way through this neighbourhood, singing songs from Rent, en route to what I believe was a gay bar. I don't recall the name of the place we settled at (edit: it was Boots and Saddle Drag Lounge, thank you Instagram locations), but I do know we ordered two very strong sangrias each, enjoyed watching the queens for about four hours, had a spat about something to do with ex-boyfriends, and rung in the new year taking a drunken pee together in the same stall, only to be kicked out by the bouncer because he thought we were lesbians trying to have sex. (I was wearing a one-piece under my skirt that night so I was half-naked and sitting on the toilet when he literally broke the door down, so yeah, people probably thought the worst. HA.)
Then we bought $1 pizza slices, drooped onto the subway and sat opposite each other, smiling as we devoured our pizza in an ecstasy so complete we didn't even speak.
It was an early night for us, and after packing up our things in preparation for a very early flight back to Drake Land, we curled up and reminisced the thousands of memories we'd managed to collect in such a short span of time.
New York, I love you, and I can't wait to see you again soon — hopefully in the summer this time!
xxx
BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN: We spent our second day, December 30, exploring Bushwick — a cool, industrial part of town that’s run-down in a trendy sort of way. We’d heard it has a big thrifting scene, which turned out to be totally true. The finds and deals were so awesome that is actually inspired Katy’s 2017 New Year’s resolution: to buy ONLY second-hand clothes. (Seven months later and she’s still on it — check out her blog here for more sweet deeeets!) I bought some sweet yellow mules that are probably my favourite purchase ever, and Katy snagged a cool red university sweater.
We also really jived with the overall vibe of Bushwick, which reminded us a bit of Queen West only less try-hardish. From what I remember (we were severely hungover), we café hopped between thrift stores, and eventually made our way over to...
WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN: Katy had promised me I'd love Williamsburg and I totally diiid. We stopped for pizza and checked out some more shops, and since I love me some indie stores that sell pretty skirts, I almost dropped the rest of my NYC funds in this neighbourhood alone. But I resisted, and we trekked over to the waterfront, where we found a sweet, blue-sky view of Manhattan across the river.
MIDTOWN, MANHATTAN: On New Year's Eve, we took the subway back over to Manhattan to spend the day exploring before getting ready for the evening. We knew we weren't going to brave Times Square that night, so we decided to check it out during the day since I hadn't seen it. It was a mission just getting there, since the whole city was gearing up for the ball-dropping event or whatever it's called. We finally got there, could barely see past all the equipment being set up, it smelled like vomit, so we left.
I know it's currently July and no one really wants to talk about wintertime right now, but suck it. I am, to this day, depressed that we weren't able to skate at Rockefeller Centre, which was our next stop. The line was too damn long.
After that, we headed home to pre-drink, prep and plan the rest of our night. I put on my new yellow mules, Katy donned the red velvet dress she'd made herself, and we decided to head to The Village.
GREENWICH VILLAGE: I only barely remember tripping our way through this neighbourhood, singing songs from Rent, en route to what I believe was a gay bar. I don't recall the name of the place we settled at (edit: it was Boots and Saddle Drag Lounge, thank you Instagram locations), but I do know we ordered two very strong sangrias each, enjoyed watching the queens for about four hours, had a spat about something to do with ex-boyfriends, and rung in the new year taking a drunken pee together in the same stall, only to be kicked out by the bouncer because he thought we were lesbians trying to have sex. (I was wearing a one-piece under my skirt that night so I was half-naked and sitting on the toilet when he literally broke the door down, so yeah, people probably thought the worst. HA.)
Then we bought $1 pizza slices, drooped onto the subway and sat opposite each other, smiling as we devoured our pizza in an ecstasy so complete we didn't even speak.
MUSEUM MILE: On our final full day in New York, Katy and I woke up still drunk and experienced a hilarious (at least it was to us) brunch at a cute little restaurant in Bed-Stuy and headed straight back to Manhattan. It was a chill, sort of depressing day as we mentally prepared ourselves to return to Toronto. We found ourselves on Museum Mile, staring at The Met — which we wanted to go in, but was closed since it was New Year's Day. Instead, we took selfies in front of it and bought some $5 from the vendors outside.
Didn't take any pictures of The Met, but here's The Me:
Didn't take any pictures of The Met, but here's The Me:
It was an early night for us, and after packing up our things in preparation for a very early flight back to Drake Land, we curled up and reminisced the thousands of memories we'd managed to collect in such a short span of time.
New York, I love you, and I can't wait to see you again soon — hopefully in the summer this time!
xxx
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