New York City: A Love Letter (DAY 2 + 3)

As you know by now, our trips usually revolve around food ;) and trying new restaurants in whatever city we are visiting.  But -- we had such an amazing meal last time we visited in November, that we once again found ourselves at Asiate on the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental. 

SUNDAY -- DAY 2:  We had Sunday Brunch and both the food + view were amazing, as usual. I had Duck and Waffles this time.  Again, highly recommend this restaurant {for a splurge} if you find yourself in NYC. Below is the view from our table at brunch: 

After brunch, we walked around Central Park to the Bethesda Fountain which is quickly becoming my favorite area of the park -- that and Sheep Meadow!

After Central Park, we headed to The Empire State Building for a quick trip to the top.  Always amazing views to be had up there! I think next time we'll check out Top of the Rock so that we can actually see the ESB in our photos. I think Top of the Rock has a better view towards Central Park too. There is always next time!

MONDAY -- DAY 3:  I mentioned that we stayed in Chelsea this time and I absolutely loved it! We stayed at Hotel Americano and it really exceeded all of my expectations. I love the modern minimalist, unfussy vibe and the service and restaurant were both great as well.  

Jake and I woke up early and hit the High Line to check out another section that we hadn't been on before. 

We were even able to walk via the High Line from the hotel to our brunch spot -- The Cookshop {also in Chelsea} where I had delicious pancakes and a watermelon {whaat???} mojito! I still think about that mojito. So good! Then it was a quick shopping trip to Brooklyn Industries and then back to the airport we went. Peace out NYC, you know we'll be back soon! 

Travel Fully,
Kim

New York State of Mind (DAY 1)

Over Labor Day Weekend, we took a quick 3 day trip to NYC! It still felt like Summer. We got lucky and the weather was gorgeous -- almost too hot, if that's possible.

As you might have guessed New York City is one of my favorite places in the world. One thing I love about it is that you can visit the city several different times and each time is like a whole different trip. For instance, we stayed in Chelsea this time and it was actually very quiet, which was nice. We prevously stayed in the Meatpacking District and East Village and I must say that I liked Chelsea better than East Village. I think Meatpacking was my favorite neighborhood because of all of the constant electricity. It really made me think that the city never sleeps.

One of my favorite things that we did on this trip was to allow time to wander. As much as I like to schedule what we're going to do each hour of each day, it's nice to go with the flow and stumble upon things as opposed to planning, planning, planning.  Some Greenwich Village impromptu discoveries below: 

You. Guys. I finally tried Avocado Toast. and it was delicious! The end.

After attempting to visit the Statue of Liberty on each previous trip to the city, we finally made it! And we picked a gorgeous day to do it! It is quite an ordeal to get there, so you have to allow 3-4 hours total. But, it was totally worth it. and I would do it again.

After the SOL, we headed to dinner at Claudette in Greenwich Village. I'm starting to notice a pattern here. I think Greenwich Village might be one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city. Anyway, dinner was scrumptious and I don't even have any photographic evidence {ok...maybe a few dark grainy shots}. I always have this idea that we're going to go out for drinks after dinner {this is New York, c'mon.....} but it never happens. Sleep always wins. I guess my future self will thank me.

xoxo,

Kim  

NYC | Part 5

It's time for the last few photos from our NYC trip. Can you believe that tomorrow is February? That means our trip was almost 3 months ago. Well, technically it was at the end of November, so not quite.  Anyway...on our last day in the city, we walked from the East Village towards the West Village mainly because I wanted to check out Washington Square Park. It was a cold, but sunny and  beautiful day.  

And yes, I wore my Zella leggings every single day of our trip. I'm not exaggerating either. I totally fell in love with them and they are so comfy and cozy and go with everything. So there's that. 

Of course there was live music in the park. I felt like we were in a movie. 

That's it for NYC photos from this trip. I'm really hoping to make at least another quick trip sometime during 2015. I think it would be nice to go in the Spring since we haven't been during that season yet.  

Until next time,

Kim 

NYC | Part 4

Last time we visited NYC, we spent some time in Williamsburg and honestly, we weren't that impressed. We knew Brooklyn would be gritty and not as fancy as the city, but the impression we got this past summer wasn't the greatest.   We were determined to spend more time in Brooklyn to really decide if it was a place we truly loved or if it was a place we could pass on. Thank goodness we gave it another chance, because we totally fell in love with it! We rode the subway to the Financial District and got off at the last stop before the bridge. We knew we wanted to walk over it and we amazed by it's size! We knew it was big, but we didn't know it was that big!  That's what she said? Sorry, it seemed natural. 

I remember watching Million Dollar Listing and hearing about DUMBO {Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass} and ever since then, I've always said I wanted to check out what all the fuss was about. We walked over the bridge {I highly recommend doing that if you haven't before!} then walked down under the bridge for that iconic view. 

Here's that photo you've probably seen 8957483 times.

Cue impromptu photo shoot with cool brick background. Too bad it was freezing cold and I couldn't bare to take my puffy coat off. Don't make fun of my nikes. My feet were DEAD.

Jake's fave shot of the day!

I read this blog and she recommended checking out Jane's Carousel. It was so fun! We took a ride and felt like kids again! Best $2 I spent in the city.

That's it folks. After our day of exploring, we Jake tried some beer from Brooklyn Brewery then we had dinner at the Reynard in the Wythe Hotel, complete with pre-dinner drinks at the bar which has a killer view of the NYC skyline. For further reading, check out this blog post I wrote about Brooklyn for Dwellable. 

Stay tuned next week for the last NYC post of this trip. 

xoxo,

Kim

NYC | Part 3

We decided to explore different parts of the city on this trip, so on FRIDAY after a much anticipated tour of the Federal Reserve Bank including the gold vault which holds over 300+ billion dollars with of gold {this is a must do if you can get tickets}, we wandered around the Financial District. It was really cool to see Wall Street and the Stock Exchange especially after seeing it in so many movies over the years. Very iconic! 

Then, we walked by the new World Trade Center and saw the 9/11 memorial which was very overwhelming and sad. Again, this is something we had heard about and saw on TV for years..  decades even and to see the area in real life was just very powerful. I'm not sure I could go into the museum just yet, I really think that would be something I would have to really prepare myself for. Maybe someday I will be brave enough to step foot in there. 

We were watching TV the night before Thanksgiving and noticed that my alma mater - Gonzaga was playing in none other than Madison Square Garden - turned out it was a tournament with the Championship Game being played the day after Thanksgiving. So we bought tickets and made our way over the Madison Square Garden on Friday night - it was the first time for both of us and it actually seemed pretty small and intimate. It was nice to root for my Zags in person again. 

After that we hit the town and checked out Cask Bar in the East Village. I am proud to say that after a night of light drinking and a desire not to ride the subway or take a taxi, we decided to walk 26 blocks back to our hotel. Doesn't 26 blocks seem super far? Well, its actually only 1.5 miles and only took us about 30-35 minutes or so. It was nice and refreshing. And I met my step goal for the day, so I was a happy camper. 

The next morning {SATURDAY}, we had brunch reservations at Asiate in the Mandarin Oriental along with this view of Central Park. Pretty nice, right? I could definitely get used to living the high life in this city... no pun intended!   

Below is the first course which included 4 small tastings.

I had the granola crusted brioche french toast. Let that sink in for a minute... and it tasted as delicious as it looks. Bon appetite! 

xoxo,

Kim