Summer in NYC

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Every trip to NYC Matt and I do is somehow always better than the last. This trip was no exception! Not only was this our longest NYC trip (Thursday night to Tuesday), but it was our first trip together during the summer months.

Lodging:

Per usual, Matt took the reins on booking the main aspects of this trip. He used Hotels.com Vacation Packages and between airfare and lodging at Hotel Penn , we paid a little under $1000.00 for the two of us. We had stayed at Hotel Penn once before in 2007 during the NYC trip when we were engaged.
The good: Location is everything! Located right next to Madison Square Garden and Penn Station was ideal for our situation. We were easily able to hop on multiple subway trains and across the street is a taxi line through the city (no tipping allowed). We walked a ton during this trip and it was nice being so centrally located so we could easily make it back to our hotel. Location aside, the rooms were pretty clean and the bathrooms were relatively spacious considering this is NYC and most bathrooms mimic small closets.
The bad: Although the lobby was nicely done, I can't say the same for the hallways of this hotel. We were on the 13th floor and often joked how we were expecting to see Frankenstein himself pop out from behind a door. The halls were dimly lit and very old looking, could definitely use an update soon! Also, we were only given two towels during our stay.
The ugly: The drain in our shower didn't work and we would be 6 inches deep in water within minutes of taking a shower. In addition to tipping, there's also a fee to hold your bags for a few hours after check out.

Entertainment

Chelsea Market and High Line Park - We started off our trip by taking the Chelsea area by storm on foot as this was somewhere we had never really explored before. Matt had read about the High Line Park so we decided to check it out. On our way, we came across the Chelsea Market which we absolutely loved. The architecture was awesome and the market hosted quite a selection of bakeries, restaurants, delis, and shops. After we breezed through the market, we spent the next few hours strolling along The High Line which was beautiful. My favorite part was being able to see the railroad tracks underneath all the foliage. Not to mention the views of the city were amazing!
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Years ago with my parents, I had been to the MET , but Matt and I have never gone together. Like several museums, admission price of the MET is voluntary, although it's advised to pay $20 per person. Both of us really enjoyed our afternoon here. We spent most of our time looking through the Egyptian displays and were lucky to catch an Alexander McQueen display as well.
Central Park
Unfortunately, our Central Park time this trip was a bit limited. We were able to have a mini picnic at the park one afternoon with our Chipotle, but were unable to see the Central Park Castle, Zoo, and other big landmarks or tourist attractions. I would definitely like to spend more time here upon our next visit.
Museum of Modern Art - MOMA
Unlike the MET, the MOMA was a fixed rate of $20 per person. Fortunately, it was well worth it and definitely one of our favorite attractions! We were able to see the entire museum in a few hours. Some of the displays were way too strange for our liking or understanding, but the majority of the art was fascinating. Authentic Picasso's and Van Gough's Starry Night were on display. We also were able to see the Wishing Tree in the courtyard and made two wishes of our own.
SOHO/NOHO
Despite all that NYC offers, SOHO will always be our favorite place to visit. Even on this trip, we probably spent most of our time exploring new streets and neighborhoods in this area. I love the architecture and artistic feel. I also love the shopping and splurged on a gorgeous crocheted Burberry Trench coat! 😊 One night, Matt and I returned to NOHO to check out Cafe Wha and had an absolute blast and something I would like to do again. We originally thought Cafe Wha was a place for locals since it looks like a hole in the wall kind of place, but were surprised to find people from every corner of the world in the bar with us.
Grand Central Station
We had been to GCS countless times before but decided to stop by again anyway for some fresh photographs. As always, it was beautiful and we managed to find some good food in the cafeteria area. Upon leaving Grand Central, we discovered a street fair that lasted for several blocks consisting of food, clothing, accessories, etc...vendors.
WICKED
We originally saw Wicked shortly after it came out in the early 2000's with both of our moms and have loved it ever since. As opposed to seeing a new broadway, we opted to see Wicked again since it had been a few years. Matt found affordable seats off Craigslist three rows back from the stage. Our view was slightly blocked due to sitting on the side, but it was still amazing sitting so close to the stage and seeing the facial expressions and details of the characters up close. The cast had changed in recent years from the original cast that we had seen years ago. In some aspects, we liked the original cast's performance, but on the other hand, the new cast also blew the songs out of the water. Excellent performance overall!
Ground Zero
For all the times we had been to NYC since 9/11, we had never actually seen Ground Zero . On our last day of the trip, we walked our way down town. We did not see the museum, but were able to see where the towers were and the new ones going up. I'm not sure what I expected, but it didn't seem to be a tourist attraction in the least. The new building going up did look beautiful.
Bryant Park/Library
For all the walking we did, it was nice to take a little breather at the Library by Central Park. It was our first time actually going into the library and we were surprised to find a mini museum on the first floor. We were hoping to find vendors around the park like there is in the winter, but no such luck.
Little Italy
A trip to NYC wouldn't be complete without a trip to Little Italy and passing by Il Palazzo . We were lucky enough to happen to catch the manager of the restaurant outside and talk to him for a bit/have him take our picture.

Dining

Ranchco Cafe
A favorite of Matt's a mine, we of course had to pay another visit this trip. . It did not disappoint! Matt and I ordered the fajitas and guacamole and Rancho Cafe will still rein as our favorite place to eat in NYC.
Two Boots Pizza
Matt and I found this place by accident while strolling around NOHO and couldn't be happier we did.
Matt ordered a "Mr. Pink" meat pizza and I had a whole wheat pizza covered in veggies. By far the best pizza either of us have ever had.
Junior's Cheesecake
While at Grand Central Station, we jumped on the opportunity to order a delicious dessert from Juniors . Despite it's massive size and thousands of calories, Matt and I had no problem devouring the chocolatey goodness.
*Throughout our stay, we ate at multiple places, but the above are the most memorable. I should also note that in the summer months, the streets are lined with Greek food vendors and soft serve ice cream trucks on virtually every street block. 😊

Transportation

By the end of our trip, Matt and I were masters of the subway. The most difficult thing was figuring out how to connect from the east side to the west side and vice versa. Thank goodness for smart phone subway apps! I should also note how we flew Delta through LaGuardia. The Delta plane was nothing to brag about but we were blown away by how nice the Delta terminal in LGA was!!! There was a mini market in our terminal and little portals with their own iPads at our actual gate. It looked more like a high tech work station than a flight gate and I loved it. After seeing this, we will always fly Delta into LGA if possible.

All in all, it was an outstanding trip! Matt and I were both in desperate need of a getaway and this filled the void and then some. I can't wait to start planning our next trip!

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