We had a jampacked, fun weekend so I thought it would be great to share alllll of the photos I snapped (on my iPhone). This is a very long post- text and photo-heavy, so keep scrolling! We landed in NYC at 7:30am so we had a full 24-hours in the city before we were off to Connecticut for my friend Katie's wedding!
Throughout my life, I have been to NYC more times than I could even count. I grew up visiting with my parents because my uncle lived there for many years. Then, as a post-grad and in my early 20's, a lot of my friends moved to NYC so I was always visiting. Add in a bunch of trips for my blog (fashion week, projects with brands, etc.) and I feel like I am a seasoned NYC visitor. Even so, it's always changing, so keeping up when only visiting a few times a year is tough!
But, I thought I would share with you all what we did when we had exactly 24-hours in the city. I've done this type of post before (back in 2015) which has similar recommendations but this is a fun updated version! My fiancé had never been to NYC before (which is just mind-boggling to me hah!). NYC is very easy to get to from Pittsburgh... the flight is not only (usually) inexpensive but it's also only 50 minutes door to door.
So normally I would not have tried to cover this much ground in a trip (plus I think your itinerary looks so different depending who you are with), but I wanted to see as much of NYC as possible. We hit 30,000 steps in those 24 hours!!
To start off, we headed all the way downtown to One World Trade. I figured we would start south and work our way up and that ended up working out very well. The 911 Memorial is so touching and incredible. It was the #1 thing that my fiancé wanted to see. I still haven't made it to the museum... we tried to do it on our last trip, but tickets for the day we wanted to do it were sold- so buy tickets in advance if you can. Someday I will get there because I have heard it is so well done and so moving. I also haven't been to the top of One World Trade- another thing I would love to do, but have never made the time to do so! After the 911 Memorial, we headed over to the Oculus. It's really just one big mall and transportation hub. So while there is nothing crazy inside, the architecture is SO cool and worth taking a peek!
We then walked up through TriBeCa and into SoHo. There is SO much in these areas but since it was still so early, there, unfortunately, wasn't much open. I was still glad that my fiancé was able to see the different neighborhoods, though! I spotted the cutest One Kings Lane boutique while wandering as well as The Real Real. I wish they had both been open, but it's probably better for my wallet that they weren't!
We had a reservation for breakfast at Sadelle's in SoHo (almost in the Village). I had seen it all over Instagram so I knew I had to make a reservation. There is nothing I love more than a lox bagel- seriously one of my favorite foods ever so this menu truly excited me. It did not disappoint. It's the cutest place with great service and delicious food.
With full bellies, we headed out to do some more walking. From there, we walked through Greenwich Village and up to Washington Square Park...this area is probably my most favorite in the entire city. It's so charming and quaint. Then we headed to the Flatiron area. I live for the Club Monaco there so we made a pit stop and I snagged these great cream-colored jeans which are the perfect 'winter' white. I actually have been unimpressed with CM lately- there hasn't been anything I have been dying for in quite a while, which is very unusual because CM is one of my very favorite brands!
After that, we took a cab to midtown where we were staying at one of my favorites, The Kimberly, to check-in! I love this hotel because it's in the center of everything (there's a Starbucks basically next door and a Duane Reade around the block, so you have quick access to things you might need) and because you are centrally located, you can get to about anywhere in the city easily. Not to mention that every room has a balcony and the rooms are HUGE and well-appointed. I could not recommend this hotel more! I mean look at our balcony's view!!
Since we had been up since 3:30am, we took a quick power nap and then headed back out to explore some more!
We went into St. Patrick's Cathedral. No matter what your faith is, the architecture alone is definitely worth stopping for. It's incredible and such an NYC icon. Then we popped right over to Rockefeller Center. This is often a madhouse of tourists, so if you are not desperate to see it, I'd skip it. But we braved the crowds and walked through.
Our main objective was to check off a wedding to-do item! We headed into Cartier which is the largest Cartier boutique in the world (6-stories). The building was originally built as someone's home (can you even imagine) and in 1917, the homeowner (ahem, the mansion owner) sold his home to Louis Cartier for a double strand of pearls. The Cartier salespeople share this story with you when you go in and you can see the pearls in a frame on the bottom floor. Each salesperson you encounter shares tidbits of history with you which are so fascinating!
Even if you don't plan on buying anything in the mansion, it's truly work going in just to appreciate the architecture and incredible jewels. The photo you see on the right is the Princess Grace room (named after Grace Kelly) and displays incredibly rare and unique jewels. If you look closely, you can see the Monaco coat of arms on the walls.
I have purchased a couple pieces of Cartier jewelry before (a ring and a watch) but have to say that the service and attention to detail in the Cartier Mansion went above and beyond anything I had ever experienced before! So if you are planning to buy a Cartier piece and can buy it there, I 100% would!
One of the best things that this Cartier boutique did is that they put the Cartier bag in an unmarked white bag and the bag had a 'top' on it so it just looked like an unmarked shopping bag and if you looked inside the bag, you couldn't see anything. So genius (especially if you are buying a surprise gift) and we felt safe carrying it with us for the next hour or so that we were walking around!
We walked around Central Park. The weather had been calling for rain all week and it ended up being incredibly gorgeous! We then stopped at The Plaza food hall to grab a bottle of champagne and head back to our room to freshen up for dinner!
Since there are so many incredible restaurants in NYC, I really try not to visit the same ones too often. However, The Polo Bar is seriously a must for your trip. This was my second time going and the first time, I thought that everyone loved it because of it's incredibly gorgeous Ralph Lauren-designed atmosphere and the food would be just OK, but The Polo Bar is a dining experience with some of the best food I have ever had.
A reservation is really tough to get. Both times we have gone, I have gone online literally at midnight exactly one month before the day of the reservation I wanted to make and I have been able to secure one. You can't get in without a reservation- not even into the bar area.
The food is very American- think hotdogs and hamburgers, which makes things sound very casual, but in true Ralph fashion these are not your average hotdogs. The corned beef sandwich is my favorite thing ever and this time I got the creamed spinach and OMG. I think I filled up on that more than anything else it was so insanely delicious.
The vibe is so cozy and intimate and the decor so perfect. With such a hard-to-get reservation, you'd think the staff would be snobby. But no. The staff is impeccable. So welcoming and ready to do whatever you ask of them. Highly, highly recommend.
We then headed over to The Plaza for a nightcap. I miss the Oak Room!!! For some reason during this visit, I felt like The Plaza looked and felt 'tired'. That's saying something because it is a New York icon and I have long loved the hotel for the grand ambiance and incredible historical architecture. While The Palm Court and Champagne bar are beautiful, I think the rest of the areas- even the foyer entrance, need to be cleaned up a bit. Our drinks were great, our service was just OK. I thought I might have been too critical or something, so I looked up recent reviews and a lot of reviewers are saying the same things that I was thinking. So it seems to not just be me but it needs a refresher!
Outfit One:
Outfit Two:
We took a train from Grand Central to Connecticut for Katie and Nick's wedding. In the past, I have always used Penn Station (which is icky) and the contrast between Penn and Grand Central is night and day!!!
Katie's wedding was at a beautiful farm in Sharon, CT. The wedding was absolutely incredible and the views of the fall foliage were perfect. I could not get over the beauty of this location!! Not only that but the wedding was lovely and so much fun. It was so nice to see Carly and Kendall who I haven't seen for a while, and meet Carter!
2 comments:
NYC is the best! My friends and I are thinking of doing a girls' trip there in early 2020 so totally saving your recommendations! :) And Katie's wedding looked stunning!
xoxo A
www.southernbelleintraining.com
That photo of you and Eloise is perfection!!
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