Day 1 in New York – “Squeeee!”
Before we even touched down in New York, Natalie’s face was beaming from ear-to-ear; and that beam only expanded when we walked outside and saw a flurry of snowflakes falling as we climbed into the yellow & black NYC cab…
Of course, the levels of excitement were at an all-time highest level once we headed through Brooklyn, and the Manhattan city skyline emerged in the distance.
We checked into our hotel – only a couple of blocks from Times Square – but before exploration of the concrete jungle commenced, our first stop was Macy’s to acquire a winter coat & boots for Nat. Macy’s at Herald Square is one of the world’s largest department stores – and boy, did it live up to its expectations. The floor full of Women’s Shoes gave Nat a small heart attack; as did the entire floor chockful of winter coats alone! Despite a half-floor of men’s shoes, George still couldn’t find some in his size, despite the huge variety usually available here in the US.
After we were rugged up and ready to go, the exploration of Times Square and its surrounds commenced. It really is as impressive as it appears in photographs and movie scenes; but nothing will ever do justice to the electric atmosphere you feel while standing in the middle of Times Square, one mere person in the thousands – walking, shopping or mostly, gawking.
New York is truly the city that never sleeps so the day continues for many hours after the sun goes down. Although it was dark, we continued to discover the sights and sounds of the city (and Bloomingdales…). It’s so true that when you arrive in New York, the city really is everything you expect it to be and of course, more.
A pizza slice had held off the munchies before we hit the shops, but some real dinner we stopped into Inakaya on 40th Street for some light Japanese. Our meal came with a bit of theatre as the servers mashed some flour in a large mortar with something more akin to a huge mallet as opposed to a pestle, encouraging diners to participate. The fare itself was delicious and was just what we felt like.
Day 2: In a New York state of mind….
We started the morning by heading straight to the Flatiron district where we popped in for some morning Tea and Chai at Argo before Nat went to her Haircut & Color at Marie Robinson’s salon on 5th Avenue.
While Nat was being pampered, George had a few hours to spend so began wandering down 5th Avenue. Quite a few of the big name brands are on 5th – but instead he managed to find a belt from an up-and-coming place called Badichi, and some Levi jeans on special at one of the many clothing outlets.
For lunch we reconvened at Eataly, a new indoor market serving up the flavours of italy. There were several foodhalls where you can sit at eat, pizza, seafood, pasta or lighter fare. We had a a delicious cannelloni with mushroom and spinach and a home-style minetrone soup. Meanwhile around us people were busy buying local produce – everything from fresh meats to breads, pastries, olive oil and more. A little espresso and cake stand had long queues so we made our way to Central Park where we were meeting Claire and Sarah.
Our meeting place was the Apple Store on 5th Ave, one of the first and most iconic stores that is basically underground (in a huge space), with the entrance being a glass cube above ground containing a spiral staircase. As with any Apple Store in Melbourne, the place was packed – despite being about 4 times the size of any other Apple Store George had visited.
Central Park was an oasis of quite a step away from the buzz of the city. Despite the cold, many people we walking or cycling. Every few hundred metres or so we’d see a snack cart and it was inevitable – George couldn’t resist trying a pretzel.
The walk around Central Park is nothing to be sneezed at – about 10km around the park in total. We managed to walk around 2/3 of it (with a coffee stop at Joe’s; the first cafe which smelt like real Melbourne coffee and… TASTED LIKE IT TOO! We devoured the first good latte we had consumed since our honeymoon began…)
Our next stop was a walk to the United Nations building, and down to Grand Central Station. Grand Central well and truly lives up to its name – with hundreds of gates, platforms, entrances/exits and of course… an Apple Store.
Although we were miserably cold and quite exhausted from so much walking, it was time to perk up and head to dinner at ‘Dirt Candy’ – the best Vegetarian restaurant in New York City. But before you start imagining tofu and salad, chef Amanda Cohen has made a name for herself in New York’s food scene thanks to the unbelievable, quirky and delicious ‘vegetable fine-dining’ experience you have at her tiny restaurant (which only seats 22 people at a time). And not only that, Amanda herself will come to the table, introduce the dishes and answer any questions you have about the vegetable adventure that lies before you.
We started with the ‘Mushroom’ appetizer (portobello mousse, truffled toast, pear & fennel compote) and the ‘Onion’ appetizer (scallion pancakes, pearl onion rings, grilled scallion salad, thai basil cream); followed with Beans (coconut poached tofu, sea beans, saffron sauce, long beans with Moroccan herbs, sizzling rice) and Cauliflower (buttermilk battered cauliflower, waffles, horseradish, wild arugula) main courses.
It was unanimous that we never had, and never will eat vegetables quite like this again; and although we have had some phenomenal cooking while we have been on our honeymoon, this will probably be the most memorable meal we enjoyed!
Day 3: Sight-seeing on the Hudson River
Today was a long day of sight-seeing, jostling tourists and queues around the block.
Our morning commenced with a water-taxi ride across the Hudson River to the south of Manhattan, and more specifically to the World Trade Centre 9/11 Memorial Site. The construction of the Freedom Tower continues, but the Downtown area of New York doesn’t seem to have ever fully recovered from the events of September 11 2001. It was a sombre experience standing in the downtown district, at the foot of the new tower base. We expected this sombre, reflective mood to continue as we queued and went through extremely tough security screenings, to enter the 9/11 Memorial Site.
Imagine our pure shock & disgust when we entered the site – which is largely still under construction – to see large groups of rowdy tourists taking smiling selfie photographs in front of the memorial pools. People were SITTING on the edge of the pool – on top of the engraved names of the survivors – and talking loudly and socialising.
We can only hope that once the Memorial Museum and the site is finished, that it will lend itself to a more reflective and quiet atmosphere; however, it was a grating experience to stand amidst thousands of tourists – many of whom showed little or no respect to the site in which they were standing; nor to the families who were paying their respects to those that passed away in the tragedy.
The afternoon was spent on the Staten Island Ferry – seeing the Manhattan skyline, and the Statue of Liberty (Nat says: Which was WAY smaller than expected) before heading to the ‘Skyscraper Museum’. George was in his element in this small (but incredibly nerdy) museum. Nat on the other hand, was ready to throw herself down a flight of stairs in boredom. There is really only so much tolerance she would have for reading about the architecture of skyscrapers – but thankfully, the painful process was over soon enough.
The evening: It was time to see and be seen, at Buddakan Restaurant – most well-known for being the opulent restaurant that Carrie & Big’s Wedding Rehearsal Dinner is held at, in the first SATC movie. The Asian fusion food was great; and the atmosphere was clearly an ‘in’ crowd, but we still enjoyed the evening – and the chilli crab hot pot was something to be remembered!
Day 4: Walking Adventures of New York
Sunday morning brunch date with Liz (an old debating coach and friend of Nat’s) and Claire & Sarah (who were quickly becoming our travel buddies) at Balthazar – an incredible French patisserie and restaurant.
One moment, you are exploring the hipster and exclusive boutiques of SoHo (‘South Of HOuston’ Street) – and the next, you have entered a traditional Parisian restaurant, complete with leather booths, a fresh bakery and very serious wait-staff.
After an incredible breakfast consisting of Berry waffles for Nat; and fresh pastry and a delicious ‘Ratatouille omelette’ for George, it was time to walk off some of the calories. Thankfully Liz was able to take on an incredible walking tour of SoHo, NoHo (‘North Of Houston’ Street), NoLita (‘North of Little Italy’), Little Italy and Chinatown.
Having a local take you on a leisurely stroll while the sun is shining and your belly is full of warm French food, was the perfect way to spend our Sunday.
We even headed down to Fifth Avenue where we further stimulated the US Economy at Tiffany & Co and and caught a serious case of the ‘giggles’ in FAO Schwartz. FAO Schwartz has to seen to be believed – not only is the toy store larger in size and magnitude than we’ve ever encountered, every section is its own little world – from Lego to Dollhouses to Princess Costumes to Angry Birds and crazy Science experiments; and of course, the giant Piano (made famous by Mr Tom Hanks in the classic 80s film ‘Big’).
Day 5: Famous Fat Dave’s Food Tour
See Blog Post #7 – for those who wish to understand just how difficult not putting on weight has been…
Day 6: Retail Therapy!
One of our earliest mornings thus far – and why, you ask? Outlet shopping… We were on a bus at 8am which drove through New Jersey, to the outlet centre.
Woodbury Commons is one of the best outlets an hour of out Manhattan – hundreds of incredible brands, with equally incredible prices including Jimmy Choo, Valentino, Hugo Boss, Coach, Kenneth Cole (and the list goes on and on and on….)
We’ll keep this post short: The shopping was amazing, our arms were in excruciating pain by the end of the day and in summary, our last stop was at The Luggage Factory to buy a new suitcase – which we filled on the spot.
The bus took 2 hours to return to Manhattan (… We will never complain about Monash Freeway traffic again, after seeing the mess that is the Holland Tunnel during peak hour) before we headed to David Chang’s incredible restaurant ‘Ma Peche’. The pork buns were everything we expected; and the taste combinations were the most interesting and intense we’d tried. Good work, David & the team.
The highlight: Discovering the ‘Momofuku Milk Bar’ at the front of the restaurant. Their specialities? ‘Crack pie’ (because it’s so incredibly addictive), Cereal Milk (Think about drinking the milk in the bottom of your cereal bowl after you’ve finished your Corn Flakes…. We’ll they’ve BOTTLED that insanely tasty flavour) and Birthday Cake Truffle (Small cake & sprinkle balls of goodness). And yes, I left with 2 bags of goodies (1 of which was bestowed on Claire & Sarah, just in case they hadn’t had enough goodies while in NYC)
After we finished dinner, we headed down to Broadway to meet Claire & Sarah after the theatre. We are definitely relishing making the most of the ‘City That Doesn’t Sleep’ and heading down into the East Village to Ray’s Candy Store – which was not in fact, a candy store – but rather a ‘hole in the wall’ old milk bar run by Ray Alvarez – at the young age of 84 years old. The peanut butter soft serve was the most insanely tasty thing I’ve eaten in a while; and the sugar covered, freshly-made beignets (deep-fried choux pastry) – all while standing outside in 3 degrees at midnight.
Good old NYC. How we’ll miss you!
It was at this sad point we bid adieu to Claire & Sarah – our travel buddies over the last couple of weeks who were heading home the next day.
A long, eventful and incredibly exciting first week in New York City – and still another week to go!