They say you should always combine business with pleasure. And that I did. In New York City! It truly was a week of two halves - the first spent doing workshops and store visits and the second, trying to fit two weeks of sights, attractions and food into just three days. Happy to say, we succeeded, even if there remains lots I’d love to go back and see.
From where I’d been staying with work on the Upper East side, I travelled down to Brooklyn on Friday evening to meet a friend/travel companion for the weekend! Over huge bowls of pasta and pretty undrinkable red wine in a little Italian restaurant in Carroll Gardens, we sheltered from the rain and brainstormed our itinerary for the next few days. Thanks to a very kind long lost relative of my friend, who had furnished us with museum passes, we felt the need to add The Met, MoMa, The Whitney Museum AND the Neue Gallerie to our ever expanding list of saved pins on google maps. The MET alone would suffice for a weekend’s entertainment!
On Saturday morning, fuelled by waffles and suspiciously sweet coffee, we set off on the subway to Brooklyn bridge which is harder to find than you’d think... Despite the icy wind reminding me of my error in wearing neither hat nor gloves, it was a great first glimpse of the city’s epic skyline and it felt right to walk over to Manhattan instead of arriving underground. After a brief stop in Target where we almost spent our entire weekend budget, we headed over to the MET for a whistle stop tour. The temple of Dendur was a highlight, as were the various huge atriums, lit by the sun streaming through the slanted glass ceilings. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, so we had a pitstop in front of Degas’ Dancer and booked tickets up the Rockerfeller Centre for that afternoon.
After almost a week in New York and not a single bagel, I was determined. We walked down from the MET past Central Park and stopped at Liberty Bagels. Good consumed, we sped past Trump Towers (for many reasons) and joined the line for Top of the Rock. Having deliberated between there and the Empire State Building, I’m so glad we chose the former - not just because you get an insane view of the Empire State but also because the viewpoints are outside and not shrouded by glass screens. There were three different levels, rooftop sofas and a cafe - albeit one asking you to shell out half your ticket price for a coffee. Our tickets were for 3:30pm, just before the more expensive sunset slots but since there’s no time limit, we ended up staying long past the sun had set, catching views in daylight, dusk and darkness. Pretty unforgettable!
With frozen hands and cheeks, we decided food was in order but still had lots to see so made our way on foot through Manhattan down to China Town. There was a moment when the delirium of hunger, coldness and google maps ineptness almost got the better of us but, as they say, food tastes better when you’re hungry! And that it did, in the Golden Unicorn restaurant on the third floor of an unassuming apartment block.
Day two started at the High Line - a former railway track which is now an urban oasis, stretching along the West side of Manhattan, parallel to the Hudson. It offered a great view of the eclectic, verging on eccentric buildings which make up the city. We then had a brief look around the Whitney Museum of American Art before eating another bagel (sauerkraut & pastrami this time) aboard Lady Liberty, as we sailed towards Liberty herself. The tickets we’d booked included access up to the Crown, which is so much smaller in reality and accessible only via a tiny, near vertical staircase. Perhaps a good thing we were only 2 bagels down thus far! Then it was on to Ellis Island and then back to the mainland.
With just under two hours before we were due at the family friend’s for dinner, we decided on a quick spin to MoMa, to max out our use of the free tickets. It was almost painful to have to sprint round such an incredible collection, taking in just our must sees before running to the subway for a quick change back at the hotel. We then ventured out for a wonderful evening in a beautiful apartment and emerged later that night in the snow. Talk about 3 seasons in a day!
On Monday morning, we left our suitcases on the counter of a deli (apparently legit luggage storage?) near Grand Central Station then made our way to the Neue Gallerie, which is awash with Austrian and German art. Perhaps it was a good thing that some of the floors were temporarily closed, as it meant we could properly enjoy the Klimt room without time pressure. A surreptitious picture of the Woman in Gold is all I could manage under the hawklike eyes of the security guard but I can promise that it was even more spectacular in life than its reputation.
We then strolled back along Central Park to find some deep dish pizza before sprinting one final time for our train to the airport. ‘I heart New York’ tee shirt acquired, we reluctantly left the city behind us and settled into the flight, dreaming of our return.
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