The final leg of our honeymoon was spent in New York City. Maybe a bit of a funny place to spend part of your honeymoon, but we loved it. We both like exploring cities, visiting museums and finding great restaurants. New York is pretty much the perfect city for that, which is why it seemed like a perfect part of our honeymoon. Riley hadn’t been since he was a kid and I hadn’t been in a few years so we were both really excited! Full series on my travels to New York, you can read those here, here, here and here.
We spent about three full days in New York City and it felt like it took about that long to get there. Neither Riley or I are from the Northeast and definitely don’t know all of the best ways to get around. Originally we were planning on leaving Nantucket, driving to central Connecticut and spending a day there. After our day exploring Connecticut we would take a train into New York. But, that didn’t exactly happen. Because we decided to stay in Nantucket longer than originally planned, we were now going straight to New York from there. This was not something I planned for…
So we ended up taking the ferry from Nantucket to New Bedford, MA. Then we took an Uber to pick up a rental car at the airport and drove to New Haven, CT. We returned our rental car and hopped on a train to take into New York City. Once we got to New York, we took a cab to our hotel. All in all, it was a lot. Now, I know there is a much easier way to do things. At the time, I didn’t want to waste time trying to figure it out. lol.
Once did finally get to the hotel, a bit sweaty and disheveled, we were instantly mesmerized by the beauty of the hotel. My main criteria for our hotel selection was being near Central Park, which is a favorite place of mine. I was instantly impressed with the accommodating nature of the hotel staff and the classic grandiosity of the hotel. After we checked in, we were ushered upstairs to a beautiful room complete with a bottle of champagne and chocolatey dessert.
We were exhausted, hungry and now in search of food. Riley put his restaurant finding skills to the test, which is how he ends up finding a little pizza place a few blocks from our hotel. We hurry our way down the street and are lucky enough to get a spot in the little restaurant. It turned out to be quite a bit nicer than we originally anticipated and we were definitely underdressed. Nevertheless, we sipped on wine, ate scrumptious pizza and focaccia and finished the night with tiramisu.
The next morning we woke up early and went on the hunt for bagels. Working our way through the city we landed on a place in the financial district, not far from where we would soon board a ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty. After finishing our delish bagels we did just that. Riley’s one request of our time in New York was that we visit the Statue of Liberty. It was so sweet and wholesome, there was nothing to do but comply. We waited in line, rode the ferry and finally made it to this iconic place. We marveled and walked and realized there is not much to do if you don’t buy the tickets to walk to the top of the statue.
After an eventful morning and an eventful evening ahead, it was time for a low key afternoon. We freshened up at the hotel and headed out. We took our time walking through Central Park weaving here and there on our to the Guggenheim. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring every inch of this beautiful art museum. Winding our way up the building stopping at each piece and peering up or down the atrium in the center of the unique circular building. After walking through the park then in a circle for nine stories, we had worked up quite the appetite. We ended the afternoon with a filling and delicious linner at Pastrami Queen. Another one of Riley’s requests; a proper lunch or dinner at a true Jewish deli.
That evening was one of my favorite of the honeymoon. We got dressed up and grabbed a drink in our hotel’s seemingly fancy bar. We then hopped on the subway and headed downtown. We marveled at the chaos that is Time’s Square, pushing our way through the sweaty crowd, looking for our theater. For the next few hours we were transported into the world of 1930s Maycomb, Alabama. We were told the story of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” through the superb acting of Jeff Daniels, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Dakin Matthews.
The next morning we got up bright and early, still amazed with the play we saw the night before, and headed for the Empire State Building. One of my few requests of our time in New York. We were the fifth in line and did not have to wait long to work through the maze that gets you to the top of the building. Once there we marveled at the beautiful skylines that we were able to see from every side of the building. Because of our early morning trip, we were lucky enough to not experience a crowded Empire State Building that most do.
After navigating another subway ride we we arrived at the 9/11 memorial and museum. Hands down the most powerful part of our trip. Every part of the museum is so well done and so powerful. The museum walks you through the months leading up to 9/11 and how the events unfolded the day of. There are artifacts, videos and pictures that highlight these things. As we walked through the museum, I couldn’t help but getting chills at every turn. It is a sad, powerful and necessary moment.
After a heavy early afternoon, we were looking forward to a lighter late afternoon of meandering through The Met. As soon as we got there, we were a bit overwhelmed at the pure size of the museum and all of the exhibits that were included. We walked through the modern and contemporary exhibit, the arts of Africa, Oceana and America, Greek and Roman art and so much more. Finally we made our way to my favorite exhibit; the costume gallery from the Met Gala. That year the theme was “Camp” and it was truly spectacular. So beautiful, fun and insightful.
As this was our final night in New York, we decided to splurge and go out to a nicer dinner. Riley put his restaurant finding abilities to good use and found the most magical restaurant called The East Pole. We hoped in the hotel’s pedi-cab and were off for our evening. As it was our last night in town, we decided to go all out. We ordered appetizers, Riley ordered steak, I ordered fish and we even got dessert. Each item that came to our table was somehow more delicious than the last. And the service was absolutely wonderful. Our waiter was kind, funny and not too pushy. He made us laugh every time he came to the table, but did not intrude on our meal.
While it is certainly hard to pick a favorite day of our time in New York, the last day may have just taken the cake. We spent the morning strolling through the Upper East Side in search of bagels. Finally finding some, sitting down and enjoying our last breakfast of delicious New York bagels.
After breakfast, we still had several hours before we had to head to the airport to return home. We were finally able to stroll through Central Park. Taking in all of the nooks and crannies. Stopping on the beautiful bridges. Walking around the lake, the reservoir and down tree lined paths. Stopping to watch the little sail boats racing and at the art vendors. We walked until we couldn’t anymore, ending our day at Earl’s Beer and Cheese. A delicious restaurant with a slightly funny name.
And just like that, our trip was over. It was filled with fun and, now, fond memories. Filled with beaches, cute little towns and crazy big cities. It was an amazing trip. One that I will forever cherish. Until next time, friends… CML
WHERE WE STAYED
The Mark. This was probably the most fabulous hotel I have ever stayed in. When I booked it, they were running some sort of deal that made the price seem reasonable in the crazy world of New York Hotels. It was also one block from Central Park, which was a huge bonus for me. When We arrived I was instantly impressed. The staff took care of everything and were so helpful. The rooms were amazing and so comfortable. It was an amazing experience and a lovely place to stay.
WHERE WE ATE
Serafina Fabulous Pizza. We ate here the first night we were in the city. We thought we were walking into a casual pizza place and were surprised to see a fairly nice Italian restaurant. The food was absolutely amazing. My favorite was the focaccia!
Pastrami Queen. Riley really wanted to find a proper Jewish deli to eat at for lunch or dinner one night. We ended up having linner here the night that we went to the Broadway show. The food was SO delicious and SO filling. Highly recommend.
The East Pole. This was our final dinner in New York. Riley has the wonderful talent of being able to find amazing, yet not super well known restaurants. It is one of my favorite things about him. This was no exception. The service was absolutely amazing. Our waiter was funny, nice and attentive without being obnoxious. And the food. The food. It was potentially one of the best reals I have ever had.
Earl’s Beer and Cheese. This was technically a late lunch, but absolutely needed to include it. This was another Riley find. When he told me the name (which he did reluctantly) I was, honestly, a bit hesitant. However, I was pleasantly surprised with both the food and service. It was a one woman show, as both the bartender and waitress, but was super on top of it. And the food was awesome! A lot of cheese, obviously, so I was definitely in heaven.
Misc. We really only did research and selected specific restaurants for our dinners each day. For breakfast each morning we would just find a bagel shop and live our best New York bagel lives. Lunch was along the same lines, especially since we weren’t always hungry. But for lunch we just swapped pizza or hot dogs for bagels.
WHAT WE DID
World Trade Center Memorial & Museum.
