5 Days in New York
It was summer in the city
I’m starting this post at 11.16am on a Friday and it’s our last full day in New York. I’m in the Rose Reading Room at the New York Public Library listening to one of my favourite writing playlists.
My first glimpse of the city was a quick glance backwards as we were rushing towards the AirTrain at the airport, it was around 8pm and the Manhattan skyline was glowing in the sunset.
We stayed for our first three nights at a hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that had a rooftop pool and a view of the river. We normally wouldn’t but my boyfriend found a 40% off code on Reddit and honestly there’s nothing like starting a big trip with a nice hotel. After a 20 hour commute from New Zealand we dumped our stuff, had a quick shower and went for a stroll towards Bedford Ave. It was 10.30pm on a Monday so we didn’t have high hopes. We walked past a bar that was open and had four people inside and figured that was good enough. Two margaritas and some free tequila shots later and I was absolutely thrilled. The bartender told us she was taking a 6 month break from her careers as a musician and boxer; she’d just hired a coach and in a few months she was going pro for boxing and would become world champ. I remembered how un-ironic and earnest Americans are; tall poppy syndrome could never.
My boyfriend and I have both been to New York before so we’d ticked off all the main stuff: the high line, 9/11 memorial, Rockefeller centre etc, so we were keen to just exist in the city. One morning we both went to separate fitness classes (me: HIIT Pilates, him: F45). We met up afterwards for a coffee at Rubys and it felt like we lived there. I’ve been working for a couple hours each morning and each night and this has been a good bookend so that I can really enjoy each day guilt-free.
The weather has been high 20’s each day and I can’t stop saying “it’s summer in the city”. The West Village remains my favourite part of Manhattan and on Thursday afternoon we parked up at Bar Pisellino for an afternoon aperitivo after lots of walking. We were seated opposite the entrance to Via Carota and the people watching provided hours of entertainment. I read the Cut’s ‘West Village Girl’ article before coming and I can confirm they are alive and well and honestly, good for them.
We stayed at my friend’s apartment in Manhattan for two nights 21 floors above Hell’s Kitchen. When we came back in the afternoon she’d set up our bed with towels rolled up like we were in a hotel and made us dinner - our first home cooked meal in a week. It was a work day and she blocked out ‘focus time’ in her calendar so we could go for a stroll through Central Park. We saw turtles and squirrels, showed each other videos of our nieces and talked about our life timelines. Afterwards my boyfriend met me and we walked to a diner he’d been to the first time he ever visited. On the walk he asked me if I’d move to New York to work as a personal assistant if he got a career job. I said yes but that he’d make a much better personal assistant than me.
That evening we went for drinks with my friend Tessa’s new friends and it felt so nice to get a glimpse into her New York life. One of the other girls brought her dog and while walking back from letting the dog pee she (the dog) got asked to be in a GQ shoot. We drank spritzes and martinis at Le Dive as the sun was going down and then got the perfect indoor/outdoor table at Kiki’s.
Early Saturday morning we got on the train to Boston and I caught up on all the podcasts and messages and life admin that I’d missed that week while I was too busy living my best life in New York City!!!
My top spots from this trip:
7th Street Burger - sorted my jet lag + tipsyness right out
Kiki’s - get the dill salad
Comedy Cellar
Columbus Park
Places I wish I’d got to will go to next time:
Maison Premiere - people we’re seated on the footpath eating oysters and drinking cocktails and it looked DIVINE
Joyface - a recommendation from an American friend as a great bar + dancefloor
Buvette - was on the list from last trip but I forgot about it! Some people had footpath tables in the sun and my heart yearned to be them.
Old Friend Photobooth - my ego just wouldn’t let me wait in what looked like a 30 min queue of Gen Z individuals 🥲
Thanks for reading,
See you in the next one.
As an NYC local, fun to read about your visit!
Loved reading this Bridgey ( & hearing it in your voice )