A Week In... New York

Happy Birthday from
the Ace Hotel

I have had a draft email open on my computer with this subject for over a week now, and I just cannot find the inspiration to write anything about what I loved and what I would recommend.


I think it's because New York is one of those city's where there are a million things to do, and see, and eat, and even the things I loved the most on this visit I might not return to as there's such a long list to get through.


I still love re-reading my holiday posts though and getting a feel for what we did, and so I'm going to break with tradition on this one and actually just give you a picture-heavy account of our few days there.

 Magnetic Monkeys at the Museum of Mathematics

An excellent dinner at Bare Burger

A good start to lunch at Don Antonio

A chocolate breakfast courtesy of Breads Bakery

The fancy lift at Kate Spade

Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan side

Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn side 

Fried Chicken and Waffles, at the Brooklyn Star 

Brunch Mimoas at Agave

Obligatory Iced Tea photo 

9/11 Memorial

9/11 Memorial

The Freedom Tower and the Survivor Tree 

Liberty

High Line 

High Line view

Sunset at the Top of the Rock

Empire State from the Top of the Rock

Empire State from the Top of the Rock

Bjork at MOMA 

Birthday Picnic in Central Park

Birthday Basketball

Planning: New York

In April this year my boyfriend and I are visiting New York. I have been a few times before but he never has, so the holiday is going to be that mix of the sightseeing bits you have to do on your first trip, and the more relaxed things you can do when you've seen it all before. This will surprise nobody, but I have been planning planning planning pretty much since we booked it, and here is what I have so far...

Accommodation

One of my favourite hotels in the world is the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. They have a few hotels across the US (plus one in Shoreditch, London) including one in New York, and so it really was a no-brainer as to where we would stay. Luckily enough, the hotel is in a great location - Midtown - so we won't have to factor in loads of travel time to wherever we want to go just so I can stay there!

Museums

One of the reasons I wanted to go to New York this year is because of the upcoming Bjork exhibition at the MOMA, so this will be a definite must-visit when we get there. In addition to this, currently on the list are visits to the New York Transit Museum (boy's choice) and the Museum of Mathematics as it is a 5-minute walk from our hotel.

Sightseeing

So, as I said, I have visited NY a few times and have seen a lot of the sights already. This is my list for the things I really think a first-timer has to make time to do.

* Ground Zero

* Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Centre (hoping to do this at dusk)

* Central Park

* Brooklyn Bridge (will schedule in walking across it when we have a Brooklyn day)

* Times Square (at night, as this is when it is at its most spectacle-esque)

Eating

Current choices on the list are:

* Don Antonio

* Breslin (breakfast?)

* No. 7 Sub

* Tipsy Parson / Bareburger / Coppelia

* Breads Bakery

* Egg

* Agave

* Brennan & Carr

* SOMEWHERE SUPER LUSH FOR STEAK!

Other Stuff

It will be my birthday while we are there and we have booked tickets to the Brooklyn Nets vs Chicago Bulls Basketball game at the Barclays Centre. I'm still not 100% on what I want to do the rest of my birthday but I think maybe spending the day at the beach if the weather's up to it, so maybe a trip down to Coney Island? Something new since I last visited is the High Line so we're definitely going to do that and then there are a few bars I've been eyeing up but I think it's probably best to keep that open and see what we fancy while we're there. We're definitely going to spend some time in Williamsburg, and then I'm quite intrigued by the Brooklyn Night Bazaar.

Any must-dos I've missed off the list?