Girls Weekend in New York City

Back in April, my mom, sisters, and I got to realize a dream that we've had for awhile - spend a weekend together in New York. And it was everything we'd hoped it would be! It was a quick trip, but we had two full days to eat and tour our way around the city, and that was enough to do a lot. I flew in from North Carolina, and they drove up from DC and we met at our hotel on Saturday morning to drop off our things and get started on our day! We had the best time just being together, having girl talk and seeing bits of the big city. I think we need to make this happen more than once in our lifetime.




W H E R E  W E  S T A Y E D

We stayed at the Park Lane Hotel right on the South side of Central Park. It was THE PERFECT location (in my opinion), as it was right across the street from the park and a subway stop, walking distance to 5th avenue and Rockefeller Center, and right next door to Sarabeth's. This was the view I had right when I got out of the subway stop right across the street from the hotel:

All five of us crammed in a 4-person suite, and it was plenty big enough. My sisters cheated and brought an air mattress, and that worked out really well! In NYC you cut corners where you can when it comes to the place you sleep, because the city ain't cheap yo.


W H E R E  W E  ATE

Cafe Lalo

Yes, the You've Got Mail cafe where Meg Ryan gets "stood up" by Tom Hanks. We decided to come here for lunch, and I totally thought it would be touristy, but WOW was that some good food! I got a cold quinoa and veggie salad that was so fresh and tasty. Of course we all sampled each other's food and each dish was so good. Highly recommend this one!

Marseille

We had dinner here on Saturday night, and it was the perfect blend of classy but not too formal. All of our meals were amazing, and our waiter was so friendly and fun. After our meal he brought us all out a glass of sparkling wine on the house! If free champagne doesn't say girls weekend, I don't know what does. I did make a reservation a few weeks in advance, and I'm really glad I did. It was in the Theater District, so people typically do dinner and a show in the vicinity, and I don't think we would have gotten seated there or elsewhere had we not had a reservation.

Sarabeth's

Sunday morning we decided to do brunch at Sarabeth's, and I am sooo glad we waited the 30 minutes to be seated. I also loved that it was literally right next door to our hotel. It was probably the most quintessential New York restaurant I've eaten at - Tiffany blue decor with black and white photos on the walls, bustling and casual but still kind of fancy with the white tablecloths. Our food was scrumptious - my omelette was fantastic, but those English muffins and jam were just SO good. I would definitely come back for those alone. Also the coffee, of which I think I had at least 3 mugs.

W H A T  W E  D I D

Walked through Central Park, and basked in all of its beautiful glory.

Walked up Broadway Street on the Upper West Side, admiring the beautiful buildings and stopping in a couple stores to shop.

My mom and I had heard separately that Once was really great, so we decided to forego the typical Disney musicals and try something different. I had seen the movie back in college, and I actually didn't really like it a whole lot, but OH. MY. GOODNESS. Seeing it live was a whole different experience! If you've never heard of it, just listen to the music. It is so good. And I think the actors took some liberties with it, so some of the lines were pretty hilarious. It was witty, charming, and the music was just so real. I absolutely loved it.

9/11 Memorial
Michael and I saw this on our trip last fall, but my mom really wanted to see it so we went. Since my family lives so close to the Pentagon in DC, September 11th was very real for us and a lot of people that we know. More so for my mom, as several of her friends' husband worked in and around the Pentagon. It was a very scary day, for us and obviously for New York and the nation. This time we also peeked in St. Paul's Chapel, the church that was just a couple blocks away from the WTCs and survived the disaster. It housed all of the firemen, policemen, and volunteers who came to help cleanup during the aftermath. It was a beautiful, old, and quiet space in the middle of the Financial District.


My sister told us about Chelsea Market and how many neat little shops and restaurants they have, so we decided to go take a look. We wandered through what seemed like an endless maze of shops and restaurants, all nestled in this huge old building. It was pretty neat! I don't think we even saw half of it. We ended up eating there, and I got a wrap full of fresh veggies and Greek yogurt as the dressing/sauce. Why had I never thought of Greek yogurt on a wrap before? It was so tasty, and I have definitely begun doing making my wraps that way at home ever since.

We stopped by Rockefeller Center to see it before we had to leave town, and I was surprised to see the ice rink still up and going! We grabbed some iced coffee from Blue Bottle Coffee in the bottom of the Rockefeller building (thanks for the recommendation, Colleen!). Sadly we did not have time to go to the Top of the Rock and see the city. But I had so much fun with these wonderful women who I am lucky enough to call my family. So thankful for such a great weekend spent with them! Until next time, New York!