As I sit here in my I love NY sweater & my NY Yankees baseball cap, I'd like to say that I hope to move to New York one day for at least 6 months. I'm going to put that out into the universe & inshuallah (god willing) it will happen somehow, someway, someday.
I have gone twice before, but this was my best trip there & I did it by myself because my friend had to unfortunately cancel last minute since she wasn't feeling well. I haven't been in 3 years & was so glad I made my way down because it was totally what I needed. When I planned my trip, I decided to visit Connecticut first to see my friend & then Greyhound to NYC where I'd hang for a couple of days before flying home. So the main vibe of my whole trip was to keep it chill & make sure I ate good food, went shopping, explored & strolled around & I got to do all that.
I got in around 2pm & went straight for my Airbnb in Chinatown to drop off my stuff so I could start exploring the city. I was lucky I made it on my bus because I almost missed my Greyhound taking way too long to gather my stuff & saying goodbye to my friend. Fortunately, I had the best Lyft driver who suggested we go to the second pickup in Connecticut because I had missed the bus -- 5 stars.
My Airbnb was in the best area; I felt safe AF by myself & didn't even mind walking alone at night. I was in such a great area that I just walked around exploring instead of taking the subway everywhere; I spent most of my time in Lower Manhattan & loved it because I felt like I got more of a local experience. I discovered so much while walking around that I just deviated from my plans & did whatever, which was honestly great.
Day 1:
I headed straight for Washington Square Park when I got in to hang out & people-watch with a cold snack, I hung out there until I got hungry & then went on a mission for food. Pro tip for Canadians in America, take your cash out in advance or use an American card or visa because the exchange rates & extra charges are too much; so places were also cashless & there were some places that took debit but some of them didn't. I ended up finding a sushi restaurant that had an all you can eat dinner which was pretty good & I literally could only put in one order because I could barely eat since I took too long to eat; it was good & I left stuffed as can be. Once I was done, I left for my Airbnb full & tired. On my way home I saw such a pretty light up book sign that I had to go in & I ended up buying a random book & can't wait to read it. If my walk back wasn't already good, I stumbled upon a little bubble tea shop like 2 min from home & they had DAIRY FREE MILK TEA (insert emoji of wanting to cry face). I was thirsty as can be so best believe I got a large taro milk tea & damn was it good, Coco I love you (insert heart eyes emoji); I came back again the next day on my way home #totallyworthit.
Day 2:
I decided that I wanted to have some bomb brunch (I told y'all the goal was good food this trip) & go shopping so I woke up, got ready & walked over to Two Hands in Nolita where I had some Australian inspired breakfast by Australians; I got avocado toast with iced turmeric chai tea latte with almond milk & it was so good. There was quite a lineup when I arrived but I was one person & didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes until I got a seat.
Once brunch was over it was time to go shopping. I knew I wanted to check out Brandy and & Other Stories but was willing to check out other American stores we don't have at home, so I just wandered towards Brandy & popped into other stores along the way. I ended up walking from Nolita all the way up to 5th Ave but it didn't feel long because I was just strolling & taking in my views along the way; stumbled upon the Flatiron building without even trying.
I got two tops from Brandy Melville that I'm absolutely obsessed with especially the green tank, jeans & a top from & Other Stories. I also got an NY Yankees hat & a necklace from Urban Outfitters. I literally hate shopping but when you're in a city like NYC & there are so many great things, how can you not find stuff you want & the sales that I got were like 50 or 60% off so I was totally winning.
For lunch, I had Pietro Nolita which was sooo good & pink as fuck just like their napkins say & all you see around you. I got the Fusilli Al Limeade (lemon, seasonal vegetables, topped with ricotta salata and toasted almonds), it was sooooo good & I got the Watermelon limeade which was perfect. Definitely a place to check out & the photo opp outside the restaurant is great for some pop of pink on your insta feed.
Day 3:
While I was figuring my shit out and getting ready to go home, I packed up all my stuff & wanted to get one more good meal before I had to eat random gas station food on my long journey home, so I hit up my FAV spot. This is the place that held it down for me when I was stuck in Iceland for 20+ hours in the airport, Joe & The Juice. Literally the best simple paninis I've ever had; I got turkey, pesto, tomato & subbed the mozzarella for avocado: SO GOOD. I got the Hell of a Nerve juice & the wildflower in there was just (insert emoji rolling eyes back ugh). They unfortunately didn't have the bomb pink blueberry muffins like he ones I had in Iceland, but their sandwiches were just as good and I can't wait to come back for more.
The last day was a whole shit show because nothing went as planned but even though I was annoyed, I was happy it all went down on the last day after I had a good trip. If you've read my other blog posts you should know every trip I go on, some shit goes down so I'm not even phased anymore & just go with the flow. It wasn't too bad cause I got to see this view for a few hours with some vibin music. So basically my flight got cancelled & I HAD to get back home so I asked for a refund & opted for a 13-hour long Greyhound. It was rough but I made it back home just in time to make it to work.
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| Passing through Keeseville, NY |
New York was great & now I know how to roll there for a good time when I'm back next which should be November for a concert & I'm bringing a friend whose never been there so I hope to show her the city right.
happy travelling
xoxo
lamrou
