New York Reprise

Matt & I got engaged in New York 4.5 years ago. We came in December for four and a half days, stayed with my wonderful cousin Leslie and her kids and walked and walked and walked. We saw just about every site there was to see. It was just before Christmas and the tree was up, ice skating was in full force, there were lights and decorations everywhere. We loved it.

2007

We had just Saturday evening and Sunday in New York this time, but knew that we wanted to make the most of it. Instead of hitting the ‘sites’ like last time, we wanted to take this trip to experience the neighborhoods. We walked Hells Kitchen, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, the Tenderloin, Meatpacking District, SoHo, probably more.

Room with a view

My #1 and only thing that I wanted and had to do on NY this trip was to see Highline Park. I can’t remember where I first heard about it, but had seen numerous articles and pictures about this 2 mile long park that was recently built, a transformed raised railroad from the 1920’s. We actually stumbled upon it while on our way to dinner the first night (Gramercy Tavern, great) and ended up walking the entire length. It was just as cool as I had imagined. I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but we discovered it was actually a much faster way to get across town than walking on the streets that had stoplights, so we did it again the next morning.

found an unsuspecting walker to take our picture

Our favorite memory from our first trip (besides the getting engaged piece) was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge on a crisp blue-bird day. So after stopping at Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich (yum) we caught the subway over to Brooklyn and walked our way back to Manhattan. The NY subways is spectacular (not because of anything attractive about it) but for its speed, convenience and ubiquity. The bridge was still a favorite the second time around.

Washington Square Park

Freedom Tower, in progress

We met my cousin Leslie and her unbelievably cute children at Central Park for lunch. We were trying to eat at the Boathouse, which is right on the pond but the wait was insanely long, and Matt & I had to check out of our hotel. We ended up grabbing some take out from the café and eating on a rock. The view was just as splendid. Matt & I indulged while waiting for them to arrive, and grabbed one of the sooooo cute rowboats. Classic tourist, but we had a great time.

Sophie, Leslie, Harrison, me

Wrapped up with a stroll through the Hells Kitchen Flea Market

I loved New York at Christmas time but it truly felt like a different place in June with the weather warm and everything green. Glad we went back. It was a fantastic week on the East Coast – revisiting New York, and putting quite a few new states and towns under our belt.