Long Weekend in NYC

Wow – what a whirlwind week it’s been!  Ian and I went to NYC on the weekend.  We had originally planned to go for 3 nights – from Friday to Monday.  But then there was a snowstorm, so we called our airline and had our flight moved up a day, so we could fly before the storm came through.  We left Toronto on Thursday afternoon, and got a last minute deal at the uber-hip Hudson Hotel.

That’s the Hudson from the street, and when you enter the front door, you immediately go up this crazy neon escalator.  The hotel was designed by Philippe Starck, so it’s hip and interesting and  gorgeous.  I particularly loved the chandelier above the check-in counter.

After arriving, we walked around Columbus Circle and ended up at On Tap, the beer bar within the Whole Foods at the Time Warner Center.  Ian was pretty pleased with the beer selection, but not the food, so we went out for dinner at a restaurant across from Lincoln Center.  We watched people spilling out of the theatre after the NYC Ballet performance. Fun!

On Friday the city was gross – it was raining before the snow started, and we had to check out of the Hudson and get to our rental apartment without umbrellas.  It was cold and damp, and we didn’t have the right footwear (should have packed rain boots, not leather boots).

After checking into our apartment rental, we headed to The Smile Cafe for lunch.  I definitely recommend this place – it was hip and cozy.  You go down a few stairs to get in, and there are old stone walls and leaded glass windows.  Very cozy, and lunch was great.  We left the Smile and headed up to the United Nations building (we had booked a guided tour) only to find that it had closed early because of the storm.  Sigh.  We were wet, tired, and grumpy, so we hit up Rockefeller Center for some retail therapy (I went a bit nuts in the sale section of Banana Republic), and then headed back to the apartment.  We picked up a pizza from Joe’s in the West Village and relaxed indoors for the rest of the night.

I woke up early Saturday morning and walked around the West Village, checking out the freshly fallen snow.  It was quiet and beautiful.

After hitting up Marshalls, where I picked up some adorable Kate Spade rubber boots (with heels!) we grabbed coffees to go and headed to Central Park.  The sun was shining, my feet were no longer cold and wet, and it was gorgeous.  We walked and walked.  There were many hills with kids sledding, lots of people building snowmen, and we even spotted a few cross-country skiiers.  I wanted to go ice skating at the Wollman Rink, but it was closed.  Oh well.  Next time.

Later on Saturday we headed out on a date.  First stop was dinner at Birrera, the rooftop beer bar/restaurant at Eataly.  It was amazing – exactly what you’d expect of a Mario Batali restaurant combined with a beer bar by Dogfish Head.

After dinner we headed up to the Walter Kerr Theatre to see the closing night performance of The Heiress, starring Dan Stevens (aka Matthew Crawley from Downton Abbey), Jessica Chastain, and David Strathairn.  It was fantastic, and after the show, we waited at the stage door like total dorks, so we could see Dan Stevens.  I gotta say, he really is beautiful.

Sunday was a perfect NYC day. The snow had been mostly cleared, and the sun was shining.  We had late brunch at the Minetta Tavern (that’s Ian’s meal pictured above. He had the French Dip – it was epic) and then walked around SoHo, shopping.  We checked out the MoMA Design Store (swoon) and Uniqlo (super great) and of course headed to the Bowery Beer Room to pick up some goodies for Ian to take home.  We finished off the day with a walk around the West Village, pints at Blind Tiger, and a comedy show at the Comedy Cellar.

Monday was raining and gross again, but we didn’t mind, as it was time to fly home.  What a perfect weekend.