During the fall semester, my friends and I decided we wanted to go on a quick weekend getaway in the spring. We had originally thought of going to Colorado, but I refused to be the only one driving on the icy roads. We ended up settling on New York. Two of my friends didn’t want to go because one had already been and the other was worried about crime. So it ended up being 3 of us.
One of my friends has family that lives in New York, so we stayed with them, which was a blessing, because hotels are not cheap. We flew into JFK late Friday night, and her uncle picked us up and dropped us off. Her aunt lived in Brooklyn and was right next to a subway station, which made traveling easier.
We started our days early. I mean, awake at 6 am and out the door by 7. Our first struggle was figuring out the subway station. Once you get the hang of it, it isn’t difficult, but for our first time taking the subway, we kinda struggled.
Our first stop of the day was Central Park, which is beautiful. Since we were there early, we saw so many dogs. We didn’t get to explore all of Central Park since we wanted breakfast, and we were there for The Met.
New York is known for its food, and it didn’t disappoint. The first thing I had was a crookie, which is a croissant and a cookie. This is like the only way I want breakfast anymore. It’s the perfect breakfast food for my toddler’s palate.
Our first stop of the day was The Met. We got in right as the doors opened. We had dedicated 2 hours to exploring, and honestly, we needed more. When I tell you we spent an hour and a half on the first floor alone, I’m not lying. I’ll create a gallery so you can go and see some of the more famous things we saw since I can’t have all of them in this article. But if you’re ever going to New York, take a good day to explore The Met.
Next, we took a bus to see the New York Public Library. We didn’t spend too much time inside because I mainly wanted to see where they filmed the Sex and the City movie. After the brief stop, we went to a bookstore nearby, and after that, we went to Koreatown.
Koreatown is a little lackluster in my opinion, but it has popular attractions like boba and photobooths. As well as a lot of popular blind boxes like Smiskis and Sony Angels. After that, we kept walking around the silver city. We made detours at the LEGO store and the poster museum. We also made our way to Chelsea Market, which again was lackluster, but that might be because we only went to one store, because my friend didn’t understand what Chelsea Market was. We also made a stop at a gallery that I didn’t care for, but my friend liked because she’s an art major.
Now it was nearing the time we wanted dinner, and we did Ellen’s, Stardust Diner. I love theater, and so doing this was a bucket list item. We waited about 20-30 minutes for a table, which I feel is pretty good. This experience was everything and more. The food is alright, but the performances make up for it. If you’re ever in New York, this is a must-do place.
You can’t do New York without going to see a Broadway show. I’ve loved the Heathers soundtrack since 2020, and when I found out it was going to be coming back to Broadway, I needed to find a way to go. I would have sold my kidney to go see this show. It was everything and more. I got to see Peyton List (a Disney Channel star) and Kate Rockwell (a Broadway star). No notes, this is a perfect, brilliant show that needs the hype Wicked or Hamilton gets.
After we headed to Times Square. I’m going to say that Times Square is overhyped. I expected a whole lot more than what we got. It’s cool, but nothing to rave about unless you want to talk about the scams that happen here.
After that, we headed back to Brooklyn and got changed to go to a club. By now I was tired as hell because my meds kicked in, but I toughed through an hour at the club before we got back to the apartment and passed out at 3 am.
On Sunday, we decided to sleep in a little bit before heading out. We left around 8:30 am and made our way to the financial district.
What we mainly wanted to see was the Statue of Liberty, but we didn’t have time for the ferry, so we went into the ferry station and then looked out the window.
We then went to Liberty Bagels. I’m not normally a bagel and cream cheese fan, but I have to say I might be converted after trying this bagel. I got the famous rainbow bagel with birthday cake cream cheese. I could see myself eating this at work if I lived in New York.
We then walked to Chinatown. Chinatown is what K-town wants to be. After we were going to head to Canal Street to do some “shopping”, the pamphlet ladies found us in Chinatown as we were talking about it. My mom wanted a YSL cardholder, so I got one for her. I was cool, and I felt like an adult bartering for some fake goods.
After our luck in Chinatown, we took the subway back to Rockefeller Plaza because I had secured a coveted reservation at the JellyCat Diner. We had about an hour until the reservation, so we went to the Nintendo store and a nearby bookstore.
The JellyCat diner was everything and more. You get to choose a JellyCat from their menu, and they fake cook it for you. Is it worth the money you spend? Probably not, but I like adding whimsy and fun to my life. And it made me happy, so it’s worth it in my opinion.
We had a lunch reservation at 2, so we had some more time to explore. We went and saw the Empire State Building, which is just a shiny building. I would’ve liked to see a view of New York, but that can be saved for next time.
I loved walking around and seeing all the steam blow out from the subway stations. It felt very New York core.
Our lunch reservation was at this cute tea house. Again, the food was ok nothing to rave about, but the aesthetic was there. We got cute pictures, and I had some pretty good truffle fries, so it’s a win.
We also found out that the Museum of Modern Art had a Warhol and Starry Night, so we sped ran MoMa to see those paintings, which you can view in the gallery.
We then headed over to the West Village to go see some famous places. We first stopped at Carrie’s house from Sex and the City. As you can probably tell, I love Sex and the City, so this was a no-brainer stop.
You might also be able to tell, but I’m a huge Swifty, and I needed to go to Cornelia Street. This has been a dream of mine to see. It was absolutely perfect. I even got to wear my Lover cardigan, which the song Cornelia Street is on.
We then headed back to Brooklyn to go to this romance bookstore called The Ripped Bodice. I’m a sucker for romance bookstores, and so many authors come to this store, so I just had to see it. We then got a slice of New York pizza from a shop close by and called it a day because we were tired as hell. We canceled our club tickets and just had a lazy night in.
The next day was our flight back to Miami. Overall, this was a great trip. New York has been a bucket list place for me, and I’m glad I got to experience it with my friends. I have even more I want to do, and I hope to get back soon.