Snapshots of NYC // Days 1 & 2 // Central Park & The Met // October 2017

HOLY TOLEDO IT IS APRIL. If you saw my IG stories, crazy changes have been happening at work, and I have been thrown off my game of blogging/reading again. I made it half way through the SUYB posts (3 weeks late). I'll keep trying! :) 

In the fall of 2017 we took a trip to NYC. We had never been, and honestly had more fun than we were expecting to! I'm finally getting my act together and getting these posted! :)

We arrived in late afternoon, and got dinner in Chinatown with Kasi and her husband Alex. Everything else we did on Day 2!

Enchanted anyone?! THAT'S HOW YOU KNOW! 

Channeling my inner Gossip Girl. LOL 

So cool to see, and also so had that it's in the US. Conflicted!

Eat: We tended to eat several partial meals from time to time... It was a little sporadic!

• Noodle Village (China Town) - we met up with Kasi and her husband Alex for soup dumplings and dinner in China Town. It was so nice to meet and chat! The soup dumplings were great! We tried the crab and the pork ones. YUM. I also had the chicken lo mein which was not my favorite, but that's ok! Everyone else loved their entrees.
• While you are in Chinatown head to Little Italy, it is all right there! :) We didn't eat there... and I regret it. Because, PASTA.
• Max Brenner - We stopped here because it was near a few bookshops we were interested in. It was late at night and we thought chocolate sounded good. Of course we ended up having "second dinner" which was bacon mac and cheese. Super yummy. We shared that and a melting cake. KC is obsessed with melting cakes. We obviously had to try some chocolate while we were there! You can also buy chocolate from the shop there. We did not, but it could be a nice souvenir.
• Shake Shack - We fell in love with Shake Shack in Las Vegas, so we knew we'd have to visit in NYC! It was good, as always. We love the chicken sandwich!
• The Smith - we met up with Dani (Blue couldn't come! :( ) at the Smith. I'm pretty sure we went to the Lincoln Square location. The drinks were great, chatting with Dani was wonderful! I did not love my food. I think I had a salmon dish that was just ok, and the cookies were really hard like they'd been warmed up for too long or something. Oh well, you can't win them all and the most important thing - the company - was fantastic! :) 

See: Central Park, The Met, Chinatown, and Little Italy.

Shop: I made it my personal mission to explore tons of book shops while in NYC. I'm sure you are shocked. Here are the ones we saw on days 1 and 2. I'll have to do a round up post in the end when I finish. 

• The Strand - Of course we had to go to the Strand while we were in New York! It was massive, as expected and full of just about any book you'd ever want! We bought a ton of post cards there as well!
• Forbidden Planet - this is a chain and is like a comic/hobby shop + bookstore. It was smaller than I expected, but they had a fun collection of all things nerdy. Lots of comics, graphic novels, board games, funko pops, t-shirts, action figures, etc. A cool stop if you've got a nerd in the group. ;) 
• The Met Gift Shop - Meh. This place was very large, and very packed. Most of the post cards that I wanted (specific paintings) they did not have. Lots of art books if that is your thing, overall they didn't have much that I was in the market for.

Do: while walking around the city itself is PLENTY to do, we did see some other great places as well!

• Central Park - I had not expected to like the park as much as I did! It was a much needed respite from the bustle of the city. The green was so lovely and it was just overall a beautiful park. I think we did about half of it. Points of interest for us:
• The Alice Statue - surpassed my expectations in every way. It was massive and elaborate. So beautiful!
• The Balto Statue - We have a thing for sled dogs. LINKS. Also our friends Will and Cara stopped there late at night and struggled to find it, so we wanted to send them a picture when we made it there.
• The Met - Obviously.
• The "Mall" - a gorgeous expanse of trees and walkway. It reminded me of the south, minus the Spanish moss.
• Bethesda Terrace + Fountain - the gorgeous area with the fountain, terrace, and stone carving. Probably my favorite part. Near the boat house for those going.
• The Reservoir - Nothing particularly exciting here, but it is an area that we passed though. I think it is prettier from other angles than the one we were at.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art - if you've been here for a while you know that I was once an art history major, and that I consequently love art museums. I hit one in every city that I can. The Met is obviously a big deal, and it definitely had some pros and cons!
• Pros - Massive collection! It spans over 5,000 years in time. It also is architecturally lovely. There are some very famous works of art and relics in their collection like Washington Crossing the Delaware, Portrait of Madame X, The Temple of Dendur, and a lot of Degas and Monet. They even have a Vermeer which is incredibly rare. The map is super helpful! Admission *was* "free" aka donation. There will also be tons of items that you will just recognize. As an example several pieces were replicated in the animated Hercules movie.
• Cons - Massive collection. Good luck getting through everything you want to see in a short trip! Hard for art lovers like me. As with most museums there is the icky feeling that white people stole everything from other people and now put it all in shiny cases. Particularly the Temple of Dendur was tough for me. Though the museum was "free" it was a "free will donation" people say you can give a penny or a dollar, but that's just something my anxiety cannot handle. The suggested donation? $25. Holy Toledo. The collection in Kansas City is MASSIVE, impressive, and ACTUALLY FREE with a donation box. At the Met you still have to get in line to give your donation. Updated Information: the Met is now only "free" for NY state residents, NY, NJ, and CT students. General admission for adults is $25. The plus for this ticket is that it does give you access for three consecutive days and includes two other museum properties in the city.

Stay: We stayed at Pod 51 hotel. It was very economical!!! It's bare bones, but very clean and in a safe area. Just make sure to check what type of room they are reserving. They do have shared rooms and shared bathroom situations. You might remember KC's commentary on the shower situation in our room.

*^while getting settled in NYC hotel....^"

Me: *unpacking to change shoes*
KC: *skeezy voice* "I hope you don't mind if I lay in bed and watch you in the shower..."
Me: *turns around glaring laser eyes at him*
KC: *holds hands out innocently* "... Because that's the kind of situation we have here." *dies laughing*
Me: *looks at shower* "OMG!" LOLOLOLOL

Favorites: Alice Statue and Bethesda Terrace, Soup Dumplings, Meeting Kasi (and Alex) and Dani, 

New Experiences: NYC, Soup Dumplings, Little Italy, Central Park, Seeing Such a Large Statue, The Subway.

Have you been to NYC? What were some of your favorite things to do? 

Have you been to any of these places? 

More NYC travel day posts coming soon. I mean it this time. Not 1.5 years later. We also made a fun video of our trip, which I hope to add to YouTube soon! 

Do you have any fun trips coming up?! We are heading to Memphis soon, and then somewhere really exciting in December! Any guesses?!

Happy Travels!

XO,

Alexandra