Queens
We stayed in at a great little airbnb in Queens. Not the prettiest area, but the place had everything we needed and it was a quick walk to the metro. Our first night we had dinner at a place Jan saw on Chef's Table called Cinegas las Tiayudos y Oaxaca - a hole in the wall with yummy mexican food. After our tacos, we stopped for Icees at the Ice King of Corona (even though it was freezing out) and let me tell you, the king knows how to make an icee. That was our first evening in Queens... more to come.
Greenwich Village & Lower Manhattan
We bought our week long metro pass and ventured out! The metro system is huge in NYC, but once you get the hang of it, it is pretty simple to navigate (Google maps help a ton as well.) After two transfers, we hopped off the metro into an area that looked a lot more like I expected NY to look like - brownstones, high rises and lots of pretty buildings. Lunch was one of my favourite meals of the whole trip - ramen at Momofuku! So delish. Our next official stop was an hour walk away in Tribeca, so we slowly made our way to that side of town, stopping at some thrift stores, Bloomingdales, Uniclo and an ol timey bar called Walkers. Jan said there was an ol timey accountant drinking at the bar as well - I didn't see him... We also stopped at a great wine bar called Terrior which we really enjoyed - the wine menu was huge! It was actually a binder. Finally, we made our way to Tribeca to see Michael J. Fox & Denis Leary speak as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. They spoke about their friendship, Michael's recent injury and more about his charity and it was pretty cool! Dinner was at a vegetarian michelin star restaurant called Nix. I wasn't blown away by this meal to tell you the truth. The dishes sounded delicious, but I wasn't really impressed with any of them. After dinner, it was time for a show at Comedy Cellar! This was definitely a highlight of the trip - I've seen the venue on television so many times, it was really cool to be there. The comedians were great - 6 in total for some big belly laughs :) When the show ended, even though we had no room in our bellies, we grabbed a slice down the road at Joes - our first NYC slice and it surely was not our last. Jan was too drunk to navigate the metro on the way home... so we went in the wrong direction for a good 20 minutes... but we made it home safe and sound... 2 hours later!
Manhattan/Times Square
I considered us metro experts after the previous night, so we easily made our way to Times Square. We left the dank underground terminal and stepped onto the sidewalk and into the madness that is Times Square. The sidewalks were packed with people and the sky was full of 20ft screens and skyscrapers as far as the eye can see. Jan bought himself some new Levis and I bought a soft pretzel from a food cart - and I huddled against a storefront as I ate my pretzel and watched people take their picture with a person dressed like the Statue of Liberty. Then ladies and gentlemen, it was time for the pièce de résistance... HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD ON BROADWAY. The entire Lyric Theatre was decked out in HP awesomeness - even the carpet! Patronuses painted on the walls, house flags to pose with, a cloakroom... they weren't messing around. The production itself was so beautifully done... so much magic onstage! I honestly don't know how they did half of it. We were asked the #keepthesecrets so I will leave it at that. In between the shows (yes, Jan sat through 2 shows - one at 2pm and another at 7:30pm) we had dinner at an Ethiopian place called Meske and a drink at As Is. It was truly a magical day!
Queens cont'd
Back in our hood for the day, and we really are the only white people around. At least in our particular neighbourhood, it is all spanish people... you hear spanish on the street, the signs are in spanish and there are delicious food carts selling mexican food all down the streets! We walked over to Citi Field to watch the Mets play the Reds and were blessed with a perfect sunny day for a ballgame! So sunny in fact, that we had to sit under our umbrellas! After a very quick game, we walked down the boardwalk to Flushing Meadows Corona Park. There were all kinds of things we wanted to see in this park but we somehow missed most of them! However, we did find the Unisphere (although it is pretty hard to miss!) We had some beer and snacks at Mikkeller after our walk - a brewery attached to Citi Field. For dinner, we went just west of Queens to Jackson Heights area. We had momos for dinner at Momo Crave and they were very yummy - a Nepali dumpling served in a variety of ways. For our nightcap, we went to a jazz bar call Terraza 7, where an 18 piece jazz band was practicing on the mezzanine.
Staten Island
Definitely my least favourite borough, but a cool day nonetheless. The ferry ride to Staten Island is free and has some pretty awesome views of the Statue of Liberty - although it was a pretty cloudy day so visibility wasn't great. The first thing I noticed was trees! The island has more trees than I saw in New York up to this point. Our first stop was Lee's Tavern for some tavern style pizza (thin crust). Pretty good - but the hunt for the best NYC slice was still on. We decided to check out Historic Richmond Town next... this was a weird stop. A little town full of historic buildings - but unfortunately you can't go inside any unless you are with a tour, which we missed. So we visited the museum which was full of baby chairs and toys and walked around the town - but it was a very quick visit for us. We took an uber over to the FDR Boardwalk for a walk along the water next... again not the best way for a walk along the Atlantic Ocean, but we went with it. Dinner was at a Sri Lankan restaurant called Lakruwana - highlight of that meal was the hilarious conversation between a family we overheard - quintessential New Yorkers with thick accents and attitudes - something we actually didn't hear much of! Oh and Jan lost his sun gees - it was a big deal.
The Bronx
We went to the Bronx on a Saturday, so the metro was just jammed. It was pretty nuts how many people continued to board the already jammed car at each stop. Out first stop was in Manhattan to see Grants Tomb. Jan loves his presidential graves. The tomb was a GIANT mausoleum with two giant caskets lying in the basement and fresh flowers everywhere. Not a shabby resting place. We continued our grave visits in the Bronx at Woodlawn Cemetery. A 400 acre cemetery that we got quite lost in to tell you the truth. After hunting for a few graves Jan wanted to check out, including Myles Davis, we headed back to the gate to find ourselves locked in! The gates were 10 feet high and spiky... there was no way we could have jumped them easily. Luckily, there was a number listed and we just had to wait 15 minutes for a guard to show up. Once freed, we headed to the heart of The Bronx - over to Arthur Avenue, known as the Little Italy of the Bronx. We of course had an Italian meal at Tra Di Noi which was delicious, and also our first real meal of the day, so we scarfed it down. For a night cap, we stopped at the Bronx Ale House which was inside a market that seemed pretty cool. Oh, and on our way to the metro, Jan peed in the middle of a busy street. Only in NYC!
We did it, we saw all the boroughs and I only blistered four toes. Goodnight Everybody!
Brooklyn
We had quite the rainy day in Brooklyn - that's spring for you. Brooklyn was quite trendy... no one warned me. I wore one of my most casual outfits! We started at Best's Pizza for a slice - I will officially have to admit at this point - I was not as blown away by NY pizza as I hoped I would be. The crust is thin, the sauce is very tomatoey and the cheese just can't compare to Galati. I suppose Windsor pizza has spoiled me. Next stop was The Four Horsemen, a wine bar owned by James Murphy. As we walked into the bar, James Murphy walked in right behind us! We were too awkward to say hello, but it was still cool to see him in normal life. His bar was fabulous - delicious selection of cheese, wild pear tea, natural wines - the highlight of the day for me. We sat by the window and watched Brooklyners walk by in the rain. We walked around looking for the Brooklyn Flea (Market) but it was closed... but we stumbled into the Williamburg Hotel for a drink, and boy was it full of hipsters (and tequila girls). We stopped into Rough Trade Records next, and happened to catch The Feelies doing soundcheck for their show that night! We found an open flea market, stopped for a glass of wine at Woodhul and then it was time for our reservation at Have & Meyer. We sat at the bar and boy did they pack us in - elbow to elbow. The bartender/server barely spoke english and brought Jan whatever wine he wanted each time he ordered. It was kinda hilarious, but also kinda annoying. We order some Jamon Iberica to start, shared some pasta for the main and crème brûlée for desert. The meal was decent, but the ambiance left something to be desired.
Back in Manhattan - FINAL DAY!
We started the day at the Museum of Natural History. It was beautiful outside - so we were selective about which exhibits to visit. We chose the Forest Exhibit, Planet Earth, African mammals and the dinosaurs of course! We decided to have one more slice of pizza at Rays - my favourite of the trip but Jan would disagree. Once fuelled by pizza, we were ready to take on Central Park! Super pretty, with very diverse vegetation... clearly planted, but beautiful nonetheless. The park was full of horse-drawn carriages, bikers, runners... an awesome escape for New Yorkers. We sat by a pond and visited the Imagine Mosaic in Strawberry Fields. We left the park and headed to Rockefeller Plaza and on our way we passed Trump Tower. In front was a guy holding a sign that said "Shit Hole," and selling anti-trump buttons. Two feet from him was a man in a MAGA hat with a big Re-Elect Trump in 2020 banner. I truly wish I took a picture of this, but the streets were so busy it was hard to stop. We also stopped for a drink on the patio at Brasserie Ruhlmann before I finally got my photo at Rockefeller. Final stop was Grand Central Station. We had a drink at The Bar, before our dinner at Agern - a restaurant which is actually inside Grand Central Station. The meal was fantastic - a perfect ending to the trip! They took their time with each delicious course and were so accommodating. Highly recommend.
We did it, we saw all the boroughs and I only blistered four toes. Goodnight Everybody!
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