Day 4 - Dec 26th.
I awoke this morning still feeling a bit rough from the bug we caught, but not prepared to waste a day in NY we decided to hit the shops. After a good breakfast in Katz, we headed to Soho and were amazed at some of the sale prices. I%26#39;m not much of a shopper but managed to pick up a few bits for people at home.
The weather was lovely %26amp; bright, and we stopped off for lunch in Bar 86 on Mercer St. Its pretty decent carb laden grub, not that I ate much of it.
I was using a trick I had learned a few years ago in the caribbean and drinking bitters in water everywhere I could, to cure the sick stomach and slowly but surely it was begining to work.
After a bit more shopping and dropping the bags back to the Hotel, we set off walking again. We headed back up through the village, up through Chelsea and ended up at Seven Bar %26amp; Grill on 7th ave for a bite to eat before the Knicks game.
Seven seemed to have decent food, nice atmosphere, and a generous supply of water and bitters. Disgraceful post christmas drinking habits for an Irish lass on holidays, but it was worth it to feel better.
The game at the Garden was great fun. With the requisite foam finger and expensive beer, we joined in with the hollering, and enjoyed the spectacle, even though the Knicks got thrashed.
After the long day, and dodgy tummy we again had to cancel plans to head to a club in Brooklyn, and called it a day.
Day 5 - December 27th.
Finally, feeling totally recovered I was raring to go bright and early with breakfast at Remedy Diner again. My friend had planned to buy alot of DJ equipment, so we headed to some stores midtown to get that shopping out of the way. Again the prices were great in comparison to what the home cost would be.
Once the bags were dropped back to the Hotel, we jumped on the subway and finally headed toward Brooklyn. We got off at Smith St, and walked all along Caroll St. Quite a few places were closed, but there are some lovely shops/restaurants along here. After strolling for an hour or so, we stopped off at a French Bistro, whose name I cant remember. It was to the right off Smith St at the end, before you head to the left towards the promenade. The food was very good and reasonable. A few libations later, we headed off in the fog, to find the promenade and cross the bridge.
We couldn%26#39;t have picked a worse day view wise, as my freind had never done the BB walk before, but even despite the fog, he really enjoyed it.
Back on the Manhattan side, we strolled back up through Tribecca stopping for a warming drink along the way, we headed back to the hotel.
After a shower and spruce up, we headed for dinner at Public in Noho. I had been here before, and was interested to re try it as I heard they had recently gotten a Michelin Star. The food and atmosphere were fantastic, and it was probably the best meal of the trip.
After dinner we headed to a few bars in Soho, and ended up at the Sullivan Room club, where we made up for lost time and danced till 4am. We met a few people who invited us back to a party in Chelsea. My legs just wouldn%26#39;t go anymore, so we had to decline.
Great night though.
Sunday 28th - Last full day.
After the late night on Sat, we slept a bit late on Sunday, and didn%26#39;t get up till about 11. We decided to head over to the meatpacking district for Brunch, and headed to Paradou on Little West 12th. By the time we arrived, it was just in time for their unlimited drinks brunch, which was a great cure from the late night before. This place was very buzzy, and great value at $29 for unlimited champagne cocktails. We lounged here for a couple of hrs, watching the world go by.
The weather on the Sunday was fantastic, and hit 65 degrees. So after brunch we just spent a few hours strolling in t-shirts in the sunshine around the West Village and sauntered back towards the Lower East Side.
In the afternoon, we looked at some of the great funky stores in this area. As we were walking past %26#39;Inoteca on Rivington I noticed some seats outside. We sat for about 3 hours sipping wine, eating cheese in the sunshine without coats, watching the world go by. It was a fantastic afternoon.
Either the libation or the tiredness eventually caught up, as again we didn%26#39;t feel like straying too far, despite previous hopes of getting to Brooklyn that evening. So we stopped for a bite at Zucco on Orchard, which was a lovely French Bistro. Lots of chatting with people, eating and more wine later, it was time to throw in the towel.
Monday 28th - Time to go home.
We had asked for a late checkout at the Thompson but were told the Hotel was fully booked. So we packed, checked our bags with the bell hop. And set out walking again. We picked up some last bits %26amp; peices, and again headed for my favourite spot the West Village.
We had lunch at Perry St, which has a great value Prix Fixe. The restaurant is very chic, but I found the food a bit hit %26amp; miss. Some dishes were great, others not so much.
After another couple of hours wandering, we stopped again for a couple of quick drinks in a little place on West 4th. I soaked up the very last of the fantastic atmosphere of NY, and too quickly had to head back to the Hotel and to the Airport.
We had a fantastic trip, even though what we ended up doing was a long way off what was originally planned.
Thanks again to everyone who helped with advice, and my only problem now is figuring out how soon I can return.
The highlights for me this trip were randomly
- The city itself. I always discover something new.
- Carols under the Washington Square Arch Christmas
Eve
- Madison Square Garden for the Knicks
- New Yorkers - I randomly met and had such fun with
more people this time than ever before.
- Sitting in sunshine sipping wine in 65 degrees in
middle of December, wearing short sleeves.
- Central Park %26amp; the Plaza Christmas Morning.
- The West Village, my dream place to live. As my mum
says, you might as well dream when you are awake..
Trip report - Part 2 long.
Sounds like a wonderful trip apart from your stomach bug. Were you able to stay for the service at St. Pat%26#39;s? I%26#39;d thought you needed tickets for Xmas. I hope your Mum is doing better and continues to improve. ;)
Trip report - Part 2 long.
Great finish, and so glad to hear you made it to Zucco, %26#39;inoteca, and the Sullivan Room--what a trip!
Another %26#39;inoteca is set to open in February just a couple of blocks from our apartment, so we%26#39;re quite excited.
Whiz we were able to stay for the service at St Pats. I think its the 10 o%26#39;clock which is ticket only, but the earlier service was fine to just drop in.
One of the benefits of Jetlag.
Crans, lucky you. I would love an %26#39;Inoteca close to where I live. I could see alot of lazy weekend afternoons being wasted, I mean spent there ;)
Great report. That sounds like my kind of trip! The carols on Christmas Eve sounded magic.
Thanks for the final instalment.
You did great - I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ve let the Irish down at all. :)
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