Davis’ Take on New York City

Last October Dustin and I went on a crazy awesome vacation to the New York City.  I am a big city girl at heart so living in Little Rock is hard sometimes.  While it is a great place to live if you enjoy a smaller city, I yearn for the big city atmosphere.

Dustin is always amazing when it comes to our vacations, and pretty much just goes with whatever I plan.  He enjoys the trips, but knows that the planning is my joy.  When I proposed NYC, Dustin’s only request was Jimmy Fallon tickets.  As I too love watching the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon, I felt the terms were reasonable.

To be completely honest, I started planning our trip the moment I knew I could…so about 8 months before we left.  I created a book that had lists, so many lists including: where to eat (for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and brunch), where to go, how to use the city pass, what to pack…the lists went on and on.  I wish I was kidding, but at the same time I am so proud of that book.

I wanted to share a brief overview of our trip.  For the fact that I did not want to make this post 20 pages long we will break it up into a few posts.

What We Did:

1. City Pass: We loved buying the City Pass for New York, and I definitely encourage it if you are going for a week for the first time.  You can buy at any of the attractions or online. www.citypass.com/new-york

The City Pass includes so much but what we did was:

• Empire State Building (We visited in the late evening, so much less crowded due to time of year and time of day.)
• Top of the Rock (Visited in the daytime before seeing Jimmy Fallon.  Much better views than Empire State Building.)
• 9/11 Memorial (Awesome exhibit and grounds.  Last time I was in NYC was in 2004 so this was a cool place for me to see.)
• American Museum of Natural History (Not one of our personal faves.  We were in and out in an hour.)
• The Metropolitan Museum (AMAZING!!!!!)

2. Grand Central Station was 2 blocks away from our hotel, so it was a daily sight for us.

3. Jimmy Fallon:  We did get tickets to see Jimmy Fallon, which is a lot more challenging than I expected.  BUT totally worth it, and I cannot express how much fun we had!  It felt like secret society junk trying to even figure out how to get the tickets and where to go/ what to do the day of.  Despite all the cloak and dagger stuff, it was such a cool experience.  I don’t know if this matters to anyone else, but Dustin’s high five from Jimmy himself took the trip to a whole other level.

4. Hillsong Church: We made time to visit Hillsong Church NYC, which was a priority to us, as we love their music and heart as a church.  We definitely recommend a visit when in town on a Sunday!

5. The Highline: This amazing park on the west side of Manhattan was a beautiful walk.  We spent a couple hours walking and taking pictures.  A definite must see when in New York.  (Gave us a chance to walk off the many calories consumed on a daily basis by the both of us.)

6. Chelsea Market:   It was such was such a high point.  Tacos, crepes, and street art all located under the same roof?? We were sold! Check out the website: www.chelseamarket.com 

7. Shopping: We did try to shop as much as possible.  When one lives in Little Rock, you must take advantage of the amazing stores when you can.  We shopped until we dropped.  Literally, I tripped Dustin and caused a limp.  While I did not buy anything, I did go to Bergdorf Goodman.  I walked in for about 5 minutes and that was good enough for me as you can see below!  I asked Dustin if it would be weird if I hugged the building.  The words he said were “no/ kinda,”  but his face said “Please don’t!”  Don’t worry I didn’t, but I came very close.

8. Central Park:  We did not spend enough time here.

9. Flatiron Building/ District:  So I picked out my apartment and planned how we could move after visiting this neighborhood.  If you visit check out the store Fishes Eddy. www.fishseddy.com

This year I will be returning to NYC, the city that gets me.  Where I can wear all black, and no one questions.  Where my resting “mean” face is a normal.  I am headed back with a close girlfriend again in October. (Which I highly recommend the month due to the amazing weather!) I am SO excited that I have already started my next section of planning for this new trip in my book!!  The lists have already begun!

Cat

Update:  I went to NYC with a friend later on and wrote a post on what we did.  Check it out here.