Where should I begin? She had a packed schedule for me. The day I landed was Friday afternoon, and that night she took me to a nightclub. Oh, how I've missed the night life! Then, we walked through Central Park to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art the next day, spent half a day looking (ok, more like gawking for me) at the exquisite pieces done by the masters. Not to mention the amazing exhibitions going on right now. Then the afternoon was spent shopping on Fifth Avenue and SoHo. And, since New Yorkers never sleep, we took a stroll from her apartment to Times Square around ten in the evening. Talk about a packed schedule! We crammed a week's worth of activities into a weekend. I've got no other choice, gotta come back home to take care of my munchkins! It really is possible to pack so many activities in such a fantastic city into a couple of days.
So we're not going to talk too much about the night club. What can I say, I was one of the oldest people there. Anyone of those "kids" at the night club could easily be my kids...if I had had children in my early teenage years. But it was fun dancing nevertheless. You don't get to do that much anymore after having kids! So it was definitely worth staying up until 4am for. *wink wink*
Central Park (link)
Walking distance from my cousin's apartment, we decided that we should at least take a stroll through this beautiful park this weekend. The weather that day, to a Californian like me, was humid and hot. But to a New Yorker, who just came out of the cold not too long ago, it was fantastic weather. I'm not a fan of running myself, but there were loads of people jogging through the park. Some with baby strollers, some with a partner, some were biking. Luckily it wasn't too sunny, otherwise I think I would've melted in the heat. But it made me so happy to see so many people leisurely enjoying their Saturday morning.
The Met (link)
I've taken a few art history courses throughout high school and college. And I find the stories behind these historical masterpieces absolutely fascinating. It's been so long since I've stepped foot into an art museum. My children are too young to appreciate art, and my husband just isn't an art aficionado like me. When I visited NY a decade ago, I remember that I had a great time inside the Met. But the experience was even greater this time because of the current exhibit - China: Through the Looking Glass. Talk about haute couture meeting high art! It was amazing being able to see what the fashion powerhouses like YSL, Chanel, Valentino, Roberto Cavalli, Tom Ford, John Galliano, Givenchy, Ralph Lauren, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dior, Jason Wu, Cartier, to name a few, designed for this exhibition, which was also the theme for this year's Met Gala. Their designs were based on past costumes, paintings, porcelain, and other artifacts from as early as the thirteenth century. To see a court robe from the Qing dynasty? And a vase from the Ming dynasty? The experience was priceless. The exhibit took my breath away. See for yourselves. Although my camera phone did not do the exhibit justice!
And because I'm in love with the Impressionists, I had to go visit that section of the museum. I've always loved Van Gogh's work. As a matter of fact, a poster of his Wheat Field with Cypresses from the Met I purchased 10 years ago, still hangs in my foyer. I was lucky enough to be able to catch another current exhibit, which was one of Van Gogh's paintings. This was a trip well taken, I tell you.
Oh, don't get me wrong, the museum had so many other collection, this museum is to me like Disneyland is to my kids. It would take 3 days for me to see everything. But since we were limited on time, we only saw what was most important. Here are some Egyptian art, Greek art, and Medieval art.
Fifth Avenue and SoHo
Ahhhh...shopping. A girl can't call a trip "vacation" if it doesn't include shopping. We strolled Fifth Avenue and gawked at all the beautiful goodies. I was on the lookout for a casual cross body bag, so we went to all the big department stores. We finally found a cute Céline Nano. it was in the perfect shades I was looking for. Neutral tones in tan, black, and white, perfectly goes well with everything! And the best part about this is, I bought this at Bergdorf Goodman. Since there is no Bergdorf Goodman here in California, it shipped home and saved me nearly $300 in taxes! That's like a discount on a high-end designer bag, which never happens! Woohoo! What a score!
Aside from the Nano, there were plenty of stores in SoHo that were having great sales, so I nabbed a light sweater from Club Monaco, a pair of faux leather jeans from All Saints (similar here), and a cute necklace from Madewell (similar here). Yes, I knew there was a reason I loved New York.
Times Square (link)
The first thing I want to say about Times Square is this: why on earth would there be THAT many people there at midnight?!? Don't you guys sleep?!? There were honestly tens of thousands of people! If you'd seen what I saw, you'd think that we were there on New Year's Eve, watching the ball drop or something. It was ridiculous. We got there, we saw the sea of people, took a few pictures, and left. Don't get me wrong, Times Square is amazing as well. Just the sheer number of people there will make your jaw drop. The lights, the stores that never close, the street vendors, they all bring this place to life. I stopped by M&M World and bought some personalized candy for my kids, and got a couple of really cool street art (YouTube link here). I saw this guy's work on my FB feed one day, and I thought it was the coolest thing. So when I came across him, I knew I had to get the paintings for my boys.
Food
I can't talk about New York without talking about the marvelous food the city has to offer. My cousin took me to some of the best restaurants around her apartment, and sure enough, they didn't disappoint. First stop was Totto Ramen. I got the Mega Ramen. Oh my, the broth is heavenly deliciousness. And there was so much food that I couldn't finish the entire bowl. Which never happens when I'm eating noodles.
Next up, Pick a Bagel. There were lines out the door for their bagels. I had their whole wheat bagel with raison and walnut cream cheese. And let me tell you, I don't eat cream cheese often, but this one was so delicious. Just look at the picture of their cream cheese selection! Although I don't know what plain tofu would taste like...
And a block from the bagels, is a smoothie store. Not your typical Jamba Juice. This is much healthier. Juice Generation even has tiny bottles of juice "shots" that do various things for your body. Cleanse, check. Boost metabolism, check.
After we went to the Met, we stopped by Le Pain Quotidien. Yes, there are many closer to home, but it's usually too inconvenient of a drive for me. Since it was walking distance for us, we decided to stop by. That day, this particular store ran out of ricotta cheese for the Prosciutto, Pear, and Fig Tartine I ordered, but I asked them to substitute it with plain Greek yogurt, and the result was still delicious.
Last but not least, we went to 456 Shanghai Cuisine for their delicious dumplings, also known as Xiao Long Bao. The restaurant itself does not have a website, but here's an article on it on the NY Times. There of course was a line out the door again; we waited about 20 minutes and then we were seated. I was reading up on the restaurant from one of the articles they posted outside, and supposedly the owner modeled his dumplings based on Ding Tai Fung dumplings. Sure enough, the dumplings didn't disappoint. I also felt like eating their sesame cold noodles, and that was delicious as well. Although after a while, the sauce became too rich for me, so again, another bowl of noodles I couldn't finish.
Alas! My post on NYC is finally done! I have been wanting to write this post since I returned, but I was either too busy or just got plain lazy. I finally decided I'd sit down today and type it up, once and for all. My cousin and I didn't have time to watch a Broadway show this time, and that's on my to-do list. She promised me she will take me when I visit her again. So cous, if you're reading this, I'm holding you to that promise! I'm sure a lot of you have been to New York already, but have you been able to do all this in two days?! And to those of you who haven't, and have heard such wonderful things about it, it really is that great. If you think there are too many things to do and too many sights to see, and you just don't have enough time to do and see them all, I just proved to you that it is possible to do most in a short weekend. I hope you find my post helpful in navigating the city!
xoxo,
Lin
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