The Perfect New York City Weekend

I grew up in New York, right outside of the city. And even though I spent a lot of my childhood and teenage years in and out of the city, there were still so many things that I had never seen or experienced. That’s why, when I was planning my trip to visit my friends and family over Thanksgiving, I knew I had to go adventuring to new areas around the city. I ended up staying at my friends apartment and had myself the perfect New York City weekend.

It all started with scouring the internet for cool places to visit (a lot of which were inspired by Instagram, but more on that another day). Afterwards, I had to enlist some people to go adventuring with me. I gathered some friends (old and new) and planned out my weekend. Over three days, I visited countless neighborhoods (Brooklyn, Chinatown, Greenwich Village, Upper West Side, etc.), and I walked over 22 miles. So, the next time you find yourself in New York City (or even in your own city), partake in a few touristy activities that you may have skipped over while growing up. Because I learned that just because things can be touristy, doesn’t mean they can’t be fun.

The Perfect New York City Weekend

Day 1

My first day of adventuring consisted of a few meetings and a lot of walking in between. I arrived at Grand Central, grabbed coffee on West 39th St at Cafe Grumpy. Afterwards I hopped on the Subway to drop my things off at my friend’s apartment in the East Village.

From there, we walked down to Nolita and visited a spot that had to be on my list.

Cha Cha Matcha

Head over here if you’re obsessed with Matcha tea, love anything you can put on Instagram, and just enjoy checking out trendy spots. My friend had a Coconut Matcha Latte while I had a Mint Matcha Lemonade. It was so good.

Afterwards we tried to scope out Pietro Nolita, a new Italian restaurant that is pink. When I say pink, I don’t mean that the walls are painted pink. I mean everything is pink (including the owner or managers sweater and the sidewalk outside). Unfortunately we weren’t able to grab any food because it was closed, but if someone goes tell me how it is!

Subway To Brooklyn

We jumped on the Subway and found ourselves in DUMBO. I had the ultimate quest to find these mural walls and it took us a long time to find them. Before we finally stumbled upon them, we walked to Washington Street ( which has the most famous view of the Manhattan Bridge). If you want to take photos here, you’re going to have to wait your turn!!

We walked along the water and looped back up towards the subway where we finally found the ombre rainbow mural wall I had been dreaming about. It was perfect. Then, I  got to do the one thing I had been dying to do. I walked over the Brooklyn Bridge.

Walking Over The Brooklyn Bridge

It really didn’t take us that long to walk over the bridge, but let me tell you–this is the time of year to do it. It was a crisp day, but it wasn’t cold or windy and the bridge was almost empty. We were there around 3 PM which meant the perfect golden hour lighting.

Ending A Perfect Day 1

I had another meeting up in the Flatiron district and I was able to snap a few beautiful photos of the famous building. We all ended up eating dinner at ABC Cocina by Union Square and then I went out with some friends in the East Village.

Day 2

Day 2 began with a stroll in the West Village followed by a delicious lunch at Sant Ambroeus, a delightfully charming Italian restaurant, serving up the best burrata I’ve had since I lived in Florence. I tasted some delicious Franciacorta sparkling wine and it was a perfect afternoon – seriously I ate lunch outside in November.

Afterwards it was up to the Fashion district to have coffee with my editor over at Bustle. From there I went over to Brooklyn to meet up with my roommate from Italy. She lives in Williamsburg and we had a chill evening grabbing food at a bar there.

Day 3

I woke up well rested and headed back out to the West Village/Greenwich Village to look at all of the brownstones in the area that are basically #GOALS. I walked up Barrow Street, Grove Street, Christopher Street, and more. There is an adorable little enclave on Grove Street that’s private and locked, but someone was delivering dry cleaning when I arrived, so shh I snuck in… And it was so worth it.

Walking, Walking, and Walking

Afterwards I went downtown to take a peek at Oculus (which I had no idea was a shopping mall). I won’t lie it was a bit underwhelming, but I’m glad I went to check it out. I spent the next hour wandering around the Financial District, where I stumbled onto this adorable street (Stone Street). It made me feel like I was in Europe with the cobblestone roads and pubs lining the street.

From there I walked to Chinatown to eat some delicious Dim Sum. We settled on Nom Wah Tea Parlor, which is actually the oldest Dim Sum establishment in the city. Make sure to arrive there earlier in the afternoon. We waited for about 35 minutes, but larger parties were waiting even longer. (It’s totally worth the wait! Get the soup dumplings!!)

As if I couldn’t do more… From there I headed up to Central Park to meet Christina from The Bold Brunette Blog. We had a great time snapping photos and drinking rosé at the Boat House. I love meeting up with people from Instagram and the blogging world (so always let me know if we may cross paths!).

Finishing Up The Day

I went back to Brooklyn afterwards where my friend and I ended up at the most delicious Italian place. It’s called Il Passatore and I’m not kidding when I say it’s the best Italian food that I’ve had since leaving Italy. I had tortelli de zucca which is pasta stuffed with butternut squash. So amazing.

From there we ended up in Gramercy at a friends apartment.

I had a busy three days but it really was the perfect New York City weekend. If you’re interested in more information about what I did that weekend or need some more technical information (transportation and what not), shoot me an email.

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