NEW YORK DIARY #1
A few months ago we threw around the idea of heading to New York a week before Fashion Week would begin. Our health editor’s mom would be spending three weeks in the Big Apple and invited us to crash in her extra bedroom for a week. And as you can see, we happily obliged.
And off we jetted last Thursday. With a stomach full of butterflies out of pure excitement, we boarded the plane from Amsterdam to JFK, to then be dropped off by a cab in Harlem. That’s right, we’re lodging in Harlem. “In the coolest part of Harlem,” is what we keep saying, and it really really is. If you happen to live downtown odds are you won’t be heading up 80 blocks, which is kinda a shame since Harlem is full of flurry and furor. Our apartment is located on the 13th floor giving us the best view of the city. We can see Central Park, Manhattan and the rest of course the rest of Harlem itself.
After heaps of ooh’s and aah’s in the apartment and after discovering the rooftop, the gym and the pool, we grabbed our laptops to type away for a couple of hours. After which, it was time for a stroll through Harlem. Through the park, past the (gigantic) public swimming pool, ending at the Red Rooster for a bite – highly suggested by the way. Insanely good chicken, a watermelon salad, pulled pork and fries with parmesan cheese filled up our table to only be devoured minutes later. Our jetlag had been taking quite a toll on us, yet we managed to hold it off until 9 PM when we rolled into our beds completely beat.
Friday we started our day off behind our laptops and afterwards headed to the NYC & Company head quarters to pick up our CityPasses (tip tip tip for anyone headed to NY, these babies give you huge discounts on all of the city’s biggest attractions). And then it was off to Times Square and indeed, you could have guessed it, we we’re off to mingle with the tourists. We were photographed on Times Square’s big screen and I went on a little hunt to find Olaf for a few snaps, because yeah, I am a loser and yeah that just so happens to make me very very happy.
Next on our to-do list for the day was head over to the Meatpacking district, we passed by Chelsea Market (where our health editor Jet nearly fainted from excitement and is planning a trip to head back there soon), walked over the High Line to then end up at The Empire Diner on 10th Avenue for lunch. For anyone heading to NY sometime soon, jot all of these things down, definite recommendations.
The temperatures here are hot to say the least. Our clothes are clingy from the humidity and don’t even get me started about our hair. We had plans in the evening to dine at The Standard Grill (one of our favorites) followed by a night out with our friend Nish, so I’m sure you understand we had to take a few measure to look somewhat decent for the rest of the day. Enter: the Dry Bar. The name already gives it away: blowouts. After an hour at the salon we walked out sparkling and radiant, on our way to The Standard. The food was, as always, to die for, and after a coupe de champagne and a multitude of wine later, we headed over to the Soho House where our friend Nish was waiting for us on the rooftop. This evening resulted in pure madness as we went from the Soho House to Bagatelle, to the Dream Hotel rooftop, ending at Tao Downtown after countless amounts of champagne and gin-tonics. And then we waddled off to our Uber to head back home.
So then came Saturday, and I’m quite embarrassed to tell you about the lack of things we did cause of our hangovers from the night before. As in, we did absolutely nothing. So onto Sunday which was way more productive. We went to the Bethel Church at 8 AM to experience a real service, gospel choir and all. And yes, it was so profound and remarkable that we were covered in tears and goose bumps within minutes. The words dull and boring were far to be found; this place was all about the singing and swinging. The service started off welcoming all the new comers who were politely asked to stand up and before we knew it, we were being hugged, shaking hands and getting nods from everyone in the chapel. Never had we ever felt so loved and welcomed as we did here. And no, I haven’t been converted yet, but man was it a close call.
Onto our next great highlight. Literally a HIGHlight: flying over Manhattan in a helicopter. HeliNY had invited us for a tour and it was uncanny. I was lucky enough to have been in a helicopter before but this was a first for our health editor Jet and we both found it sensational. Being in a helicopter alone is already quite the experience but add the NY skyline, Governors Island, New Jersey, the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn into the mix and you can probably envision the numerous amounts of exhilarated ooh’s and aah’s we released. Once back ashore, we were suited up and ready to stroll on over past Wall Street towards Soho. A little bit of shopping and a little bit of wine drinking (and typing, cause we don’t drag around our laptops for fun) and then back to Harlem for dinner. We’ve only been here for a couple of days and still have over a week and a half to go, but I can already tell that our trip is too short. Nothing beats New York.
