January 20, 2015

new york day four: new year's day

so, not gunna lie- i had a rough start to this day.
this first photo is a reminder of how nauseous i was that morning, as we walked, again, to zabar's to pick up breakfast of bagels and chocolate croissants. i just could not stand any smells or sights and the hot/cold factor of the weather/ heater made me feel even more dizzy and sick-feeling. so while everyone went into zabar's to pick out juice and breakfast i was squatting outside by the tree in the photo behind me and this nice street vendor man let me borrow his chair for the few minutes i waited. he must have seen how dizzy and hungover i was because i was facepalm at that point. and i just to clarify, i had an entire bottle of champagne to ring in the new year. no lie. nothing even exciting went down, we seriously just hung out at our air bnb apartment and watched the ball drop and made a night of it with champagne (lotsss of it) and vodka shots chased with lipton tea...i vaguely remember that part. but i am a champagne lover! could drink it at every meal and with a straw. but it makes me a mad, yet very lovey and emotional drunk and i'm gunna have to work on that this year. note to self: 2 glass maximum

anyways, here is my batch of photos for our outs & abouts on new year's day in new york.
this particular day, if you couldn't have already guessed, was not my day to play photographer so i did not carry my camera, but i made my best attempt to capture some of the fun things we did later on in the day, as my pounding headache wore off, with my phone.

after breakfast, which we enjoyed i attempted to swallow down back at our apartment and next to the chilly window, but under a blanket (i'm telling you, hot, then cold, then hot, then cold) we ventured off to soho to find this one particular store my mom had been raving about called 'yellow rat bastard,' we made it & loved it! it was totally like an 'urban outfitters' but raunchier. they had hilarious tees & i found this cute souvenir shirt for me & this one for dek (because his name means 'palm tree' in hebrew). after shopping a bit (& walking a ton!) we enjoyed lunch in chinatown. it was a funny experience in chinatown, dining, shopping, everything is so awkward and weird, but it was a great experience and amazing food! after filling our bellies, we headed to grand central station- we all really wanted to go see it in person. the subway took us right to the station and we exited into one of the confusing concourses that headed to the 'main chamber.' it was enormous, beautiful and very detail-oriented, made me just stand, again, in awe of architecture and artistry. it was really packed in there and there was even protesting or something going on, so it was hustle & bustle, but i'm glad we got to see it in person. plus! there is this way cool secret that we tried, hence the photo of my mom talking to the wall below.

after our visit to the grand central station, we walked around times square a bit & then looked up where to go for dinner. mirelle found the meatball shop which was a few blocks away from our airbnb apartment so we made our way there from times square. they had a dim lit setting with festive greenery hanging everywhere, meat grinders hanging on the wall and an open view to where they made their balls. and their balls were damn good! we got balls, mashed potatoes and homemade cookies with ice cream for dessert. highly recommended if you ever have the chance to go!

hope you enjoy photos from my new year's day in nyc!

super hungover, chillin in a street vendors chair in the middle of the sidewalk
beautiful streets of soho
lunch in chinatown
grand central station

family photo!
the whispering gallery

 it's an impressive sight
 bryant park ice skating rink;
we enjoyed a bavarian style sea salt pretzel while watching people fall skate
 times square
 panoramic view
at the meatball shop

the most delishious balls!
 with the birthday girl
 my friend Lauren, brother Ben & sister Mirelle

thanks for reading! 

my last day in new york will be up soon & then i'll continue with regular posting, i just wanted to be sure to document my trip, day-by-day to share with you guys and to be able to look back on :)
hope you've enjoyed it!

January 14, 2015

new york day 3

this day was a random one for us, but it was really fun having no specific plan and just walking about the city. 

starting out in the upper west side, we hit up zabar's for breakfast (i'm telling you, we were there on the daily) and from there subwayed it to soho to walk the day away.  we got lost in the streets browsing vintage and second-hand shops & we accidentally ended up at the the beautiful washington square park, which was on my list of things to find anyways! there was even a pianist, which made it feel even more magical. after resting a bit (& drinking something warm & charging our phones!) at teavana we met up with my brother ben (which i recently nicknamed him: ben in the big apple) & he tour-guided us around the financial district. the buildings are so intricate and insanely gorgeous in this area,  i kept finding myself looking up, in awe of my surroundings. after seeing a few of the sights around there, like the "charging bull" & the NYSE, we subwayed it to right across the brooklyn bridge to eat at grimaldi's. service there took forever, like an hour plus for our pizza to come out & it really wasn't even all that great, but my mom & ben had eaten there before and wanted to go back. i still scarfed down two slices like it was nothing though, don't doubt. but since we were on the other side of the water, i wanted to snap a few night shots of manhattan. the wind was slapping me in the face and my eyes were watering like crazy, plus i had to be glove-less to balance my camera on a ledge in order not to shake, but i think i got some decent shots and the live view was unreal. we were "under the brooklyn bridge" and it felt amazing. 

hope you enjoy my photos!!

starting out the day with a selfie
"hammerboy" street art by banksy- upper west side
  washington square park
pretty rose petals for NYE on a sidewalk in soho
teavana pit stop; we had peach tranquility & youthberry. yum!


live music in the subway
walking around the financial district

   
"double check" statue by john seward johnson II - financial district 

 the "charging bull," so many people were crowding around to get a photo with this!

 NYSE
  view of manhattan from "under the brooklyn bridge"
the brooklyn bridge

thanks for reading!
more new york posts coming soon, hope you're not sick of them yet ;)

January 9, 2015

new york day two

for new york day two, after checking out taza's guide, we decided to venture toward chelsea to walk the highline, find chelsea market and dine at artichoke basille's(my friend molly recommended artichoke as well & it really was amazing!) but first, breakfast. zabar's was one short block away from us & was our go-to. they have anything you could want! it is a huge corner lot with a food store to pick up or sit on a stool & people watch bagels, danishes, lunch paninis, coffee or fresh juice while a different huge section is like a grocery store, but with fresh items, like olives, cheeses, meats, coffees, etc. this place was amazing and we ate there every morning. we stuck to the same thing almost daily, which was an everything bagel, chocolate croissant, coffee and OJ and if i lived near there i swear i would be a regular! it reaaalllyyyy crowded in there (hello, claustrophobia!) but somehow we managed to pounce right in time to grab a spot three spots each time. it was also reaaalllyyyy toasty in there! you're so bundled up from the cold outside that a few minutes after sitting down you feel the need to undress and peel off layers just to be comfortable. i always laughed to myself at the pile of coats, sweaters and bags we had next to us or under of chairs for the duration of the trip.

later on in the evening, after walking what seemed like the entire highline & chelsea market, we decided to treat ourselves to massages, which was amazing and relaxing. and after our 60-minute massages, we met up with my brother ben who lives near times square and he showed us around rockefeller center to see some of the holiday sights.

here are some photos from new york day two, if you would like to see:

this is my serious grub face
it was also reeeaaallllyyy bright!
zabars - W. 80th & N. Broadway
on the highline
all bundled up
street art
we popped into death ave. for a cup of warm liquid and to map our next move
 artists & fleas at chelsea market
the indoor marketplace is huge! lots to try and see...
beautifully decorated
we found it! & loved it!
we ordered the 17th street special, where are got to try 3 different slices
view of times square from h&m
giant christmas tree at rockefeller center
life-size christmas lights at rockefeller center
radio city

 & this is where day 2 ends.

i will try to post day 3 tomorrow, since it's my day off. 
thanks for reading!