I am the fool who thought it would be a good idea to go to New York City the week after returning from Paris and London. It sounded good in theory, you know that jet setting life that we all thought we would be living after college. Well, that life is only good in theory because I am TIRED. Despite still dragging from all of these travels I still must recap my trips here on BGWB for you all. So here is what happened when I spent about 36 hours in New York City!’
Back at it again!
Why I Went
So my super talented cousin Kevin Laroy starred in the last season of Ink Master!!! He made it pretty far and asked all of us to come to the finale to support him. Even though he had already been eliminated, we thought it would be a worthwhile trip. By virtue of being his guest, we were “VIP” and got to stand close to the stage. Yes, this is the one instance where “VIP” meant you had to stand for the entire show and the hours leading up to it. Despite my sore feet it was incredibly fun and my cousin probably had the largest cheering section. It was also cool to see all of the “magic” behind a reality tv show. That is one for the bucket list!
Where I Stayed
If you have followed my blog for a while you may recall that all of my recent travels have involved an Airbnb! I stayed in one in twice in Los Angeles, then Denver and New Orleans. With five people in our group an Airbnb seemed to be the best bet right?? Wrong. I picked an upper Manhattan “two bedroom” apartment on Airbnb weeks in advance. The spot was budget friendly and the host seemed personable. When we arrived all of these good omens went right out the window *pun intended and you’ll see why*
Our plan was to drop our stuff off and hit the streets right? Wrong again. We hauled our stuff into the Airbnb. As the last one inside I went to close the front door and the door knob fell in my hand. IN MY HAND! I started having a mini panic attack because there was no way to open the door now. I immediately call the host who instructs us to “crawl out of the window” to leave the apartment. A New York window y’all.
To say I was livid would be an understatement. We decided to leave and get a hotel for obvious safety reasons. I called the host and calmly broke it down to him how he had me messed up. He then says “cool, but I’m still charging you for tonight.” I saw RED and had to go into a whole “I am a lawyer and NOT the one” rant. Let’s just say it was not pretty.
The doorknob :/
The window -_-
Not to be outdone I called Airbnb to let them know the deal, which ensured I got EVERY penny back. I also dropped a dime on the host for labeling this Airbnb as a two bedroom, but really just stuffing a bed and dresser into the living room! *sticks tongue out at host* So, what you need to know before booking Airbnb is that if stuff goes awry, all they can do is book you in another Airbnb and at midnight that’s not possible. They do not seem to have hotel relationships for emergencies! For us, finding a hotel at midnight in New York was quite a task though. We were nearly homeless! Hotels.com came through and we ended up staying at the Pod Hotels. It ended fine, but I must share this horror story so this does not happen to you!
The Christmas tree at my cousin’s hotel. He had nice digs.
What I Saw
We had about 36 hours to see as much as possible. Our first night was a wash because of Airbnb. The next day we slept in and then hit the town. We walked to Times Square because while corny it has a quintessential New York feel.
Then we headed over to the Rockefeller tree to live out our Home Alone 2 dreams. Can I just say that the tree was looking a little sparse? Maybe it always looked that way in real life and just fuller on television.
What I Ate
Based on our schedule, I knew I would only be able to have quick foodie adventures. After the disastrous Airbnb experience we hit up Tick Tock, the 24/7 diner connected to my cousin’s hotel. One thing I learned this go around is restaurants in New York do not subscribe to that whole “the city never sleeps” moniker. Tick Tock was literally the only thing we found open.
The next day I grabbed a cheap slice of pizza from Brother’s Pizza. It was pretty good considering it cost a buck and some change.
As we made our way to Times Square my eye caught Carlos Bake Shop and I fan girled out. I am a sucker for a reality tv show tourist shop! We tried a few things and honestly they were just okay. I never want to judge a spot by their Times Square location though. I will have to make my way out to Hoboken location eventually.
During our stop at Rockefeller Center we grabbed food from some of the many spots there. The one that stands out though was Harry’s Italian. This was really good pizza that had flavor throughout the crust.
Finally, our last day we had lunch at Inside Park at St. Bart’s before heading to the airport. I ordered the lobster mac and cheese for my entree. I still am not sold on mac and cheese being an entree, but this dish was pretty good. Creamy with a nice portion of lobster throughout!
Overall
My trip to NYC was brief but I like to share my life on my blog so here we are. It just ensured that I will be making a foodie trip back to NYC sooner than later 🙂
That slice of pizza from Brothers looks damn good! I miss those NY hole in the wall pizza prices with a can of soda. Very easy to find good inexpensive eats in the City. But you’re right about it not being the city that never sleeps. I have walked right by Times Square in the wee hours of the morning and it is so quiet, nothing I saw was open and it was a little eeiry being one of the few out and about yet kind of peaceful.
Yes! That saying is such a myth! Everything shut down by like 12am. I think my college town stayed open later than that!
Sorry to hear about your Airbnb! That dude was trifling for saying you had to climb out the window -___-. Yeah, Times Square is a bit deadlate night, but rest assured that there’s plenty of late-night spots to hit up if you leave Times Square/Midtown! Try Coppelia next time -it’s a 24 hr Cuban diner with great drinks in Chelsea. And Carlos’s Bake Shop is overrated-even the one in Hoboken. Been there, tried that smh. I find the best bakeries are in Harlem and outside Manhattan!
Although you had 36 hours in NYC you got alot accomplished. I actually live in Harlem and a food blogger as well here in NYC. Hit me up if you ever need recommendations or check out districtconfidential.com