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We fly out tomorrow afternoon. We’ve seen all our must-sees, so we’re spending our last weekend in our favourite part of NYC – the Lower East Side. We’ve been living in this part of town for almost two weeks, but we’re still discovering little gems every time we step outside our front door.
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The day started with an early morning visit to the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building – what a view!
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After an emphatic recommendation for Clinton Street Baking Co, we set off there for brunch. Yes, we had to wait for a table (on a Thursday morning!) but wow, was it worth the visit. Eggs Florentine with hollandaise sauce and blueberry pancakes with warmed maple butter and a side of double-smoked bacon.
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Buying an umbrella when on holidays always feels like admitting defeat. But after two consecutive days of dodging raindrops, we knew today was the day to cough up. With our matching $3 umbrellas, we visited the New Museum (solid), the Mr Brainwash exhibition (cool) and a handful of galleries in Chelsea who hadn’t closed for the end of summer (generally disappointing).
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We walked. A lot. We got to the Met, didn’t feel confident the rooftop sculpture garden would be open because of the rain, so walked alongside Central Park, through Midtown, had a late lunch at Times Square, kept walking downtown, caught a train for a few stops (no that’s not cheating!), then walked around SoHo.
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An hour or two at a day spa is a fabulous way to start the day – we highly recommend it. Follow that with a long afternoon at MoMA and you’re in for a day of pure indulgence. Especially when said MoMA visit includes a two-course lunch at their restaurant and intensive study of their gift shops. Bliss
So many markets, so little time. On Saturday we started with the Hester Street Fair – nice little mix of outside stands and had my first ice cream sandwich. Caught a train to Brooklyn for the Artists & Fleas market. Lots of stalls crammed into two adjoined buildings on 6th Street. Got an original artwork and a belt. Walked through the Williamsburg area to reach the Backyard Bazaar – a few stalls out the back of a shop. Nice ties but no purchasing.
On Sunday we caught a bus to the New Amsterdam Market. Heaps of fantastic food stands under a bridge. Porchetta rolls OMG! Walked past the World Trade Centre to Battery Park to get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. Then the rain started. We caught two buses and got soaked so we could return to the market for lobster rolls. They were worth the trip, but they couldn’t match the perfection of those first porchetta rolls and their slow-roasted salty fatty porkiness.
We really got lucky with our accommodation. We’re staying with a lovely local, we have air-conditioning and the apartment is located in the Lower East Side right near Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown. We realised Soho warranted some further investigation and boy did it pay off. Cafe Gitane on Mott Street is our new favourite lunch spot. Best couscous ever and hibiscus iced tea was a revelation. Fantastic shoe shops, fun clothes shops and a great little art and photography book shop.
Times Square. Whoa. It was so bright we needed shades.
Concept stores. Some rock, others fall flat. Tokidoki was a little disappointing. Their capsule store was really cramped and not at all conducive to browsing. Kid Robot is coooool. Lots of little collectibles and a bunch of mega giant fibreglass characters. We might go back to Kid Robot tomorrow night for the launch of the Dunny 2010 collection (we’re very busy people, it’s too early to commit). We were surprisingly restrained and left empty-handed today.
The weirdest purchase of the day was a box of bacon caramel toffee covered in 42% cacao milk chocolate… only in America? The thought of trying it fills me with a mix of excitement and dread. Review to follow in coming days so stay tuned.
We also walked along the High Line – a disused railway bridge that has been converted into a public park. They’ve done an amazing job of integrating the train tracks and urban aesthetic into the garden design and the breeze up there was a sweet relief given the heat we endured walking the streets of New York. Cool views of the Hudson River and across the city skylines.
