Thursday, September 27, 2012

New York, 2012

Guess what? There are people that you can spend every single second of seven days with, waking and sleeping, in a studio apartment with a single bathroom and you won't want to kill each other at the end. In fact, you will feel a little teary eyed at the airport and never want to leave. I find this hugely life affirming.

beer garden
{brooklyn beer garden}
basement books
{book basement at manetamed}
paletas on the highline
{paletas on the highline}
rach and beth on the highline
{prickly pear paleta}
stationary taco truck
{taco truck at fonda nolita}
jamaica
{really good jamaica (not sweet!) from fonda nolita}
goldsworthy at storm king
{goldsworthy at storm king art center}
poppy's in beacon, ny
{poppy's in beacon - i will be eternally devoted to the yelp app}
glass + sugar, storm king
{glass stained with caramelized sugar at storm king art center}
Cloud City (from D)
{Cloud City - photo of us ladies through the installation taken sneakily on D's phone, don't tell the Met!}
the penrose
{a very long happy hour at the penrose}
pickle martini
{pickle martinis!}
mard, in nyc
{dear friends}

We haven't had a full week of vacation in a while and it was amazing. We ate enough food for a month, we walked for hours, we managed to not hear a single snippet of news the whole time and we were so out of touch it was blissful.

It does, however, make it kind of difficult to go back to work and regular life. I miss my people. I'm convinced we were meant to live a life of leisure together and I'd like to know if the vast fortune that would enable us to do so was misdelivered. Universe, please look into this.

The point of our trip was to be together, but we managed to fit in a lot of activity on the side, including renting a car and making a day trip up to the Catskills for some museum-going. D drove in Manhattan, I managed not to cover my eyes the entire time and no one died. We also really wanted to make it to the Whitney for the Yayoi Kusama exhibit but were defeated by the line snaking around the block. This gave me the perfect opening to slip in a trip to the Natural History Museum, which I'd never been to before. I may run with a crowd of art lovers, but a few dioramas can be the perfect palate cleanser.

We wrapped up our trip with a missed flight. My first ever. We showed up at Newark just in time to board only to realize that our flight was leaving from JFK. So romantic comedy-esque! I considered divorcing Dustin, but couldn't convince myself that it was really his fault, seeing as we both had copies of the itinerary. One very expensive cab ride later, we made it on another flight on standby and boarded just in time to sit on the runway for 1.5 hours. I'm about 90% sure that all this was a sign that we're supposed to stay in New York forever.

A partial list of notables:
The Met (always)
The New Museum
The Natural History Museum
Running in Central Park (I always bring my running shoes on vacation and then sleep in instead. This time we slept in AND went running, which is clearly the solution, even though it meant our days started at noon)
Momofuku Noodle Bar and Momofuku Milk Bar IN ONE NIGHT(I may never recover)
Lots of pizza
Chinese take out
Brooklyn Flea followed by Brooklyn drinking and rambling
Mai tais and painkillers at PKNY (thank you, kidchamp)
Pickle martinis at The Penrose
Shake Shack (where I perversely ordered a hot dog)
Monument Lane in the West Village
Not-particularly-Cambodian but very delicious sandwiches at Num Pang
Tacos worth eating in NYC! (as a snobby southern californian, this was mind blowing. I've never before bothered trying to get mexican food on the east coast, but Fonda Nolita KILLS IT)
Paletas on the highline (I know how much it annoys people, but we walked the whole thing and it was awesome)
A new haircut for D at MANETAMED (caps theirs, not mine, but it deserves enthusiasm)
Window shopping in Nolita
Cafe con leche from Cafe Habana (twice)

And outside of the city: (If you opt for a rental car, I recommend going in this order and taking Google maps route 2 on the way home. The 9S was gorgeous)

Storm King Art Center
Poppy's (in Beacon) - such good burgers
Dia: Beacon

46 comments:

  1. You were up in my neck-of-the woods :) I live about 5 minutes away from Storm King Art Center but I haven't been in years...you've inspired me to visit again!

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  2. Ooh sounds fun. Did you stay in a hotel or with friends? Weekend trips to New York are always in the back of my mind, but I get overwhelmed with deciding where to stay and it never happens. Any recommendations would be appreciated!

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    1. I'm no help! We stayed with a friend. We briefly looked at hotels and were completely horrified by how expensive they are. I looked into renting an apartment, but apparently that is completely illegal in NYC and I chickened out.

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  3. Your trip looks and sounds like so much fun! I am glad it was a success. I like the sneeky cloud city photo!

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  4. THis post is making me NYC sick! Oh how I miss that place. I love all the things you did- next time you are in town and go to Cafe Habana get the corn... they also have an out post in BK which feel like an outdoor block party that is super fun to eat the corn and drink beers. And I will forever have a special place in my heart for Momofuku Milk Bar- our wedding cakes were from there!

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    1. I found out there's a Cafe Habana here in Malibu, so I might have to go check out our west coast version too! I'm sad we missed their corn (although the corn at Fonda Nolita was awesome).

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  5. LOL Hilarious story. I think if we missed an air flight, the cab ride would not be very enjoyable for the both of us. Glad you made wonderful memories!

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  6. I also wonder what happened to my unlimited fortune. I think it must be out there somewhere, just in the wrong hands. One day...

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  7. What did you have at the Milk bar? Is it as good as they are saying?

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    1. We had a lot of things, which may have been the issue! We tried the compost cookie, the cornflake cookie, the corn cookie, the cake batter truffles, the crack pie and the candy bar pie (we were sharing and we didn't finish anything, but it was still too much).

      I liked the corn cookie the best, was not a big fan of the compost cookie that most people adore. The crack pie was good, and the cake batter truffles did taste exactly like cake batter, which is a plus for me.

      Honestly, I'm not sure I would go back. The desserts were SWEET, which I never thought I would complain about, but they just weren't my favorite. I like a little more contrast, I think. I enjoyed them, but I haven't been dreaming about them or wishing I could have more.

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    2. Ha! OK. So I shouldn't really worry about not finding time to visit the place on my last trip to NY, especially when SWEET is not really my kind of thing..I assume it's ok to give it a try but don't expect something lifechanging, huh?

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    3. Yeah, our group consensus was that it was good but not mindblowing. BUT, so many people rave about it that it's probably worth a stop at some point, just to see if you agree with them instead of me!

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  8. hoo-ray! you guys did all the good stuff. i'm overly pleased that you went to fonda nolita. crispy.fish.tacos. your upstate adventure looks just right. james and i have got to make it to storm king. next time: drinks with e & j!

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    1. I know! We were recluses this trip. Or, I guess not recluses. Just clique-y? Next time ...

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  9. "We showed up at Newark just in time to board only to realize that our flight was leaving from JFK"

    Yeah, we did that exact thing in Paris - went to De Gaulle instead of Orly. It made for an exciting, but long and expensive, Valentine's Day.

    I'm glad you loved it in New York - I'm headed there next month. A month tomorrow, in fact :)

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  10. thank god you were there to care for nyc in our absence. thank you, my dear - and i'm so glad you had a wonderful time (and came so close to our place! walk straight down grand from PKNY 'til you hit river, and that's us!). i will yoink your storm king rec, try to give wacky ol' yayoi your best, and make offerings to the travel gods until they let us coincide. (hello from reykjavik! it is windy as hell here tonight, and the bingo lakkris-kulur is especially tooth-crackin'.)

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    1. We attempted to wear the city out for you, but I'm not sure we succeeded. I knew you were close to the bar, but not sure where. I attempted to triangulate based on the view from your Christmas postcard but no one else seemed to think it was a critical mission.

      Enjoy all that licorice for me!

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  11. oh i wish i had known you were in new york! i'm actually hoping to go to storm king for the first time this weekend.

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    1. Go! It's so much fun and worth the drive. We also looked into the train, but with three people the cost of tickets and then the cab would have us breaking even with a car rental, so we went the easy route.

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  12. This sounds so wonderful! I too felt the desire to run in central park but instead we walked and photographed on a hot summer's day. If I lived nearby... well that would be amazing. So much goodness and the way you tell the story is so great and funny. Hooray for food and walking holidays and great people!

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    1. I would definitely choose walking over running in the summer! It was nice and cool while we were there, so we had no excuse.

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  13. so glad you found fonda nolita. and cafe habana. also, the best happy hours are those that are started early.

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  14. It was so lovely to see you guys! And I had no idea the highline was enraging the locals! I tell everyone who visits NYC to check it out. Part of the problem, I am. ;)

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  15. Why on earth would the Highline annoy people? People are strange.

    N and I spent 3 weeks in a studio appartment. I wanted to kill him a couple of times. I was pregnant though. That's my pass card.

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    1. Okay, I read the article. I can see why it might piss people off. We went three times though and it was never once even a little bit crowded. It was impossible to get a sandwich nearby that didn't cost $25 though.

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    2. True. $4 popsicles and $15 glasses of wine still shock me. It always takes me a while to adjust to NYC prices.

      Being pregnant in a studio apt is not. the. same. I'm assuming. Also, having three people somehow makes it easier. Provided you really adore the third person.

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    3. I have been such an advocate of the High Line........ but that article did make me feel a little better about finally selling my apartment in the neighb.

      :/

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  16. Oh my, I just had a lovely little mini trip to NYC just by reading your post entry! Sounds like you and your people had a wonderful time. Your pictures are great. Thanks for sharing.

    Loulou

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  17. Love that taco truck, looks pretty awesome!

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  18. Wow, really great write-up! I don't live far from NYC but this just made me want to visit... Thanks for sharing with us!

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  19. Absolutely FANTASTIC post. I'm bookmarking it so when I got to NYC in the winter I can hit up some of your list. Thanks for your thoughts.

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  20. Looks amazing, how wonderful to have a whole week to see everything you want to!

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  21. It sounded like a blast! I can't believe you went to wrong airport, that must of been so stressful (but makes for a great story).

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  22. your blog is so simple and simplistic. love it.

    http://everythingsalwayssunny.blogspot.com

    kristin
    xx

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  23. Sounds like so much fun! I've never been to New York so I'm always a lil jealous when I hear other peoples' amazing stories ;-)

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  24. a life of leisure, food and fun with my husband and friends is clearly also what i'm meant to be living. i don't understand how it's passed me by..

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  25. utterly fabulous! i want to have that trip some day.

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  26. I really like the shape of the martini glass!

    Xx
    www.pretpenser.com
    www.pretpenser.com

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  27. I always love weekend trips. So did you stay there in a hotel or with friends? Enjoy all that licorice! xoxo
    ~ Herman Swan

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  28. heyo rachel! just landed on your blog courtesy of bigbang. love it! and i agree with your closing statement... i take every occurrence in new york as a sign from the gods that i'm destined to live there. aren't we all?

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  29. hopefully I'll make it to NY one day :) and now I want it even more, after reading this post and looking at all those amazing photos!

    Marta @ An Interesting Distraction

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  30. What a post! What a blog! A feast ... glad that the storm-palooza gives an opportunity to stay in and dive into your archives

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  31. Looked like a wonderful time! Food and drinks look so much better in NYC. . . it's really the best vacation spot!!!! Make for exciting days.

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