Last night I returned from a two and half day trip to New York City. I wrote some of the marketing material for a Brooklyn based filmmaker, and the premier of the movie was in Times Square this past Tuesday night. One of my closest friends in the world lives in the West Village so I made the trip happen. Not only did I want to meet the filmmaker in person and attend the premier, but I so badly wanted to spend some time with my longtime friend. We had so much fun catching up, eating delicious food and frolicking about. I’m already trying to figure out how to get up there again. Below are 5 thoughts and 5 photos from the trip.
5 Thoughts
1). When I stepped outside LaGuardia airport, the sounds of the city hit me full blast. I love a cool, quiet Southern night in North Carolina, but I also love the hustle and bustle of a big city. The whistling, horn honking and other auditory chaos doesn’t bother me one bit. During the entire cab ride to my friend’s apartment, I rolled the windows down and soaked in the sights and sounds of New York City. Ahhhh.
2). My parents took us to New York several times when we were little and one thing I distinctly remember is shopping from the street vendors. Three vendors were on the street outside of my friend’s apartment. One of them was a Middle Eastern booth selling beautiful jewelry. We walked away with symbolic Indian rings. If you follow Zealous Mom on Instagram, you may seen the photo of our rings. They are so pretty and very meaningful. I also bought Brooks a really cool energy pyramid made from minerals. He loves collecting stones and minerals, so this was a perfect gift for him. I bought Case a souvenir too (a toy NYC ice cream truck) but not from a street vendor.
3). Have you ever heard of threading? It’s an alternative to getting one’s eyebrows waxed where someone uses thread to pull out the eyebrow hair from the follicle. I’ve always been curious about threading but for some reason thought it was super expensive. In New York, my friend encouraged me to get my eyebrows threaded. Wowzers. It’s quite painful but very affordable and is supposed to last much longer than waxing, so we will see. I couldn’t believe the technician’s skills. How does one even learn how to do such a thing?
4). Everyone always says people from the South are nice, and I think that’s true, but people from New York are super nice as well. Everywhere we went, people chatted us up and were more than friendly. In fact, I don’t think I encountered even one hateful or rude person. I love going to “faraway” places and learning that good people are good people, no matter where they live.
5). I decided that traditional sightseeing would not be a part of this trip. I’ve only seen my friend one time in seven years and that was at her wedding. Some time together was long overdue. We didn’t even entertain the thought of going to the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building or any of that. We did, however, explore the West Village and Meatpacking District. We ate the most delicious, fresh food I have eaten in a very long time. During all of our frolicking, we laughed, talked, reminisced and caught up on way too many years of lost time.
5 Photos
At the movie premier! It was super fun for this mom to get dressed up and wear heels.
Built in 1865, FDNY Squad 18 located in the West Village is one of the oldest fire stations in New York City. They’re celebrating 150 years in existence. The current squad helped refurbish the facade of the building. I love stuff like this.
Do you see the Empire State Building peeking through the Washington Square Arch? This park is a favorite for NYU students and West Village residents.
We stumbled upon this dive bar located in the bottom floor of a neighboring building. We walked in and had a drink. The bartender was the nicest girl ever, Rolling Stones was playing on the jukebox and I tried a Moscow Mule for the first time. Can’t beat a surprise experience like that.
Chelsea market is located in a historic baking factory located along the Hudson River. Inside are tons of delicious eateries, food vendors, art galleries and shops. I could eat lunch every day of my life at this place and not get sick of it. Fresh, organic, local foods. So yummy!
The trip went by entirely too quickly and gave me a taste of the West Village, which I adore. There’s so much more I want to explore. It was really fun to hang out like a local instead of feeling like a tourist. New York City truly is a special place, especially when one of my best friends lives there.
Until next time, New York! Thank you for a wonderful time.
So glad your trip went well! Can’t wait to hear more about it soon!