New York, New York
My flight to New York City was a welcome change, during a year where I nearly didn’t travel abroad. Between the demands of my work in the scenic dept. on set for Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities and everything else stacked up on my plate, I haven’t had much time to myself in the past 12 months. I flew to Manhattan with my partner eager to take some time off, take care of some business and share in the cultural magnificence of one of the greatest cities in the world.
We stayed at an Air Bnb hotel in the heart of Manhattan. The location was fantastic, however the noisy neighbours at the hotel made the stay impossible to enjoy for the first two nights and we barely got any sleep. On our first day I explored Manhattan mostly solo, taking a stroll to Bryant Park, visiting the Christmas Market and the New York Public Library . I have never been to the NYPL prior to this trip and was excited to stumble upon the Treasures exhibit during my visit. The show is free to the public and houses some of the world’s greatest artifacts related to the world of literature and beyond. Tears of joy welled up in my eyes as I saw the original stuffed toys that A. A. Milne gave to his son, Cristopher Robin, the inspiration behind Winnie the Pooh - one of my favourite childhood books. There they were: Winnie, Piglet, Rabbit, Eyore, perched up on boxes behind glass. Further in the hall were the first minted copies of the Bible, Beethoven’s sheet music, Virginia Woolfe’s cane, Malcolm X’s suitcase, and John James Audobon’s Birds of America. The treasures in the hall could not be numbered, there were so many, one more impressive than the other. I left the exhibit in sheer awe of their magnificence and promptly returned that evening before the Library closed to share these Treasures with my partner.
Treasures Exhibit at the NYPL
The original toys which inspired the Winnie the Pooh books
In the afternoon I strolled down fifth avenue and popped into Barnes and Noble and the Tissot flagship store where I treated myself to a beautiful watch I had been eyeing for a few months. Before long I was joined by my partner and we took a long walk through Central Park enjoying the sights and the sounds of NY drummer Cyzon Griffin before going for dinner.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
The next few days flew on by. We explored the Metropolitan Museum, the American Natural History Museum, climbed to the top of the Empire State Building on the most perfect and sunny of days and basked in the glory of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I made a brief visit to Greenwich village to see a friend I met at a yoga teacher training in Bali four years ago and spent an afternoon in Chelsea gallery hopping. In the evenings we enjoyed hot ciders at the Hook’d on the Hudson outdoor patio overlooking the Hudson River and got lost in each others company. It was a full five days of wonder, adventures and hot oversized New York pizza pies from our local Italian pizzeria Vito’s Slices and Ices.
A talented artist we met at the Metropolitan Museum, sketching one of the statues
Random New York Travel Tips
(I am not affiliated or sponsored by any of the services I recommended here)
If you’re flying in from Toronto I would recommend Air Canada. their flights are generally quite pleasant and we enjoyed the inflight service and entertainment.
We used Uber to get to our hotel from the airport as it was the easiest to figure out service of transport available.
If you are planning to see at least 3 major city attractions, buy yourself a New York City Pass. Your tickets will be slightly discounted and much easier to book from the City Pass site.
The City of New York provides free PCR testing with a 24hr result turnaround. They have tables set up on the streets in the Manhattan core, so if you’re planning to return to your country and need to show a PCR test, this will save you around $150 - $200
If your Air Bnb reservation isn’t as advertised and there is a serious issue, notify the platform immediately, as they’re obliged to fix the issue or find you a new hotel. If you book your hotel using a VISA credit card they can offer you protection if any issues arise with your hotel. Air Bnb won’t be of any help if you don’t contact them immediately.
Many of the food trucks don’t have prices on the menu items. When ordering from a food truck ask the price before you make the order, otherwise you run the risk of paying whatever the owner of the truck decides you can afford … $20 fries anyone? ;)
If you are staying at a hotel that cannot provide luggage storage on the day of your return flight and you need to store luggage during the day, we found a great app called Luggage Hero which allows you to safely store your luggage at low rates in certified locations all around the city.
If you are planning to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Arts give yourself at least 4 hours. To properly enjoy the entire museum will take you a full day.
If you’re a coffee aficionado, visit artisan coffee shops like Grind NYC to get your daily fill of caffeine. NYC offers a wide variety of awesome unique coffee spots with great coffee.
If you’re in Greenwich Village check out Bluestone Lane. It’s an Aussie style cafe and it was wildly delicious. Those turmeric lattes <3
If you are a lover of Poke , we really loved Red Poke (a local Korean Poke bowl chain)
If you want to try a real New York Pizza, we recommend Vito’s Slices and Ices. We happened to be staying right across from it and it was our go to daily guilty pleasure.
Tipping is an old American custom. Wherever you go, attendants, bellboys and clerks will go out of their way to help you with anything you need, but don’t forget to tip them for their efforts!
Manhattan is best enjoyed by foot, so bring comfortable footwear and be prepared for long walks. On the days we explored the city, I averaged about 15-20 kilometres a day on foot. We discovered so many cool little shops, cafes and nooks that we would’ve otherwise missed!
In Partnership with Tropical Nomad Coworking Space