When I was 20 years old, I went travelling with my friends for the summer. We’d been inter-railing the year before, exploring Holland, France and Italy, and it gave us the bug for train travel. Thus, we decided to head for a place that had always fascinated me - the US of A. I’d been once previously, to Florida with my parents. But despite not being of legal drinking age, two friends and I plotted out a train route that would take us from Boston to Los Angeles with myriad stops along the way (including Albuquerque, New Mexico and Las Vegas, Nevada.)
Looking back, we were kinda crazy. We were three girls crossing such an enormous country with wheelie suitcases, shiny new credit cards we got on Freshers Week and clunky mobile phone we weren’t even sure worked over there. We weren’t remotely well off, but the year was 2006 and the Celtic Tiger was roaring. Everybody was spending like their lives depended on it, even ordinary students with part-time jobs. I didn’t realise then that I’d be paying off the ice cream I charged to Mr Visa for years to come, but being young and dumb is par for the course, right?
That trip was my first taste of New York City. It was our second stop, so we were still bright eyed and bushy tailed. We took one look at the squalid hostel we’d booked and high-tailed it to the nearest self-catering apartments (which were actually very reasonably priced and fantastically located on the Upper West Side). We flirted with firefighters (New York’s finest!), paid full whack for terrible Broadway tickets and lost ourselves in the souvenir shops of Sixth Avenue. It was true love at first sight.
I remember very vividly walking out of Penn Station in to arguably the worst part of Manhattan, the smelliest, noisiest part of Midtown, and thinking - WOW. It was like nowhere I’d ever seen or heard before, a city with a life force all of its own. I was a goner there and then, googly-eyed over the yellow cabs and street meat vendors. Without sounding ridiculous or hyperbolic, it felt like coming home. Get me drunk one night and ask me about my past lives if you want a really good yarn, will ya?
Anyway, that was the first of many, many trips over the last 17 years - now that I count them up, I’ve averaged one visit a year since then. I’m thinking about New York today for several reasons; as I type, it’s 9/11 and like everyone alive that day, what I saw on tv that day in 2001 will be etched in to my memory for ever. It’s New York Fashion Week, and all the fabulous mag hags and influencers are trekking around the island decked out in the latest trends. I’ve been watching the new RHONY (not a patch on the old one, but decent!), AJLT, and my roster of NYC rom coms. And best of all, I’m going once again in exactly 30 days.
New York City means a lot to me. It’s where I hard launched my then-boyfriend, now husband on our first ever trip together. It’s where I celebrated my 30th birthday, where I bought my wedding dress (in Kleinfeld’s, natch). It’s where I realised a past relationship was definitely 100% over and that I had to end it. It’s where I’ve had some of the best meals of my life, the greatest days, the worst hangovers. I’ve experienced every kind of weather there, from scalding heat to a polar vortex where the entire city shut down - even the Starbucks and McDonalds in Time Square, which I didn’t even think had doors.
I’ve been to fashion week shows, I’ve spotted celebrities, I’ve attended a fan convention, I’ve watched WWHL being taped. I’ve sat on Carrie’s stoop, shopped at Tiffanys and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. I’ve experienced every season, every neighbourhood, almost every cuisine.
I feel like I’ll spend some time living there in the not too distant future, doing god knows what. Ideally I’d like to spend my rich old lady era there, if such an era is on the cards. I quite simply love New York, and here are just some of the reasons why…
*The convenience. People who are afraid of a 15 minute city, why do you hate things being easy? What’s wrong with having everything you need in a five block radius, and then a whole throbbing metropolis just beyond?
*The culture, and by that I mean it’s the perfect mix of high/low and thus very much a bit of me. I want to spend $30 on a cocktail and $3 on a pizza slice. I want to go to the Met and then to a dive bar in Alphabet City. It has the best of the best in terms of art, music, theatre, and then the guiltiest of pleasures to balance it all out. I will happily go to a Broadway musical and revel in the talent, the star power, the sets, and then spend the night screaming show tunes in Marie’s Crisis Cafe where the drinks are $6 and stronger than Hercules.
*The people. Every culture, religion, race and creed represented, but all of them New Yorkers. The authenticity of the older immigrants sticking around to influence the new. The term ‘melting pot’ is thrown around too much, but that’s what New York is. Rich or poor, scraping by or shmoozing society, there’s something scrappy in every single one of them. A hope of success and a desire for it, but also just a happiness at being there.
*How it looks. I think New York is the most beautiful city in the world, and I say that safe in the knowledge that the streets teem with garbage and the weather turns on a dime. All of the best photos I’ve ever taken are from there. The vista is breathtaking, the architecture divine, the skyline inimitable. It is gorgeous, and I love looking at it.
*The variety. I have stayed uptown, downtown, midtown, Chinatown, both villages, Meatpacking, NoMad, Chelsea, Williamsburg, Soho, Noho, Hell's Kitchen and Tribeca. No two neighbourhoods are the same. All of them are amazing in their own way. Where would I live if money was no object? I couldn’t pick! Don’t make me!
*The food. What’s hot becomes cool and then becomes old so quickly in New York, but there are some old reliables I’ll visit again and again, like Joe’s Pizza on Father Demo Square, the Blue Ribbon Brasserie in the Village and Sistina on the Upper East Side. Places I’m VERY excited to try this time include Carbone, Jacob’s Pickles, Faiccos, Pop Up Bagels, Emmets and Scarrs.
*The drinks. NYC bars are something else, from the ritzy old skool glamour of Bemelmans to happy hour negronis at Dante and picklebacks at The Whiskey. One place I DO NOT RATE in the slightest is the infamous Dead Rabbit. I know it’s won best bar in the world, but we went for my 30th and all of us were like ???!!!! We asked the waitress what made it the best, and she said “self worth”. You can imagine the craic we had with that. On the hit list this time - Rays, The Campbell, Nine Orchard, Polo Bar.
*The shopping. From Christmas tree decorations to drug store hauls to supermarket sprees to vintage finds, I always come back from NYC with something FABULOUS. Last year it was a one of a kind bedazzled military parka from a pop up on Madison Ave, and a fold up pumpkin shopping tote from Trader Joes. High/low, see?
*THE SUPERMARKETS. They deserve their own category. I know there are Trader Joes all over the coastal states, but the best ones are in NYC. One of them has a little trolley escalator. I love Fairway, the bodegas, Zabars, Citarella, Morton Williams, Westside Market. I’m bad enough in supermarkets here (Aldi is my happy place), but I go a bit feral when I go inside a grocery store in NY. Even Target there makes me dizzy, it’s not like the ones in Florida or Chicago.
So what are my best tidbits of advice for professional New York tourists like myself? Because of course, visiting with some savings is very different to actually living there. So many of my New York-based pals don’t have the time, money or inclination to visit some of the best bits. So….
*Book a couple of hotels in different neighbourhoods. I like an uptown/downtown divide, so this time we’re doing Upper East and Soho. Each neighbourhood is a totally different experience. Don’t do what we always end up doing, and get pissed the night before you have to change hotel. No bueno.
*Use the subway. It’s amazing, especially for getting to and from the outer boroughs. We’ve been to Coney Island, Astoria, Greenpoint, Brooklyn Heights for like $2. But when going to and from the airport, it’s worth it to splurge on an Uber. We’ve had a couple of dodgy yellow taxi experiences and anything else is a lot of faff with suitcases etc. Budget for that, each way!
*WALK. New York is the most walkable city ever, it’s a literal grid and very difficult to get lost, especially in the numbered streets. It’s my dream place to ramble around, taking it all in. There’s nothing like it.
*Make reservations, but don’t be too rigid. Check the prices before you sit down anywhere because they can vary wildly. Tipping is MINIMUM 15% now, 20% is the norm for decent service. Most places accept walk-ins, especially earlier in the evening. Most bars do decent food, and the stuff from the delis and coffee shops is great. Like I said above, not everything there has to cost the earth. Joe and I have developed an unfortunate “snack bagel” habit for walking around. Hopefully one cancels out the other and my heart won’t give up because of the cream cheese (they call it a shmear) in my veins. But sometimes we don’t feel like a big sit down dinner and will grab a Chipotle or hit a diner, and they’re just great. New York diners are one of my favourite things in the whole wide world.
*GO DOWNTOWN. So many people travel to New York, spend their entire trip between Chelsea and the Met, and don’t venture outside the touristy spots. You are doing yourself a disservice and only seeing a minute part of what the city has to offer. On classic RHONY, they talk about not going below 14th St because the weather is different there. That’s classic snobby nonsense. Go everywhere! See everything!
*Take the ferries. The East River one handily deposits you right in to hipster Brooklyn and has incredible views. The Staten Island one goes past the Statue of Liberty and is a fraction of the price of an Ellis Island cruise. That said, we did a Bateaux New York dinner sailing one Christmas when I had the flu and was off my box on Nytol.. I wish I had the photos we posed and paid for to hand.
*Look for bargains. You can go to lots of tv show tapings for free, get same day Broadways tickets at the famous TKTS booths. Even going to the cinema in New York is an experience, my favourite is the AMC Lincoln Square made famous in You’ve Got Mail. It’s claaaaaass. Lots of the museums are included in the cityPASS, as well as tall building lookouts. The Empire State is the classic, but there’s Top of the Rock, EDGE Hudson Yards and Summit One Vanderbilt, too (we’re going there this time). I love a good bus tour, too - I’ve done The Sopranos, Sex and the City and the Big Red.
*Take photos. Everything is wonderful, from the street art to the buildings to the fresh produce on display. The neon, the changing weather and skies… ugh. I ache.
Yes, I know I should broaden my travel horizons. I’ve been to New York seventeen times but I’ve never been to Asia. It’s wrong, I get it. But the heart wants what it wants, and my heart hearts New York, forever.
I love your posts, Vicki - they're always so relatable and relevant to my interests. Really want to book a trip to NY STAT after that!
Hey Vicki! I am thinking of going to New York in the future! When is your favourite time of year to visit? I wanted maybe go visit this Christmas but worried it'll be too cold and busy! I would appreciate any insight/advice! Thank you :)