New York City in a (Long) Weekend: Part Onefeatured

It always begins the same way: someone gets restless. Someone finds a good deal. Someone takes an idea and runs with it.

When I say “someone,” I’m usually referring to myself. I got restless. I found a good deal. I took an idea and ran with it.

My next trip felt too far away and I needed to go somewhere. American had $220 RT fares to LaGuardia. Stephanie had a long weekend for President’s Day weekend. Mom casually brings up wanting to go to New York a few times a month. The stars just kind of aligned on this one.

We booked our airfare just over a month out. It didn’t leave a lot of time for planning, but even though it’d been nearly five years since our last trip to New York, we didn’t really need to plan all that much. Hotel. Show tickets. That was kind of it. Everything else could be left to whim (and weather). I ordered some new camera equipment and listened to Empire State of Mind more times than I’d care to admit and, as usual, I put off packing until the night before we left.

And so it began, a couple of days before Valentine’s Day, when I woke up and looked out the window to see clear skies that looked perfect for eastbound travel.

I hate cabs for reasons that aren’t entirely rational, so I dragged my suitcase on a bus, a train and then another bus to work, where time moved by so slowly and then too quickly.

There are two options to get to O’Hare from downtown Chicago: you can drive (or be driven) or you can take the Blue line. Getting any kind of luggage that you can’t carry in your hands or on your back onto the Blue line subway is a hassle and a half, but on any given day depending on traffic, the Blue line is almost always quicker, it leaves you off literally in the basement of O’Hare where it never takes me more than five minutes to get to the American Airlines check-in area and above anything else, it’s, like, less than three bucks. I left my office downtown about fifteen minutes after Stephanie and Mom left Mom’s house in the suburbs and we made it to check-in around the same time.

The flight

We all passed through security much quicker than I had anticipated for a Friday afternoon leading off a holiday weekend and were left with about an hour to wander around O’Hare. We’re spoiled, having O’Hare as our home airport, because there’s always so much to see and do and try and buy and eat. There are dozens of restaurants and bars and shops and distractions that keep me from thinking too much or too hard about throttling through the sky at hundreds of miles an hour in a tube made out of metal.

The gate we were departing from was already crowded, so we grabbed some seats and waited for the gate agents to start working their way through standby and upgrade requests to gate check our luggage.

Mom wanted to hang by the gate, so Stephanie and I went and wandered. We hit the Vosges Haut Chocolat shop (where they always offer a sample of the most decadent chocolate this side of the Great Lakes) and bought a bar of their Pink Himalayan Crystal Salt Carmel chocolate to share on the plane. We made a stop at a bagel shop to grab Mom a sandwich and then walked over to the Wolfgang Puck Express stand to grab a salad (for me) and a sandwich (for Stephanie) and some bottles of water, figuring we’d have an early dinner on the plane since we’d be landing late and didn’t know what we’d be up for.

Our phones started buzzing with messages from Mom. “They’re going to start boarding, girls. Get back. Now.” And then they were. A group of dozens hovered around the boarding area. Too excited to sit and wait? Really hoping for good overhead space? We boarded with Group 2. I always feel like I’m boarding the Apollo 13 when we walk through the gate and onto the plane.

First class seats were too expensive to justify for a short flight where we weren’t planning on checking multiple large pieces of luggage, so we booked the seats with the empty middle. On some of American’s 738’s, the middle seat is blocked off in rows 16 and 17 because if those four seats were occupied, they’d have to staff another flight attendant. The seats are sold as Preferred Seats, the same price as booking a window seat or an aisle seat in the first 18 rows of the plane (usually an extra $20-$25), but you get the added comfort of not fighting over the armrest with a stranger (or, you know, your sister).

Even more exciting than the two bonus cup holders strapped across the empty seat between us was the fact that we were flying on one of the new American planes, with personal entertainment units and USB and traditional power ports in the seatback. The free entertainment options are incredibly limited (premium packages with more options from premium channels are in tiered levels starting at $4) and American isn’t quite reaching the Virgin America standard I hold in-flight entertainment to (yet), but this is a huge step in the right direction. Four for you, post-merger American Airwayslines.

Our flight took off a minute or two early (…how often does THAT happen?) and before we knew it, we were surrounded by blue skies and fluffy white clouds.

Once we leveled off, I pulled out my salad and got ready to dig in. Let me preface this part by saying that this wasn’t just any salad. This was a Wolfgang Puck Chicken Chinois salad. This is, like, a gold tier level salad. One of my top ten favorite salads (and I like salad so much that I actually have a list of top ten favorite salads). And as I pulled my salad out of the bag, I realized that my salad was the only thing in the bag. They forgot to throw in the silverware (…after asking us if we wanted silverware at checkout and receiving a response in the affirmative).

There I sat, with one of the ten best salads sitting in front of me, and no fork. Or spoon (because I totally could have made that work). I would have had a fork because I seem to always have plastic forks in my purse, but, of course, I cleaned out my purse in preparation for this trip. So I’m sitting there pouting and trying to figure out how uncouth it would be to eat this salad caveman style and what the chances are that Stephanie would one day bring this up in some embarrassing rehearsal dinner speech, Mom’s across the aisle still trying to figure out how to turn the television on, completely oblivious to my consternation, and Stephanie’s laughing at the fact that I’m this stressed out over a salad. Lesson learned, Wolfgang Puck Express: I will check the bag for the fork before I leave your airport stand, and I will forever travel during traditional meal times with an extra plastic fork.

An angel in fashionable black pumps soon appeared and plucked a fork from her cart of wonders, saving the day. Stephanie ordered a round of wine for the two of us and between the two of them, I’m pretty sure they single-handedly saved my long weekend.

By the time I had the fork, we were already starting our descent. The only thing faster than the flight was the speed by which I tried to consume this salad. Halfway in, I threw in the towel, which was just as well because the Statue of Liberty and the lights of lower Manhattan beckoned us from outside the window, welcoming us back.

Welcome to New York

I bounced off the plane, occasionally busting out some Taylor Swift Welcome to New York lyrics. I came to a stop in front of a large display of brochures (because BROADWAY) when Stephanie started whispering sharply to me to drag my attention away. “Nicole! Look over there! Do you see her?” Her was Lea DeLaria from Orange is the New Black and she was nearly through security before I could figure out who Stephanie was spazzing out over. We were less than two hours into this adventure and I’d already checked drinking wine, good salad and celeb encounter off the NYC checklist. Mom and Stephanie dragged me off to the taxi stand before I could humble brag on Facebook.

We made our way outside to long line for the taxi stand when it hit me. It was really freaking cold out. I’m a Chicagoan. I know cold. But damn, New York was cold. Welcome to New York – [bitterly frigid temp’s]’ve been waitin’ for ya.

((And in case I forget to reference it later, it really was really cold. That weekend that we were visiting, New York had experienced record lows.))

New York doesn’t have an easy way to access the city via public transit the way Chicago does, so we cabbed it to our hotel in Battery Park. Our cabbie got confused when we told him to take us to the Conrad and took us to the Ritz Carlton instead, saying cab drivers only know to go by streets, not by names. For the record, every other cab driver we had over the weekend said the opposite, and every time Stephanie asked to go to West and Vesey, they’d say “Oh, the Conrad?”

Accommodations

We’d never stayed in New York City before, opting always to stay in the quieter Jersey City area across the Hudson. We chose Battery Park for a few reasons for this trip – it was a little quieter than Times Square and more business-y than tourist-y, which meant the hotels were a little nicer and a little less expensive. I booked the hotel through an unpublished rate on Expedia (which means you don’t find out the hotel name until after you book), but I was pretty certain this was the hotel we’d be getting due to the limited number of five star hotels in the area. The reviews were good and there seemed to be plenty of restaurants in the immediate area, easy access to transit and we were steps away from the World Trade Center site, right across the Hudson from that Jersey City area we used to be so fond of.

The Conrad is a renovated hotel that was formerly an Embassy Suites, so all of the rooms are suites with a bedroom and a separate sitting area. The lobby was drenched in shades of green lighting, with high vaulted ceilings and many geometric shapes and lines filling in the space, giving it a kind of club feel not unlike the vibe at the W line of hotels. Despite some initial confusion between us and the front desk staff when we checked in (we were sure we had booked a room with two beds, but because our reservation was done through Expedia, they said they could not verify nor change our reservation and they only had a King room available), we found the staff to be generally pleasant and helpful.

And despite the fact that we had been assigned a King room, when we entered the room, we discovered that there was more than enough room for the three of us. In a city where hotel rooms have a reputation for being short on space, we found ourselves in a beautiful suite, a full bedroom on the far side of the room, a sitting area with a pullout bed and a well-appointed bathroom with a separate shower that was quite literally bigger than my entire bathroom at home in between. We could not have been more pleased with the accommodations and will not hesitate to stay at the Conrad again.

The First Adventure

There were many reasons to stay in and relax at the hotel: it was really cold outside, we’d just gotten off a flight after all having full or nearly full days at work, we lost an hour flying east and it was nearing 9:00 pm. But, there was one reason to go out that outranked all of the reasons to stay in: we were in New York. And we weren’t in New York for long – just a long weekend – so time was precious and there was a world of everything to explore.

So once we had finished settling in and marveling over the fact that the walk in shower was nearly the size of my kitchen, we bundled up like the seasoned cold weather pros we are and walked to the nearest subway stop.

Our destination? Times Square, of course. I’m all for exploring off the beaten path and experiencing what makes any destination unique – I think that’s one of the best parts of traveling – but I also think that the idea of tourist areas can sometimes get a bad rep because they’re so centered on capitalizing on tourism above culture and that somehow makes them less unique, but I think there’s something so enchanting about Times Square. It’s this space that never sleeps, where the lights burn so brightly that you can’t tell the difference between high noon and the dead of night and where there are so many people around you that it’s impossible to feel alone.

We stopped into the first eatery we could find that wasn’t something we had at home (first rule of New York travel: never eat at a restaurant you can find at home) and grabbed some hot coffee and split a couple panini’s. An older man stopped in, either homeless or far from home, and sat at a table behind us. One of the cashiers came out from behind the counter and when I thought he was going to kick the older man out, he instead offered him a hot cup of tea and a snack. Random acts of kindness come when we least expect to see them, even in a sandwich shop in Times Square.

We stopped into the Times Square Walgreens to grab some water bottles to take back to the hotel, made a quick stop in the Forever 21 (open until 2:00 am every day!) and then, despite my protestations after having loaded $20 onto my Metro card, got shoved into a cab by my sister, who insisted it was too cold to walk ten blocks back to the hotel from the subway stop.

Despite the late hour and full day, I could have spent hours more in Times Square staring at the lights and observing the reactions of everyone around me, but once we were back in our hotel room and my body hit the (ultra comfy) bed, I was out for the night.

Rise and Shine

There was no sun greeting us when we woke up. The skies were gray, the wind chill was below single digits and the forecast was calling for snow.

Basically, waking up in New York in February was no different than waking up in Chicago in February. Weather-wise, anyways. Years of harsh winters have built up our ability to withstand severe cold and extreme winter weather, so we weren’t going to waste a single moment, regardless of the weather. So instead of lamenting about how it’d been almost five years since our last visit to New York and of course it was the coldest weekend the city had seen in years, we put on a double layer of socks, strapped on our boots and started our first full day out in the city.

Battery Park was eerily quiet for a Saturday morning, but that wasn’t entirely surprising – business hubs are generally quieter on the weekends. It was a short walk to the subway station, where we hopped on a train uptown.

We stepped off at 64th and Lexington on the Upper East Side and it was a completely different world than the Battery Park neighborhood a ten minute Subway ride downtown. Valentine’s Day was in full bloom on the Upper East Side. Flower shops had their inventory spilling over into the streets, bakeries had heart shaped pastries in the windows and the hustle and bustle around us inspired a new excitement.

If you’re not spending Valentine’s Day with the one you love, I think there’s no better way to spend it than doing something you love somewhere you love. And there are few places I love more in New York than Alice’s Tea Cup.

Finding Alice’s Tea Cup was a high point of our first (and second) trips to New York. Alice’s is a small three-restaurant chain that specializes in scones and has an afternoon tea service that will change the way you look at brunch. Alice’s is our spot. If we’re in New York, we are guaranteed to be a stop to grab some scones and tea.

Alice’s doesn’t take reservations, and being a holiday, we were bracing ourselves for a long wait. We arrived early enough to beat the crowds and only wait ten minutes for a table. The wait was nearly two hours by the time we left, so getting there early is key. The dining area at the Chapter Two location is small and the reception area (which doubles as a scone take out and loose tea counter) is even smaller, so a wait can pop up quickly.

True to the story after which the restaurant is named, you kind of fall down a rabbit hole when you dine at Alice’s, and you find yourself in a world of whimsy. Fairy wings hang on a wall, waiting to be plucked and worn by little girls enjoying tea with their mothers. Scones are served on mismatched vintage china plates, and the cozy main dining area is awash in yellow light that bounces off the dark wood tables. Nothing matches and somehow, it all feels right.

We were seated in a corner booth in the back and quickly put our orders in: Scones Benedict for Stephanie, yogurt with granola and a scone for Mom and Alice’s Mad Morning Tea for me.

And, of course, pots of tea all around. I went with a Moroccan Mint tea and ended up enjoying it so much that two ounces ended up coming home with me.

Stephanie’s benedict, served on a savory scone and accompanied with Potato-Chicken Hash, was really something special. Traditional benedicts are a rich decadent treat on their own, but replacing an English muffin with a dense, savory scone brings it to another level. I might have stolen a bite or two.

My meal was a towering presentation of breakfast treats: a scone on top, followed by eggs any way (scrambled, for me) and granola with vanilla yogurt.

Since it was Valentine’s Day, I treated myself to a Salted Chocolate Caramel scone. I knew I’d enjoy it – I’ve never met a scone I didn’t like at Alice’s – but the large chunks of chocolate mingling with ribbons of caramel with the sharp salt flakes cutting through the sweetness made for a baked good that left me without words.

Not to be overshadowed by the scones, the granola Mom and I had was really something else, as well. I’m not much of a granola fan, but this tea-infused treat with large pieces of dried fruits was impossible to put down. It was so good that I cracked open our old Alice’s Tea Cup cookbook and made a batch of my own the week we got home.

We took our time with our breakfast, leisurely nibbling and sipping our tea, planning out our day and reveling in our long-anticipated return to a city we all love so much.

After we’d finished all our tea, we headed out to walk off some of that breakfast on the streets of the Upper East Side.

We walked past a bakery with a display of macaroons we couldn’t ignore and stopped in to grab a few to enjoy later on.

The Wheels on the Bus

Stephanie had ordered us some Hop On Hop Off bus tickets the night before, so we hopped on the Subway towards Time Square to pick up our tickets.

Here’s the thing: if you’re looking to go off the beaten path, Hop On Hop Off bus tours are not for you. Neither is Times Square, for that matter, but if you want to experience the real New York, you won’t do that from the upper deck of a tour bus. But if you’re looking to look around, to take pictures and to take in some history, they aren’t a bad option. And for us, it was really cold out and the city was packed more than usual with the holiday, Fashion Week and the NBA All-Star Game, so driving around on a heated bus where Mom and Stephanie could enjoy the history of the city and I could take as many pictures as my camera could capture felt like a good compromise for our day.

Our tickets included unlimited loops on a handful of different tours, so we started off on a Downtown Tour, grabbed some seats on the upper deck (which is covered in the winter) and sat back as the city rolled past us.

After an hour, we hopped off and hopped onto a tour to Brooklyn. We hadn’t gotten a chance to visit Brooklyn on either of our previous two trips and it was something that I’d really wanted to do. Our tour guide was a born and bred Brooklynite and he took great pride in sharing his piece of the city with us. The snow really started coming down as we crossed the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn and even though tour busses are such a clichéd experience, we found great enjoyment in this one.

((And as one of my dear friends likes to remind me, clichés are classics and they wouldn’t hit cliché status if so many people didn’t find great enjoyment in them))

The Brooklyn tour ended back in Battery Park, and while Mom and Stephanie insisted on stopping inside a Starbucks to warm up and get a snack, I had a different idea in mind.

I’m okay with doing clichéd travel activities like Hop On Hop Off busses as long as I’m supplementing the experience with experiences that are more locally driven. And across the street from the Starbucks we were warming ourselves up in was a park with a few vendors hocking made to order snacks.

No one seems to do street food like New York. Home in Chicago, we have a limited mobile food scene that’s been restricted by local laws that make it difficult for them to operate their businesses. I think food trucks and stands are a celebration of culinary exploration and the fact that the experience is so limited at home makes it so intriguing in places like New York, where these businesses are revered.

I quickly spotted the Wafels & Dinges truck, which I recognized from their numerous appearances on the Food Network and the Travel Channel and made my way over.

I didn’t really know what I was in for, so I ordered a mini waffle with nutella and whipped cream. The small portion was ample enough to be considered a fulfilling snack, and the hot waffle melting the Nutella into gooey delicious submission made for the perfect treat.

By now, the snow was really coming down and passersby were wiping out on the slick pavement. But I think there’s some magic to snow – everything seems to slow down and quiet when the snow falls.

We took a quick cab ride back to the hotel for a couple hours of warming up and relaxing. Later that evening when the snow had stopped, we strapped our boots back on and ventured down the street to the World Trade Center site.

The last time we were in New York, the site, museum and memorial were still under heavy construction, so this was a new experience for us. We walked around the Memorial Plaza, our fingers tracing the names etched in the pools. It was a sobering experience and I’m thankful we had the opportunities to reflect and pay our respects.

The museum was closed when we walked past, but displayed through the windows was the remnants of the structural columns from the original Twin Towers, a touching reminder of what once stood there and the resilience of the city.

It was approaching late evening and it was Valentine’s Day, so we decided to stick close to the hotel for dinner, popping into El Vez, a Mexican restaurant adjacent to our hotel.

El Vez has a lively atmosphere, where contemporary pieces of art line the walls alongside paintings of Elvis Presley (El Vez…Elvis…get it?) and masked wrestlers, and the interior is swathed in candlelight. A photobooth in the corner of the bar clicked loudly over the soft music. This was a restaurant with a bit of personality and no wait. Win/win for us.

The cocktail menu was rather expansive, but after such a long day, nothing boozy sounded as appealing as the Horchata that was calling my name. Horchata is a rice milk often spiced with cinnamon and when it’s done right, it’s a refreshing comfort beverage. El Vez does it right.

Stephanie insisted on an appetizer of guacamole and I made a joke that at $14, it had better be the best tasting guacamole we’ve ever had. It turned out that the joke wasn’t the price point, but rather that it was some of the best guacamole I’d ever had, and it was in a contemporary Mexican restaurant in Battery Park.

Our mains were good, but not as good as the guacamole, and we left El Vez satisfied with our restaurant choice.

Mom decided to head back to the room and Stephanie and I decided to go off on a little adventure. Having always stayed in Jersey City on our NYC trips, we were used to the view of Battery Park from across the Hudson. But with that, we also knew that from Battery Park, there was going to be a spectacular view of Jersey City and the Statue of Liberty, so we carefully treaded down a couple of icy streets and unsalted plazas to an observation deck where the frigid cold faded in the bright lights across the way.

I’ve been enchanted by city lights since I was a child. Stephanie often teases me because I have a tendency to leave the lights off and let ambient city light stream into my apartment at night. And standing there in Battery Park, Lady Liberty to the left and the welcoming lights of Jersey City across the way…it doesn’t get much better than that. It gets warmer, but it doesn’t get much better.

The moment was broken by the shrill of one of our cell phones, Mom telling us to come back before the frost bites us, and we drew our first full day to a close.