New York- Part Two

If you haven't seen it already, last week I wrote the first part of my New York series. I'm aware it was rather long, but I wanted it to be as informative as possible and it seemed to go down well. I've really been enjoying going through all of the photos and trying to remember what we did each day, it's a great way to relive the trip but it makes me desperately want to plan a second visit. 

Hopefully I can keep this part a bit shorter. On our fourth day we decided to get the subway into Manhattan and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. In retrospect, this was a stupid idea because it was another ridiculously hot day despite the cloud cover but we survived with the help of lots of sunscreen, water and light clothes. We got off at Canal Street and walked about ten minutes to the Manhattan side of the bridge. The nice weather meant that everyone else seemed to have the same idea and at first it was slow going because of the amount of people in front of us but it slowly tapered off and we were able to enjoy the walk at our own pace without being surrounded by people. 

I think if you were to walk the bridge without stopping it would take around 25-30 minutes but of course we stopped several times along the way to take photos and just take in the views so it probably took us an hour or so. Because it was so hot we didn't walk as fast as we normally would. You can also cycle across, there is a dedicated cyclist path which runs parallel to the pedestrian path and it can get crowded so be aware of that if you're planning on walking the bridge on a busier day. 

We didn't really have any plans once we got to Brooklyn. After our long walk in the sun we both just wanted to sit down and get some lunch so we went to Shake Shack which I've heard so many people rave about. I'll go into more detail about our trip to Shake Shack in my New York food post which will be coming soon. 

After refuelling we decided to walk around DUMBO. We just wandered in and out of little shops and stopped to take photos because everything looks amazing and is so photographable in this area. We also took some photos for a style post which you can see here if you haven't seen it already. I absolutely loved DUMBO, the views of the Williamsburg Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan, all the big warehouses that have been there for years and years and all of the picturesque little streets. I could have walked around taking photos all day.

The next day was a Sunday so of course we decided to go for brunch and what better place for our first New York brunch than the famous Jack's Wife Freda on Lafayette Street. Once again I'd heard lots of people rave about their food so I was dying to try it out. I'll go into more detail in my dedicated food post, but for now I'll tell you that it didn't disappoint. 

After brunch we headed towards the Chelsea Market looking in book shops and record shops along the way. We also did the obligatory stop at the Friends building on Bedford Street which happens to be a couple of minutes walk from Carrie Bradshaw's apartment on Perry Street and since we were headed that way anyway we stopped there for a quick snap too. We stopped in Magnolia to get some cupcakes and their famous banana pudding which we ate on a bench outside the Gansevoort Market. We then walked around Chelsea Market which I loved (we wished we weren't too full to eat there because all of the food places looked amazing!).

We decided to walk the High Line while we were in the area, it was the perfect end to a great day walking around SoHo, Greenwich Village and Chelsea. I absolutely loved the High Line, we wanted to go back again some night as recommended by my brother but we didn't get a chance. It seemed like it'd be a great place to hang out in the Summer because there's lots of places to sit down away from the craziness of the city. There was an installation for The Handmaid's Tale where they had been giving out free copies of the book (they were all gone by the time we got there). We stopped to take photos of the amazing views at all of the street intersections and the apartments overlooking the park. I loved reading more about how the High Line came to be at the information points along the way. 

We had a late start on our sixth day so we went for brunch in Astoria before going into Manhattan. Simon wanted to watch the Liverpool match in the afternoon at a Liverpool bar in the East Village which wasn't my ideal way to spend an afternoon but lucky for me it meant he had to come to the Glossier showroom with me first. I wrote about the experience here and you can read my first Glossier product review here. The match actually turned out to be a great experience. The bar was packed with huge Liverpool fans and I even got chatting to some ladies from Canada who were stopped in New York on a cruise and were so excited they got to watch the match in this bar. One of the ladies even gave my a Liverpool crest made out of metal that her husband makes which was so kind. After the match we were in need of refreshments so we walked to the Milk Bar and got ice cream which we ate on the way to Union Square. We decided to try to get tickets to Top of the Rock for the evening so we went and booked in for later that night and went off to get some pizza for dinner. 

We wanted to do both Top of the Rock and the Empire State building so we thought it'd be a good idea to do one during the day and one at night. I was so excited to see the view of the city all lit up at night. Coming out of the elevator and seeing that view for the first time is one of those moments in life that takes your breath away. It was so windy and cold but so worth it. Top of the Rock is definitely one of the must-see places in New York because the view is just spectacular, it was especially amazing to see the Empire State building all lit up in green. 

So that's the end of part two. I'll have part three which consists of our last four days in the coming week including a wrap up of our trip and any advice I can offer. I hope you're enjoying this travel series and please let me know if there's any other information you'd like to know about our trip like prices etc.

Emma x