I am so thrilled to take a whole blog post to talk about how amazing my trip was to NYC!!! I wanted to share some of the most do’s, super cool restaurants we ate at and more!
So this was our first big trip together. Safe to say, it started off a bit rocky…. so I forgot my ID… yes yes I know,, “HOW DID I FORGET IT?” Well i mistakenly packed my student ID … in my defense, i had just worked three night shifts in a row, but still. So obviously they let me through security and on to the plane. Alec being super amazing stayed so calm and cool. He told me after the fact the whole time he was just going to be super sad If I wasn’t able to go on “my trip” and was planning an alternate fun weekend in Houston…. TEARS… hes just incredible.
Getting to NYC was so exciting! Once we got to the airport( La Guardia) we figured out how the subway system worked and decided to take it to our hotel…. , DONT DO THIS. Ubering would have been 100 % easier. It was super fun to get to experience the subway, but trying to get around with luggage, so difficult!! It was a bonding experience for Alec and I though. I’m sure we were quite the scene… lugging our huge suitcases up stairs, and through metal entrances wayyy too small to fit a suitcase through.. it was funny later just during; not pleasant. We ended up making it to Grand Central Station.. where we got coffee and food! This was actually really fun, and super beautiful! Highly recommend visiting Grand Central Station; the architecture is stunning and the energy inspiring.
We WALKED. and walked, and walked and walked. Yall, Alec and walked everywhere this trip. I am not joking we walked probably 90 percent of the time. Not because we felt like we had to, but truly, it was so fun walking around the city! There is so much to see and It was surprising a lot cleaner than i was expecting.
So we stayed at the Concorde Hotel. It was in an amazing spot! We were able to walk to all the shopping, Times Square, and even Central Park(although that walk was a bit longer than the other destinations). I am linking the hotel website here:
AMAZING staff, central location, and very comfy! Alec and I would so stay here again!
So I must admit, we did so much, but we still have such a long list of things we want to do… so our next trip is happening soon. :)) NYC we LOVED YOU.
What was our itinerary? …
- Valentines Day dinner: Haven Rooftop Bar and restaurant,, COOLEST. DATE. EVER. we had complimentary champagne, a delicious meal, and of course fabulous views! http://www.havenrooftop.com/
- Central Park: a must. Beautiful, dreamy, peaceful and just down right iconic. We saw carriage rides, people from all over, snow on the ground, and pretty city views. Wish we had more days to walk more of the park.. although we did walk a good portion of it!
- The Plaza: EVERYONE has to go to the Plaza at some point in there life I’m convinced. The entire experience was just magical and romantic. We ate at the Palm Court,, walked around to see the shops at the Plaza, and even got to see the Oak Room and the hotel lobby. … This has been a childhood dream of mine so the whole time I was just starry eyed. I loved this evening. As we were leaving,, we saw a bride and groom…. the cutest couple. How amazing it would be to get married at the Plaza. sighhh
- Broadway: ALEC is a freaking dream and bought us tickets to see Phantom of the Opera… I cried. Its my favorite ever. The music was out of this world, the special effects were crazy good; the whole play just blew me away!! We had amazing seats at the Majestic Theater! It was absolutely vintage and grand. The perfect place to show Phantom of the Opera in my opinion.. apparently its been showing at this theater for the longest.
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“Phantom Broadway is the musical all others are measured against. The timeless story, the unforgettable score, and an undeniable obsession that could never die.”
- and of course, the Shopping. We shopped everywhere guys. Saks, SOHO, 5th Avenue. We hit up pretty much everywhere there was to shop and it was crazy!!! The shopping is unlike anywhere else I have ever been.
- TIMES SQUARE: eppp. Probably our most favorite part of the trip. We rounded the corner and… honestly were just enamored. What a incredible scene. Big screens, colors, lights, people from all over the world… We were approached by this super sweet young photographer that was working on a project called “moments” and asked if he could capture Alec and me. … needless to say it was dreamy and we bought the pictures from him. We went back a second night because it was just that spectacular.
- We hit up some super fun coffee shops. We loved Pret a Manager a lot, and Little Collins… there were countless other ones. Sanctuary T in SOHO was a favorite organic restaurant we ate at… Alec of course ate lots of NYC pizza;)… (according to him, extremely delicious and worth every penny). –>My Pie Pizzeria Romana
- Rockefeller Center: we walked by and saw the ice skating and couple of shops but didn’t really have time for Top of the Rock ! Its for sure on the list for next time
- MOMA and a bit of the Upper East side: So we walked around in the museum and a bit outside.. but didn’t spend a whole bunch of time here! We really wanted to see Central Park so spent most of the day there.. next trip we will for sure do an exhibit here!
We got to see a lot of Manhattan! Which was super cool. We walked so much we felt super comfortable by the third day not using a map to get around! The city was amazing; next trip we want to see Chinatown, Midtown, and Brooklyn!
The trip was truly a dream come true and I cannot tell you how lovely it was going with Alec. He made it so special; he was everything and more I could have hoped he would be as a travel buddy. He was super go with the flow, slow to get frustrated with me( and lord knows I can be super frustrating haha)…, and made me feel safe.
You learn so much about a person when you travel together… ❤ Couldn’t have had a better time, and wouldn’t have changed a thing (even the whole loosing my ID thing,,it definitely brought us closer together in the end, as stressful as it was at the time).
Just a quick little note before I close out this blog post. Getting back,, I was feeling those “post trip blues.” Sad to have to leave a literal dream and get back to work and life here in TX. Things that helped me:
- being overly grateful for the amazing experiences in NYC, and reminding myself how blessed I was to have had gotten to go!
- Planning. Thinking about where I want to go next, and seriously planning something for the end of the year!
- jumping back into work with a positive attitude and refreshed heart.
- Talking about it! Telling people how great of a time I had, and relishing in the happy memories. Not allowing sadness to creep in, but letting the positive, happy feelings fill me up and find home.
- Doing self care. Lets be honest, this Texas girl was dried out being up north. So coconut oil, lotion, and lots of exfoliating! I also drank lots and lots of water to re hydrate myself after all the flying and let myself rest and recuperate. I actually was kind of sick during the trip, so sleep was needed to help my body heal.
NYC, thank you for the memories. Thank you for showing us a different kind of magic. A true dream turned reality… it wouldn’t have been the same without my travel buddy though. .. so to my love, thank you for taking me on the trip of a lifetime. Heres to the next one.
The second we sat down at the airport to head home.. Alec looked at me and asked, “So when are we coming back babe?”…
NYC, till then.
XO//
Rachael
Ps: all my fav selfies. … 😉 enjoy …
RachaelB. 
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