We’ve just had a wonderful weekend in NYC with our US friends encompassing both Canada Day and July 4th and here’s a bit of a trip report.

Hotel: We stayed at the Omni Berkshire which, for me, is perfectly located at Madison and 52nd. It was our second stay there and we love it. The service is excellent, we got a super low ‘summer rate’, and their loyalty program is great. I always join a loyalty or members program because I want free wi-fi in the room but at the Omni another of the benefits is delivery of coffee/tea/juice to your room every morning. It’s such a luxury to have a carafe of hot coffee in real cups with real linen napkins instead of the machine with paper cups and powdered creamer.

So...here’s what we did:

First of all, we had fabulous weather throughout the weekend. Mostly it was sunny and blue skies but with a bit of a breeze so it wasn't too hot. There was a short downpour twice but both times we were inside and it was over by the time we got outside again. And then on Monday night there was a bit of a drizzle as we were walking back to the hotel after dinner but not heavy enough for us to need an umbrella. Just romantic.

Friday: We were visiting NY with our friends who live in DC and the plan was to meet them in the hotel lobby mid-afternoon. We spent some time just sitting in the lobby and catching up and then we grabbed a cab and went up to the Neue Gallery because we all wanted to see the famous Klimt. Just as we were about to leave, downpour #1 started so oh poor us, we had to go to their pretty cafe and sit around having wine and cake till it let up. It was lovely just sitting there at the side of Central Park, drinking wine and gabbing and it felt very New York-ish. We had dinner that night in a nice little Italian place on 50 something near 5th. I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed in my restaurant info because we mostly had no specific plans and just popped into places that looked decent. This one was fun because we were sitting at the bar and had some nice chat with the owner. More walking around then back to the hotel.

Saturday: Had breakfast at Pain Quotidien and then walked up to 5th and 72nd for the Central Park tour. We'd done this one before but wanted our friends to take it because we'd liked it so much last time and were happy to do it again. It takes you through what I think is the prettiest part of the park (Alice statue, sailboat pond, Hans Christian Anderson statue, boathouse, Bethesda fountain, etc.) and ends up at the Imagine Garden at 72nd on the west side. Central Park has about a dozen different tours now but this particular one is just great. We'll try some of the others eventually. At the other side of the park we needed lunch so we walked over to Columbus and just arbitrarily picked a restaurant. It was called Touloula's but there are a bajillion places to choose from there. After lunch we hopped into a cab and went up to the Cloisters because none of us had ever been. I'm glad I went and it was interesting but once is enough.

We were ready to leave the Cloisters and we were just sitting around on a bench talking about what we wanted to do that night. My SO called the Beautiful box office and got us orchestra tix for that night's show for $99 which I'm pretty sure is less than I'd be paying when it comes here. I think we had about an hour to freshen up and grab a bite of dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and grab a cab down to the theatre. We all loved Beautiful!

Sunday: We had breakfast at a cafe near the hotel and then went down to the High Line. We'd walked it before but our friends hadn’t. It’s a nice walk and it ends up at the new Whitney Museum. I loved the building, design-wise, though I think it has some practical problems re elevators and washrooms. We did most of the galleries but by then it was mid afternoon and we hadn't had lunch so we left (we checked out the cafe there but didn't care for the menu) so we ate in a place called Bubby’s just across the street. The menu is decent and everyone seemed to enjoy their lunch. After that we meandered through the neighbourhoods (I think we were in the meat packing/Chelsea/West Village/Soho areas) and ended up on Bleecker Street which is where we had to be for the theatre a little later. Stopped for a glass of wine and did some browsing in the shops in the WV and Greenwich Village -- not the high end shops you usually find in Soho, etc., but the more neighbourhood-y funky stuff. We went to the Barrow Street Theatre that evening to see The Effect and we all agreed that the play was less than perfect and would have been much better if a chunk of it had been cut out but the part that we all liked was interesting and good. Afterwards we went to AOC just around the corner for dinner. It’s a nice little French bistro, cute, decent food and prices. We sat in the garden this time just because it was such a nice evening.

Monday: Back to Pain Quotidien for breakfast and then what? I don't remember. But at noon, we met our NY friends for lunch at a nice place they suggested on the Upper East Side (The National, I think). We hadn’t seen them in ages and they’d never met our DC friends so everyone had a lot to talk about and we sat over lunch for hours. After lunch (and by that time it was about 4) we said good-bye to the NY friends and the remaining four of us took a long walk over to East 60th where we’d been invited to have drinks with two other couples we knew from grad school and who live in NY. They’re lovely, interesting people and it was nice to catch up with them too. One couple had plans for the evening and the other couple were just going home, so we went off for dinner (Fiorello's, just because it was nearby and we’ve liked it in the past; and downpour #2) and a nice meander back to the hotel in the light drizzle.

The DC friends were leaving earlier than us the next day so we said our goodbyes that night. We were supposed to get the 2:45 Porter flight home but when we got to the airport there were seats available on the 1:05 flight so we took that and got home a bit earlier. I do love Porter -- gave us better seats on an earlier flight at no charge and we didn't even have to ask for the change. Plus they have a private lounge at each end. It’s so different than Air Canada!

Anyway, that's it. It was pretty much a perfect weekend. And now I need to own an apartment on Central Park.

Sounds like a wonderful weekend, goddess. Glad you had a great time in our fair city.

The Cloisters is one of my favorite spots in Manhattan. The museum is nice but the grounds and the views are so beautiful, I never get tired of it.

As for the apt on Central Park you would like: Start saving up, maybe for the next 200 years!

Sounds like a wonderful vacation. Come back and visit again soon!

"As for the apt on Central Park you would like: Start saving up, maybe for the next 200 years!"

I'm counting on a huge lottery win, DD!

panecott, we didn't get a chance to explore the grounds but we did love the gardens at the Cloisters.

Nice trip report. I love eating at Pain Quotidian when in NYC. There are a few locations.