We were so lucky with sunny and clear weather during our visit to New York City in early April. It did get really chilly during the evenings. We used to come here almost every year but haven’t been back since the pandemic. I was very excited to see my favorite city.

The hotel we stayed at again was The Jewel which was located right across from Rockerfeller Center. We remembered our last stay that the rooms were small so we reserved a superior room and discovered the room is still small. LOL. The location was key.

The first thing I wanted to do was to go to Bryant Park because there were American Woodcocks birds who made a stop from their migration to stay longer. There was an article in the New York Times about these birds right before we came so as a birder I wanted to see them. It was easy to spot the crowd watching them when we got to the park. These birds have a funny walk.

Another surprise we discovered was you don’t need to purchase a Metro card for the subway as a credit card or Apple Pay can be swiped at the turnstile. If we were staying longer purchasing an ONY card could be an option.

We couldn’t believe the renovation the city had done to Penn Station when we went there one day. The station used to be dark and dingy but now it's been transformed to a brighter and modern station.

One of our favorite museums is the Frick and we couldn’t wait to see it since they have been closed for 5 years for renovation. Because we were meeting up with two friends we bought tickets in advance for the time entries. As always, a wonderful but intimate experience seeing the Frick Collections. Another surprise is that they did away with the audio sets and you can now scan the code on the program with your cellphone. I was fortunate I had my earphones in my purse. You could listen later if you didn’t bring them so keep your program.

We had dinner at Tao Uptown and it is one of our favorite places. It was nearby so we could walk there from the Frick. It is a fun place to share small plates. We ordered 8 dishes for 4 people and everything was so tasty.

My favorite place is Central Park and there is so much to see. It was beautiful with the cherry trees in bloom. It’s also a birders heaven to see a variety of birds. We used to do guided birders walk in our earlier visits but now we can do these on our own. Public restrooms is next to the Loeb Boathouse near Bethesda Fountain. There are other restrooms in Central Park but this one is the only one I can remember and easier to find.


American Woodcock

Betheda Fountain, Central Park

Boathouse Restaurant

Conservatory

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Belvedere Castle where you can find turtles below in pond.

Bryant Park

Another iconic restaurant is Pete’s tavern in the Gramercy Park neighborhood. The historical building was built back in 1864. Once you step into the tavern side you will admire the architecture and take a look at the stunning ceiling. There are more tables in the back. We always come here for their eggplant or chicken parm. I hardly ate anything all day so I could finish my dinner. The vibe is really fun and you can tell lots of regulars come here. The prices are very reasonable here.

I always see a Broadway show and was looking for one that I hadn’t seen and chose to see “Oh, Mary”. I didn’t read the reviews and had no idea it was a dark comedy. We didn’t think it was funny. It was my first Broadway show that wasn’t for us. There are so many excellent Broadway shows to choose from so I can only be disappointed in myself in doing more research about this play. It was in a historic Lyceum theater which was grand and our seats were good. We did have a very nice dinner at iL Corso which was a busy Italian restaurant. Food was amazing.

No matter how many times we have visited the city there is always something new to experience. I wanted to visit One Summit Vanderbuilt at Grand Central Terminal. It is the fourth tallest building and was built to be interactive with amazing 360 degrees views. A little hard to find if you go into Grand Central station but best entrance is coming in from Vanderbuilt street. We came to buy the tickets but they were sold out for two days so luckily we got tickets for Sat. The kiosk machines will drop your tickets and also your receipt (looks like a ticket) so make sure you get all your tickets. I didn’t noticed until the day of our event that I had 4 tickets and saw that we had someone else ticket for the previous day. I hope that person could still get in.

The lines were long but once the lines started to move it wasn’t bad. We bought our own sunglasses but if you forget they do offer sunglasses to wear. You also have to wear black cloth booties over your shoes which they provide. They asked if anyone has issues with flashing lights so if you do than this might not be for you. We had beautiful sunny weather so it makes the rooms very warm so we needed to take off our jackets. The views are amazing and I would say it’s right up there with the Empire State building and Top of the Rock experience. The helium balloons room was so much fun. You could go outside on the last floor but it was cold. The only thing that could make this experience even better was to improve the sound. There are 3 different ticket versions but we chose the One Summit ticket which was the least expensive at $50 each. It was a fun thing to do for couple of hours.

Another exciting thing I did was go to Birdland Jazz club and that was fun. I didn’t realize they have two music acts going on at the club. Pretty sound proof as I wouldn’t have known this until my friend was showing me the other floor. Afterwards we went to Time Square and it was as busy as ever in the evening. There were more police officers present through the crowds and throughout the city which was comforting and nice to see.

A friend came in from Long Island to spend the weekend we us. I wanted to do breakfast at Tiffany’s at Daniel’s Boulud’s Blue Box Cafe. I made reservations a month in advance as they go lightening fast on-line. I was trying for Sat but they were sold out within 9 minutes. Keep in mind when it’s NY time at midnight be ready at your computer. I was lucky to get them for the next day Sunday at 11am. The entrance is not on 5th Ave but around the corner on Broadway facing the Louie Vuitton store. The restaurant is small and decorated in a fun way. There are a few tables (7 tables) that are kept open for those who don’t have reservations but I believe your table will be in a side room not in the main festive room. The experience is expensive so plan on making reservations to get the full ambience. We opted for the breakfast menu instead of high tea. Everything was beautifully presented and wonderful. Afterwards we explore the floors to admire the high end jewelry. On the 5th floor they have a dedicated “Audrey Hepburn” room where you can see her two gowns that she wore in the “Breakfast at Tiffinay’s” movie. I had only been on the first floor in past visits so it was fun to explore these other floors with my girlfriend who knew the lay of the land. I was surprised to see so many sales associates on the floor but the ones we encountered were nice and welcoming.

Afterwards we went to SoHo and explore the neighborhood and had dinner at Balthazar which is one of my favorite restaurants. It is very noisy but good food and very busy.

It was a fabulous week.



One Summit Vanderbuilt

Views



Helium Balloon room in the One Summit Vanderbuilt experience


Louie Vuitton store on 5th Avenue

We tried to get tickets to see Stephen Colbert - need months in advance.

Tiffinay's

Audrey Hepburn room on the 5th floor, Tiffinay's

Our breakfast for two.

Blue Box Cafe

The Highline

The Highline

Highline walk

Little Island view from the Highline

Art in the Meat Packing District

Thanks for sharing your fun filled week.

Very timely, I’ll be in NYC next week for the first time since 1999. I’m so looking forward to the Frick & the Gainsborough exhibition, among other things. I’ll be staying with a friend, a travel writer, so will have a great guide. Thanks for this.

Your interior glamor shots of One Summit and Tiffany's are thrilling.

It sounds like you had a great trip. Thanks for writing about it. I'm making notes for next (who knows when?) trip.