HELLO! I'm finally back today with a recap of my weekend trip to NYC a couple of weeks ago! It was such a fun trip and I can finally say that
while I'm not itching to move to New York any time soon, I look forward to visiting again - especially since my three best friends live there! The main reason we visited was because my favorite band, The Maine, was having a few shows and events over the weekend and we got tickets to their concert on Friday. But obviously seeing my friends was a major reason why we went up as well!
Thursday
We headed up to New York on Thursday morning via Amtrak from Manassas, Virginia. Kenny and I had never ridden the train before, but luckily my BFF Nancy Carrie, who we were also staying with in the city had been home the week before our trip so she took the train back up with us. Aside from the fun of getting to travel up with her, it was so helpful having her there with us because she's taken the train with us so she knew the ropes.
Kenny and I really enjoyed taking the train, and we'll definitely take it again next time we head north. We got our tickets a few months in advance so they were very affordable, and the whole process overall was very easy - much more so than flying! We could bring plenty of luggage for free, boarding was easy and we got to sit together, there are plenty of bathrooms, and there is a cafe car where Nancy Carrie and I got to enjoy celebratory proseccos to kick off the trip!
The only stressful part of the trip up was when we were passing through DC - the train stops for about 30 minutes at Union Station to change engines, and passengers are allowed to exit and go up into Union Station to get food. We ran up there quickly to see about drinks and snacks, and by the time we were done we were a little worried that we were going to miss our train departing again! We found the track that our train was on and made it back on with minutes to spare, but it was scary there for a second! Kenny and I had been under the impression that Nancy Carrie had gone up into Union Station before and was comfortable with leaving the train, but when we got back she told us that she never had before, so we did NOT do that again on our way back. 😂
When we got into the city, we headed to Nancy Carrie's apartment in the Upper East Side and dropped our stuff off. She lives in the best location and we were so grateful to be able to stay with her! We made a game plan for dinner and decided to walk - the restaurant she recommended was about two miles away and we took a leisurely walk through Central Park to get there, and it was SO nice! I had never been to Central Park and it was absolutely beautiful - I had to get the above pic at the location where Chuck and Blair get married at the end of Gossip Girl. 😂
Walking around that evening was one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend - I loved sightseeing and aimlessly exploring and just talking!
After we got through Central Park we shopped around a little at Turnstyle which is an underground market, and The Shops at Columbus Circle which is a more upscale mall-type shopping area. There was the most GORGEOUS sunset that night, I wish we could've gotten past the buildings to see it in its entirety!
Our friend Emma was meeting us for dinner, so once we got close to the restaurant and were still waiting for her, Nancy Carrie took us around to see some quintessential NYC landmarks like Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, and Carnegie Hall (and the Russian Tea Room and Magnolia Bakery, ha!) My friends were the best tour guides all week, they know so much about the city and it was so fun having them show us around!
This photo was *simply* necessary, we were starved and loopy by this point. 😂
After dinner we headed back to Nancy Carrie's and we were SPENT - but not too spent to stop by the bodega next door for some dessert! I got tiramisu cake and it looked way better than it tasted but I cannot resist a late-night treat.
Friday
Friday was the day of the concert so it was the "main" day of our trip. We didn't have too much else officially on our weekend itinerary, but the one other thing I definitely wanted to do was go to Ellen's Stardust Diner in Times Square because Nancy Carrie performs there so we HAD to see her in action!
She didn't have a shift while we were visiting, but we went anyway for lunch and she sang while we were there which was even better! She sang Mean by Taylor Swift and it was the best - Ellen's itself is such an experience - you get to listen to a medley of the most amazing performances the whole time, there's confetti, and it's just an all around good time! Definitely don't go for a relaxing meal, it's action from start to finish there!
Obligatory subway photo. 😂 We clocked a lot of miles on the subway during this trip! After Ellen's, we met Emma at The Maine's pop up shop and then headed over to her apartment before the concert that night.
We had our first Joe's Pizza at Emma's before the concert, and while it was good, I GOTTA SAY it wasn't as good as Kenny's and my favorite hometown pizza joint (shout out Ciro's and their $11 large cheese 😎).
The concert was at Pier 17, and Emma insisted we take the ferry from her apartment to the venue. It goes right down Wall Street and she told us it was the cheapest way to sight-see in New York, and she was so right! We so enjoyed the ride, and she told us so much about the area and all of the major landmarks - we even saw the Statue of Liberty off in the distance!
Emma and I were SO excited to go to this concert together - we've both loved The Maine for well over 10 years now, but we've never seen one of their shows together!
Nancy Carrie isn't a dedicated fan of The Maine, but she came to the concert with us and I'm so glad she did - she had a great time and we all got matching tee shirts to commemorate the experience. 😂
The view from the Pier 17 rooftop was unreal! Emma and her boyfriend said it's the best venue in the city in their opinion.
The concert was unreal, as usual - I've seen The Maine over 10 times and it never gets old! One thing that I really enjoy about their "special" shows (AKA not part of a dedicated tour) is that you get a better variety of songs and more deep tracks, which are always my favorite.
After the show we were loopy and hungry - Kenny and Nancy Carrie and I got ice cream from a truck on the street and enjoyed every drop of it. They also
After the show, we headed to Brooklyn Bowl for the concert after party - Kenny and I have been to a few The Maine after parties and they're always a blast, they have DJ sets and play mainly classic emo and pop punk music. Before heading to the party we grabbed some food at the bar which was SO good - we got TWO orders of fries, buffalo cauliflower wings, nachos, and chocolate chip bread pudding. 😂
The after party was so much fun - The Gunz Show and DJ L.Train had sets, along with Ted Lavender who I'm truly obsessed with and WANT TO BE - Emma agreed. 😂 The Maine came out for a set too, and it's always so much fun to see them in a more intimate setting.
After the after party we were DEAD, so we called a car back to Nancy Carrie's and slept for many hours.
Saturday
Saturday we didn't have any set plans, so we played it by ear! It was pretty gross and drizzly out, so we headed down to Chelsea Market to shop around. We got lunch at Takumi Taco which is a Mexican/Japanese fusion restaurant - it was super crowded so we figured it'd be good! Kenny and Nancy Carrie liked what they got but it fell flat for me - I don't really like Mexican food regardless, but I just felt like everything I got was very bland and lacked seasoning. Kenny did get a curry taco that was delicious though! Nancy Carrie and I also ordered strawberry peach frosé and THAT was delicious!
After Chelsea Market, we ran over to SNS New York - they had some really cool stuff but he didn't find anything he needed!
Once we were done shopping, we headed back over to Emma's - it was her birthday and I was so excited that we were in town to celebrate with her!
She was hosting a get-together at her apartment for some of her friends, but we got dinner together at Haru beforehand and it was lovely. Kenny and I weren't too hungry because we had eaten lunch late, but I got seaweed salad and he got aged tofu, and we both got a couple of veggie sushi rolls.
After dinner Kenny, Nancy Carrie, Emma's boyfriend and I ran by a grocery store to get some drinks and a cake for Emma!
My three besties and bridesmaids, Sarah, Nancy Carrie, and Emma! We're all Harrisonburg natives, and I'm the only one who hasn't made the move to NYC yet! (I like to think I'm holding things down for us at home. 😉)
We had a great time hanging out at Emma's for her birthday, and it was nice to meet their other New York friends who I've heard about over the years. We played flip cup which I had surprisingly never played before, but I was a natural at it and won it for my team the few rounds I played. 😎
After Emma's get-together everyone was going out, but we were tired and wanted to get some rest before we headed home in the morning, so Kenny and Nancy Carrie and I headed out. We stropped by the bodega by her place and finally saw the bodega cat that she told us lived there - in case you're new, Kenny and I are cat lovers to the core, so we were delighted to have a cat to love on until we could get home to our Roxy!
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