New York in 48 hours? Can be done. My daughter and I are living proof – we did it!
Taking advantage of a 3-day weekend, we boarded a red eye on Friday night and landed at Newark airport at 5:10 am on Saturday morning.
(Before we go any further, here’s a great time-saving tip when taking a whirlwind trip like this: DO NOT CHECK ANY BAGS, just carry your carry-on luggage and you can walk to the mode of transportation of your choice instead of walking around . the baggage terminal)
We rented a car (it turned out to be $ 10 more than Supershuttle due to the toll roads) and were in our hotel room in Manhattan at 6am. As it was a public holiday, the city and roads were very well lit, so we had an excellent time. We stayed at a boutique hotel called Flatotel. It was in a perfect location for walking to many of the main sights in the city. The first thing on our agenda was to take a nap, shower, and take a cab to Union Square Park to meet a dear friend of mine from high school. He was friends with some models (husband and wife team) who bought the trendy restaurant “The Coffee Shop”, so we met there for brunch. In the same area as the restaurant and the park, the famous “Green St. Farmers Market” it was in operation. We were all foodies so this was a great walk after a very good breakfast. My friend and his partner dropped us off for their day trip, pointing us in the direction of the famous Chelsea Market.
It was a mere 15-block walk, so my daughter and I headed out, passing parts of 5th and 7th avenues along the way. We also found the Balducci market and went inside. What a wonderful exclusive place to shop. We met a real Monk named Renita who was giving a tasting of Mayorga coffee that is roasted in small batches at Misión Mayorga. 75% of the beans are Rainforest Alliance certified. All I can say is it was delicious and Starbuck’s could take a lesson.
Chelsea Market was not as big as we had imagined from the Food Network, mainly because we were so excited to see as much of Manhattan as we could, we didn’t realize we were in a small area of the complex! While there we found out that there was a tour that did the “New York tasting”. But alas, 48 hours only allow so much!
We had to walk back to Union Square Park to take the subway (an experience in itself) to 42nd Street. Once there we toured Time Square, Rockefeller Center, Broadway, many sights on and around the streets, including what turned out to be the cheesiest excuse for an afternoon improv show. But it was okay, since we were pretty tired now. After our short break, my daughter wanted to do the NBC tour and do Top of the Rock. Tickets for the tour were sold out, but we had the fantastic Top of the Rock experience.
What can you say about Top of the Rock? It should be named the eighth wonder of the world! You are literally shot up to 67 stories (the top of the car is glass so you see the climb) and you go out on the first of the 3 observation decks. Each has a 360-degree view of Manhattan. It was absolutely awesome. When my husband asked if it was as beautiful as the Waimea Canyon on Kauai, I told him that this was so far over the top (pun intended) that there were simply no words to describe the sights.
After this day we were hungry and exhausted. Fortunately, we found a casual local chain called Heartland Brewery. It had been a hot and humid day, we limited ourselves to some good light salads, very tasty and with a lot of ice water. On the way back we stopped at a bakery 24/7 and indulged in coffee in our room. We collapsed at 10.
Our wake-up call woke us up and we walked out the door at 8. We went to a nearby deli that was suggested by the dinner waitress. Of course we had bagels. We found the ubiquitous Starbucks for coffee, as the deli didn’t have a single open seat, and we had breakfast there. Then he went to meet our van for a 6 hour city tour. There was a street fair going on, so we took a look.
The 6 hour tour was perfect for two still tired women. It was a small group of about 16 and our tour guide, Tom, was knowledgeable and really fun. They took us to so many places and told us so many things that we couldn’t even digest half of the sites and information. The highlights were Strawberry Fields (the John Lennon monument) in Central Park, Pier 17, the Staten Island Ferry (which gave us views of Ellis and Governor’s Islands, the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan) Wall St, many others buildings and neighborhoods and then Impact Zone. Ground Zero and the surrounding area made most of us cry. Touching the area seemed to make everyone feel sadness as well as hope.
When our 48 hours were coming to an end, we girls bought some. Sarah at H&M, me at Ann Taylor’s. Then came our special dinner, as the theater tickets were not on the cards. We were lucky enough to be right across the street from celebrity chef Bobby Flay’s Americain Bar.
An upscale place with dark paneled walls, a 1940s atmosphere. Beautiful restaurant, excellent service, and wonderful food. There is a reason it is successful.
We head back to our hotel and prepare for our early morning departure. We were tired, happy, and reconnected. This was thanks to my daughter’s wish for a girls’ weekend and Manattan.