Speed Run of NYC: Day 1/3
About a month before Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S, we decided to take a trip to NYC for the long weekend. My friend lives in Harlem and offered up his couch to us, and I put together an absolutely jam packed itinerary that had us walking almost 20 miles over the 3 days! Here’s what we did and what was a hit or miss so you can plan your future trip:
We arrived Friday night on the Amtrak train and took the subway up to Harlem. This was my first time using the NYC subway system, and it definitely works differently from DC. It is a flat fee to get in (currently $3), and you can just tap your credit or debit card at the turnstile. You have to make sure you’re entering on the correct side of the street, similar to a bus stop, so Google Maps definitely came in handy.
Saturday morning we had reservations at Bocado for 8:45 and took the bus straight there. We were the first ones at the restaurant so the reservation definitely wasn’t necessary. While the food was fine, I don’t think it was worth the hype or the price. Next time we will try for Cafe Sabarsky instead (more on that soon…).
After breakfast we went across the street to Ole and Steen for a sweet treat. This is a Danish style bakery small chain. I got the Blueberry Social and it was well worth every penny! We then walked the few blocks to Central Park and began our loop heading in and north towards the reservoir, where we caught a view of the skyline, then going to the Conservatory Gardens. The gardens were still in bloom even though it was late season. I should also mention the weather was quite gloomy with constant overcast and intermittent drizzle, and an average temperature of about 60 degrees. We wore light rain coats and had an umbrella in case of heavy rain which happened a few times. The gardens also had a fairly nice public restroom which is a rarity in the city.
Then we continued our loop on the northeast side of the park up to the Discovery Center where there were plenty of ducks, geese, and turtles to watch and feed, then went west to the Blockhouse, the oldest surviving building in Central Park, and finally looped south, meeting some mounted police on the way, to 86th street where we went back east to Cafe Sabarsky. Unfortunately they don’t take reservations until later in the day, so there was a long line that was estimated to be about a 45 minute wait. So we decided to ditch it and walk down to Yasouvlaki, a Greek restaurant nearby which was very delicious. I recommend the Greek French Toast.
Afterwards we circled back to the Met. There was a long line, likely due to the combination of the holiday weekend and rainy weather forcing people inside, but it moved quickly. They had a temporary facade commission featuring four animals, and I loved the squirrel wearing a blanket adorned with acorns. Knowing we had about 3 hours to spend in the museum, I looked ahead of time at what I wanted to make sure we saw: The Little Fourteen Year Old Dancer sculpture by Degas, the Madame X painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware, and anything Van Gogh and Monet. My friends knew exactly where everything was and took us through other rooms on the way so we could catch glimpses of the other art. With some extra time we stopped in to see the Drawings and Prints room and then of course hit the gift shop on the way out.
We had reservations at Tavern on the Green at 5 pm so we made sure to leave the museum early to walk over. We had enough time to stop at the Albertine, a French bookstore, for a quick sitting break. If you walk up the second floor you can see their beautifully painted ceiling.
At 4:45 we began our walk to dinner, seeing the Alice in Wonderland statue, Central Park Boathouse, and the Bethesda fountain and terrace (for my Gossip Girl fans) on the way.
Tavern on the Green is a little more upscale than we usually do but it was excellent food and a beautiful restaurant. They had a daily special of potato gnocchi in pea sauce which was perfect for the end of Spring. Afterwards we walked to the west side to Levain Bakery to pick up some amazing cookies (oatmeal raisin for me) for the subway ride back to Harlem, where we quickly got dressed in black and silver before heading down to Broadway to see Masquerade. We caught the 8:15 pm show which seems to be a fan favorite pulse cast and it was truly beautiful and well done.
Today’s total: 11.58 miles walked!
That’s all for Day 1! Check back in for Day 2 featuring FAO Schwarz, MoMA, and the Comedy Cellar!
