NYC from a French point of view

by Alix

Watch out New York City Here we come…

Living in Miami, New York City is only a 2:45 flight!! What could be nicer than to spend the weekend in the city that never sleeps …

Arriving at La Guardia under a sunny sky of about 5 degrees Celsius, we rented a Limo, 1st time!, to go to Manhattan. Hence we wandered around the West Village and Soho.

A weekend in NYC is like a marathon if you want to get a somewhat complete overview and feeling of the city …

So in order and full speed ahead, here is what we managed to do in NYC in a weekend: a real marathon …

Ballad in West Village and Soho: Prince St, Bleeker, Carmine, Bond, Lafayette, Mercer St … A maze of streets and lovely stores where shopping is without comparison! It’s like Paris, Sandro, Maje, Chanel, Balenciaga, Ladurée … A village in the heart of Manhattan where people are super trendy and cool! I suggest you make a small detour by “Evolution”, an unusual store, I won’t tell you more …

Lunch on Bond St. at « Le Philosophe », that could be a Parisian bistro! Chic and cozy atmosphere, delicious food, I had not eaten eggs benedict for ages, delectable! Honors to the “basil Blanc Manger” Amazing!

The owner is as adorable as his 2-year-old baby. We exchanged our respective hot spot addresses. He was looking for a natural and relaxing venue near Miami. I advised him to go to Bahia Honda in the Keys or Delray Beach.

Afterward we went to « Top of the Rock », at the Rockefeller Center, breathtaking view! Then a stroll through Central Park and ice-skating. FAO Schwarz (largest toy store in the world) to admire teddy bears. A walk on 5th before going on Broadway to applaud Wicked. It’s been running for 10 years and this show is still number 1! The choreography and songs are just amazing. And finally we finished the day at Times Square breathtaking again !!

I am just exhausted what about you?

Let’s go to bed, tomorrow we have a busy day…

Refreshed we are ready for another day in the big apple.

The Statue of Liberty in the sun waiting for us! What a dream … a gift from us French to the American people in friendship after the victory of the Union! Too nice these frenchy!

Then for a bit of history, we navigate to Ellis Island, 1st American footsteps for so many emigrants coming from Europe, a hyper well-preserved place steeped in history! Always in search of history we go back to Manhattan to visit the unfortunately famous site of theTwin Towers: the 9/11 Memorial. Very impressive and sad, nothing remains except two pillars belonging to the foundations of the south tower and one surviving tree! A pear tree from China was spared we wonder how!

To give a little joy to the end of the weekend we took a cab to the Meatpacking District one of my favorite neighborhoods in NYC. Throughout our visit, Chelsea Market is welcoming, warm and crowded with people. We then have an unexpected and unique experience in this old Oreo cookie factory . You can admire food stalls of all kinds as well as the work of local artists, sculptors and graffiti artists. Many restaurants make our mouths water! This place is totally unexpected and very pleasant. « Lobster Place » catches us in its nets. On the menu, oysters and pinot blanc (I’ve never seen so many varieties of oysters!) As for the wine, ok it’s not Muscadet Blanc but hey we are not in Cancale either! Smoked salmon, sushi … yummy! Chinese soup, only thing missing is our French whole bread accompanied by our national salted butter! Partly set at Amy’s bread! I savored their bread roll, to die for!