At the end of last year, I was lucky enough to fly to Bahamas with my partner in crime Liam. The only way we could afford going to Bahamas (because let’s face it, it wouldn’t be our first choice per se) was because he was flown out there for work, so all we had to do was split one flight and figure out the rest (but more on that later).
Long story short, we ended up flying via New York. And even better so, we ended up having a quick layover in the Big Apple. On a Boxing Day. I mean….things couldn’t be better. (For those who don’t know what Boxing Day is - think of it as your second Christmas. It has nothing to do with the actual boxing as in sport). To be honest, it's not even a public holiday in the U.S. - I think we were just uber excited as New York is meant to be beautiful during this time of year!
Flight to New York
Our flights were booked by a travel agent and we knew we were flying with Virgin Atlantic (yeaaah boi!) so we were pretty pumped. Until we found out that they didn’t allocate our seats and we ended up sitting in completely different ends of the airplane. Usually I wouldn’t make a fuss, it’s only a flight, right? But NOT when it’s an 8 HOUR flight and I’ve literally JUST started my holiday with my man. So FML. The flight was fully booked and there were literally no seats they could swap us into… apart from Premium Economy, of course... 😏 😏
Yup, Liam managed to hustle a free upgrade for us with some pretty 'swaggy' seats, as he would say. I was over the moon too. We were about to get some proper cutlery, plates and shit! And wine. Bottled wine. Shut up.
Landing in New York
To our own surprise we were out of the airport within 30 mins. No, really. It’s probably the fastest you would ever come out of the JFK (I’m relying on Liam for this piece of information as this was my only second time in New York). We knew it was going to be cold, maybe not -3 degrees Celsius cold but hey, we were here and it was sunny! Though I personally wouldn’t have minded to have some extra gloves, scarf, hat, socks, boots and a sweater.
We finally managed to check in into our hotel and were actually well ahead of time. We had 18 hours in New York in total and if I remember correctly we were out of the hotel room by 4.30pm (2 hours after landing) so we were pretty optimistic about getting most of the things done. Anyway, here are some of the things that we did, and didn’t do, and some of the things you should do when visiting New York (during the holiday season that is).
What to do in New York in 18 Hours?
1) Get a cap from Lids
I’ve been wanting to get one of them New Era caps for ages (yes, the one that everyone else wears) but still. We knew there was going to be a much bigger choice in New York, plus they had a sick ‘buy 1, get 2nd 50% off’ deal so definitely a win-win for all. You can also just get one online.
2) Check out an art gallery
We stumbled upon Eden Fine Art Gallery on Madison Avenue. Completely by accident. And thanks to this post, I’ve just found out that they also have one here in London. Amazing! Some of their art pieces were incredible (as you can probably tell from my photos below).
3) Watch Macy’s Christmas window and Holiday display
Probably a little less relevant now as Christmas is over but hey, in case you’re planning your trip there already - then remember to add this to the list. The light show was pretty spectacular (I should dig out a video really)!
4) Ice skate at the Rockefeller Centre (or NOT)
Our dream of ice skating on a Boxing Day at the Rockefeller Centre was shattered by 10,000 other people, who also wanted to ice skate on a Boxing Day at the Rockefeller Centre. So my piece of advice would be to just swing by it, check out the GIANT Christmas tree, some decorations and get the f*ck out of there as quickly as possible (unless you love crowds)! Lol
5) Get pickleback shots at an Irish pub
Or any bar really. For those who don’t know - pickleback shot is a shot of whisky followed by a shot of pickle juice (or brine, to be precise). Being from Latvia (where anything pickled is pretty much the norm) - I bloody love these shots. And if you haven’t tried one yet - do it!
6) Check out more Christmas decorations
Again, probably not as relevant now that the Christmas season is over but hey, if you ever find yourself in New York in December - definitely go check out some giant Christmas decorations around the Rockefeller Centre.
7) Eat $1 pizza slice
This was like mission (almost) impossible. You would think that there would be plenty of pizza joints all over central New York. I mean, we were literally walking towards the Times Square where another batch of 10,000 people were heading and still couldn’t find a spot. And I wish I could tell you the name of the pizza joint we ended up in, but by this time we were too freaking cold and hungry to even note it down. Soz guys.
8) Get a drink at the Rolf’s Bar & Restaurant
I did a bit of digging beforehand and asked my New York friends if they could recommend any rather Christmasy places to go. Rolf’s was the place to go. It’s a German restaurant and bar which also spends $60,000 every year on Christmas decorations. It looks a bit like, and I quote Liam:
“Christmas threw up”
The good news, is that they keep them there until April (so if you’re visiting anytime soon - you can still get a bit of a Christmas feel). The bad news, is that if you do go during the holiday season (like we did) - you will have to queue outside and pay $18 for one Baileys cocktail. Having said that, it's definitely worth going there for a drink (don't bother with dinner, their reviews seemed pretty average and food didn’t look that great).
9) Have dinner at the NoMad Restaurant (or NOT)
This was another recommendation from my friend and in fact, the main event of our stay in New York. I even picked a hotel because it was a 5 minute walk from this restaurant. I also booked this place a month in advance (just to make sure that we DEFINITELY get a table).
So with about 10 mins to go till our reservation and with Liam all dressed up in shoes and a freshly ironed shirt (which doesn’t happen often so it’s a big deal), and me still wrapped in a towel after a shower - we decided to cancel and order room service instead. Lol
This is what we missed.
10) Get room service (or NOT)
It so happened that unfortunately our hotel didn’t do any room service so I sent Liam on a hunt for some supplies: water, bananas and of course, the real buffalo chicken wings to-go. He was a real G and brought all three, plus some additional mozzarella triangles (not sure why not balls, lol). What a man. So anyway, we tucked ourselves into bed and ate our ‘dinner’ whilst watching some American trash TV ads (by the way I’m not implying that ads in the UK are any better).
What buffalo chicken wings look like. Ours weren't nearly as fancy.
Flight to Bahamas
So we’re back at the JFK airport, queuing outside in freezing cold again, waiting to drop our bags off to realise 15 minutes later that we have to go back inside and do it all over again. Turns out our flight got delayed from 8.38 to 8.58 (I mean, come on. What happened to rounding? And will the flight REALLY take off 2 mins to 9am?!?). The answer is no. It didn't.
Anyway, we went to get some breakfast. From Shake Shack. That’s right, it’s only 8.30 in the morning, so why not have a burger and a breakfast sandwich (which is basically another burger). Lol #noshame #maybealittlebitofshame
Films we watched that I recommend:
- Brigsby Bear - I was a quite skeptical at first but decided to give Liam a shot on this one and it actually ended up being kinda great. Or 'a hot classic' as Liam would say.
- Wind River - a great film. Anything based on true events will have me going. The storyline is pretty chilled at first and then everything happens in the last 30 mins so be prepared!
If you had to pick one of the things we did - what would it be and why? Comment below!
Inga x
To be continued...
*All photos are mine unless otherwise stated with image source provided.