"I look out the window and I see the lights and the skyline and the people on the street rushing around looking for action, love, and the world's greatest chocolate chip cookie, and my heart does a little dance."—Nora Ephron

2023 started in the best way, with 5 days in New York.

With an instantly recognizable skyline and more than 8 million people, New York is bursting with diversity and excitement. We went to be inspired, and it did not disappoint.

You could never run out of things to do in New York. These are our highlights from the last 5 days.

Best Food Tour

Karen led us through the Lower East Side with a tour guide we downloaded from New York Walking Tours.

We strolled for 2 hours stopping to eat  at iconic New York institutions like Yonah Schimmel Bakery for Knish, Russ & Daughters and Katz Deli.

People Watching 

You don't just people-watch in New York; you watch their dogs too. Sit for a while, and you will see professional chess players meeting for games, poodles and pugs walking through in their best clothes and shoes.

Two we loved were Washington Square Park in the heart of Greenwich Village and Union Square Park for its farmers market on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Taking in the view

The 86th floor of the Empire State Building at night is spectacular. You will see the thousands of lights in New York stretching across all 5 boroughs. There are no queues and no crowds. Just beautiful and very emotional. 

Most memorable moment

The Highline walks you through so much of New York. The skyscrapers of Manhattan up ahead, the Hudson River to your left, the Meatpacking District and Chelsea just below. 

You will walk past sculptures and artworks and peer into apartments, restaurants and bars. 

All this while walking through the most beautiful, natural unfinished planting designs constantly changing over time.

Our favourite meal 

Dhamaka takes real, provincial dishes from all over India and serves them to New Yorkers. There are flavours on this menu that you will not get anywhere else. It was our best meal in New York and the best Indian meal we have ever eaten. Go!

And if we couldn’t leave

We would move into a building surrounding Grammercy Park so we could make our way to the Gramercy Park Tavern every Sunday for a Figgy Pete.

 Thanks, New York. We had a blast.

Karen & Natalie xx