Happy Hump Day friends!!

I hope everyone is having a fabulous last day of July (OMG how, where did the time go??)!

I kicked off July in NYC and today I’m sharing what I did, where I stayed and more on my trip to the Big Apple. New York is one of my favorite cities and I love that now so many of my friends live up there to go visit and stay with whenever we’re both available. That’s the best part of growing up and going away for college IMO!

WHAT I DID

This trip was a celebratory last hoorah since my friend and I were both starting new chapters in our lives starting August and we wanted to visit mutual college friends in the city. We flew up super early in the morning and landed in the city at 11 am so first we dropped our bags at the Air Bnb we rented and went out for lunch at a local food hall we found randomly and a walk around Central Park and Park Avenue before heading back to shower and change for dinner and the rest of the night.

We had plans to meet with a friends so we walked to his office building to scoop him up and he took us to Sen Senaka a delicious Japanese-Peruvian fusion place with delicious food and drinks at really great prices. Highly recommended if you go to NYC you check them out! It’s right in Midtown so you’re close to everything.

After a quick snack and drinks, our friend took us to the Refinery Hotel’s Rooftop Bar and OMG it is stunning and the views are beautiful. This is another 10/10 recommendation!

Our friend had to head home after this but he recommended The Skylark Rooftop so we headed there after saying our goodbyes. We got there right as the sun went down and the city lights flickered on and WOW the views, the energy everything about it was magical here.

Since it had been a long travel day we decided to get Shake Shack for dinner and then head back uptown to our Air Bnb in the Upper West Side and call it a night so we could wake up early the next day.

Tuesday morning we woke up to no water in our building (thanks to sewage maintenance outside) so we body showered with bottled water and got ready to head out on the town. We had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast since it was down the street and we got the subway down to the Meatpacking District to walk along the High Line.

I know it’s super IG famous and kinda basic but this little green escape is so refreshing in a concrete jungle and the flowers and plants smell so good I definitely think you have to walk at least part of it.

For lunch we went to Chelsea Market which is a large food hall and shopping Mecca for spices and teas and pasta. We grabbed tacos at the Japanese-Mexican place and they were delicious! After walking the whole market and getting a much need A/C Break we headed back out to the High Line and took it all the way up to the Hudson Yards.

This area is home to a fancy shopping mall and the uber IG famous Vessel. We of course went up the Vessel for stunning views of the river and the New Jersey Skyline and I have to say the hype is real here.

After climbing back down we headed to Mr. Purple for happy hour and I know this is another instagramable spot but I’ve heard such good things from friends that we had to go for at least one drink. The vibe is so cool and I wish we could have gone back at night to check it out in the city lights!

After drinks we stopped by Cha Cha Matcha for a cup of delicious matcha before heading back to the apartment to shower and get ready for the night.

After getting ready we headed back to Midtown to Rockefeller Plaza and the Top of the Rock to experience the stunning views of the city. This is one of my favorite places in the whole city so I was really happy to be back and show my friend since he had never been!

He really wanted to check out the Starbucks Reserve Roastery so we headed there for dinner and a final drink before we called it a day. We had to be up early for a tour!

This place was so freaking cool and if you like Starbucks or just love checking out new unique places this is a Must! The food was delicious and their drinks menu is so funky and they taste amazing, the hospitality there is unbeatable too!

The next morning we were up bright and early to hop on the Gossip Girl tour. And yes my friend was a willing partner, he watched the show too! It was so cool seeing some of the more famous filming sights like the museum and church where Constance and St. Jude’s located and seeing the buildings Blair Waldorf and Nate Archibald called home.

We got to get off at some of the stops like the Empire Hotel and Lincoln Center and it was a really neat experience.

The tour began at the Palace Hotel so we grabbed breakfast at Roast Kitchen down the street and it ended at Grand Central Station so we grabbed a drink at The Bar before heading back to the apartment.

Sadly my friend had to head back home but I still had a full day and a half in the city by myself so after exchanging goodbyes he headed to La Guardia and I went to the Met.

We had visited it earlier on the GG tour but I wanted to check out the exhibits. I love history and I’m such a nerd that I actually really enjoyed it!

After my trip to the museum I grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and charged my phone until one of my friends texted me where to meet him after he got off work.

We met at City Vineyard on the West down by the docks and the views and fresh air now that the sun was going down was stunning. The sunset was gorgeous and the rosé was delicious. He and his brother live together in the city now and they were amazing friends to me in college so it was so amazing to see them and meet their cousins from Australia that we’re visiting.

Once the sun went down our bellies were growling so we headed to the West Village for dinner at Rosemary’s. They’re Italian food is amazing!!! The laughter and fun flowed until the day caught up to us all and I headed back to the apartment and my friends went home. I’m so happy I got to see them amongst the craziness of their work schedules and my short time in the Big Apple.

Thursday was my final full day in the city so I got up early to head to Midtown to meet up with one of my close friends who also happened to be visiting NYC that weekend for breakfast. We met at her hotel and took the subway down to SoHo for brunch at Jack’s Wife Freda.

This place is well known and for good reason. Their waffles were scrumptious and the vibe is warm and friendly. After brunch we wanted to walk to the Brooklyn Bridge but we got rained out so we went back to her hotel to kill time before our next tour.

We went to the Rosé Mansion for a drink at happy hour time and at first I will admit I was very skeptical of the experience but the wines were great (you get 8 samples!) and the laughter was flowing amongst us. There were some fun rooms to play dress up and throw flower petals at each other in so it was a blast after all!

By the end we were tipsy and hungry so we met up with one of her friends from college who now lives in the city for pizza at the World Famous Joe’s Pizza and headed back to her hotel to eat and chat.

Honestly it was the best way to end my stay in NYC! It was an ugly night out, it was pouring and humid so after hanging out for a few hours I just went back to the apartment to finish packing and call it a night.

The next morning I had an early flight so I headed straight to La Guardia for my flight back home.

EATS + SIPS

Sen Senaka

The Refinery Hotel Rooftop

The Skylark Rooftop

Mr. Purple

Cha Cha Matcha

Starbucks Reserve Roastery

Roast Kitchen

City Vineyard

Rosemary’s

Jack’s Wife Freda

Rosé Mansion

Joe’s Pizza

WHERE I STAYED

We all know NYC is a pricey place so I highly recommend renting an Air Bnb for a more affordable option but hotels are great too, it just depends on your price range.

We stayed in the Upper West Side, bordering Harlem, right next to Morningside Park and it was a quaint little street and the most affordable apartment we found for as many nights as we had planned to be in town for so definitely do your research!

I’m so happy I got to visit one of my favorite cities in the world one last time before school starts and I got to check out some places I’ve been hearing about forever and found some new favorites. Next time though I’ll be sure to be basic and get a cute pic on the Brooklyn Bridge!

Thanks for reading!

xo Kayla