New York in Fall

Living in Bakersfield and LA and experiencing the hot summer last year made me crave for a cold rainy weather. That was what motivated me to pick New york as my destination.

First Fact about NYC is that since it is a big city all the hotels are small so if you’re used to hotels in CA, you have to adjust your expectations although hotels in NYC have so much character. You definitely you won’t see a cookie cutter type hotel in NYC or at least there is less of that.

When I was booking my hotel, I was looking for something in a walking distance to time square and good restaurants and that’s when I came across The James Nomad Hotel:

It has the character that I was looking for and also nearby the locations that I was looking for. I really loved their Lobey decoration. They had a free wine and jewelry event in the lobey one night which was really fun. They also have a really cool bar that I loved:

Like I said I was trying to book a hotel walking distance from good restaurants and let me tell you that I was more than satisfied with my choice.

Second Fact about NYC (not sure if it is a real fact or not but I call it a fact for now), all the restaurants that I went to were in another level in comparison to LA or anywhere else that I’ve been before so maybe all the restaurants in NYC are in a higher level than other places. I’ll confirm this next time that I travel there.

First Restaurant, if you are in NYC you have to try having brunch at Midwinter Kitchen , it is the best brunch that I’ve ever had in my life:

Second Restaurant, I was really surprised by the quality of food at Blackbarn restaurant , I also really liked the decoration and the vibes:

The bread that comes with the food was my favorite part:

Third Restaurant, if you are craving really good italian food in NYC this is the place to go Marta Restaurant , it is the best Pizza that I’ve ever had in my life (I’m traveling to Italy next week so it might change but so far this is the best):

Forth Restaurant, if you are looking for a quick breakfast with healthy choices try Blank Slate Tea , I liked the food and the pink environment but be aware that they don’t serve coffee but you can get a ton of cool pink pictures there:

Fifth Restaurant, I’ve always been a fan of persian cuisine and Ravagh Persian Grill was my favorite and recommended by my Iranian friends living in NYC:

sixth Restaurant, Sugar Factory is not really a restaurant, it’s more like a shop but I loved it, it was so much fun. you can get really cool drinks and desserts:

I’m getting hungry as I’m writing this so let’s move on to other fun things that you can do in NYC.

One of the things that was highly recommended by my friends and tripadvisor was The Ride Bus Tour , It’s a really different bus tour that takes you around the city and also perform little shows too. The whole time you’ll be sitting towards the windows. Make sure that you buy tickets online in advance.

A must go that I’m sure is in everyone’s bucket list is the Time Square , walking around the time square especially at night is a must do especially if you do a little bit of bar hopping, I guarantee you that you’ll have a great time there.

In New York it seems like there’s no Monday or Saturday or Sunday. The town is always moving. The vibe is great and that’s what I love about NYC. You can find some videos from time square in my Instagram Page ‘s New york story Highlight.

Siping from a coffee and staring at all of the lights and people at time square was one my favorite parts of the trip.

If you want to get the best view of the time square for free or almost free, go to the McDonald’s in time square and go to the second floor. you can have a similar view to R Lounge but a lot cheaper:

One of the must go places in New york is Empire State Building although you can get the similar view of the city from World Trade Center Building with less waiting in line. you can judge which one to visit depending on what is more important for you.

Empire State Building View:

WTC view:

One of the popular must go places in New york is the Wall street and the Bull. the Bull is so crowded that you really can’t take a good picture there:

Don’t forget to visit New York Stock Exchange:

Since Wall Street is closer to water, it was really really windy there so go prepared if you’re travelling there in a cold season:

One of the locations that had a lot of character and I enjoyed a lot was the Chelsea Market . It’s an old market with exposed brick walls and lots of shops and restaurants. Sometimes they have some events too that you can check from their website. there was also this little coffee shop at the back that I loved:

Now we get to my most favorite part of New york and that is Central Park especially in fall. You can find the real fall in central park in November. You can find some videos from time square in my Instagram Page ‘s New york story Highlight.

I think if you want to experience a true New York you have to go to a Broadway Show . Since we were there in November, we went to Rockettes show called “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” which was amazing and I highly recommend it. it definitely put you in christmas mood.

in the same area of Radio City Hall, you can also visit Rockefeller Center which actually I didn’t get a chance to do that but close by the Rockefeller Center there is a magical ice skating range that was just like movies it’s called the Rink at rock center:

Right next to the Rink, there is a huge Lego Store that if I had time I’d spend hours in it:

Well as I’m writing this blog, all the memories of my magical NYC trip speed through my mind and I might try it again this fall. New York’s energy, when you’ve got the benefit of great weather, is really terrific. You look up at that skyline, and Empire State Building is literally in your eyesight, there’s nothing like that.