A week in New York

First things first, I'd like to apologise for the lack of posts on the blog lately and although I could say I've had no time at all to blog, that would be a lie and honesty is the best policy am I right?! In fact, I've spent most of my free and valuable summer time religiously watching season after season of Gossip Girl and playing the Kim Kardashian game. During my month of not blogging, I spent an amazing 2 weeks in London and a week in New York both sight seeing and exploring the two beautiful cities. This was my 2nd time back into the concrete jungle of New York and within the span of a week, I managed to tick off almost everything (sadly didn't have time to visit Bath and body works) on my mile-long New York bucket list so I thought I'd create a guide of my favourite things that I encountered there. I may be no New Yorker but I hope this guide helps you the next time you visit New York!

SoHo/The MET/Upper East Side

Known as the fashion capital of America or really one of the fashion capitals of the world, there will always be something to do in the city when it comes to fashion. My favourite thing was visiting SoHo. Its distinctive cast-iron buildings and external fire ladders prove to be way more than just a typical shopping area. Housing upscale trendy boutiques like Opening Ceremony to popular high street brands like Brandy Melville, there is a shop for all ages and shoppers.
The majority of the department stores like Barney's, Bloomingdales etc are all in the Upper East side which I briefly visited but what I really liked about it was that it's only a few metres away from Central Park, which is my favourite place in the city. New York really has the best shopping and some of my favourite stores there include Urban Outfitters, Brandy Melville and Anthropologie.

There's always a fashion exhibition at the MET and this summer, it featured Charles James's designs. Personally, I really enjoyed the designs but what I loved the most was how the designs were shown. Next to each gown, a visual screen would project the intricate process of the gown making through a myriad of pictures and diagrams, showing how the glamorous gowns were crafted from start to finish.If you're in NY right now, this exhibition in the MET is definitely a must-see! Head over to the rooftop while you're there to experience the best and most breathtaking views of Central Park. If you're a Gossip Girl fan like me, then you definitely need to take a picture by the MET steps. Call me cheesy, but it was definitely worth it!

New York is blessed with a diversity of museums  and above are my favourite museums and sites that I went to. The Jeff Koons exhibition at the Whitney Museum is one of the most colourful and interesting exhibitions I've been to and I definitely recommend it for anyone going to New York. If you had to pick one museum to visit, MoMa is the one you should go to. Be prepared to bring tissues if you go to the 911 museum. It is one of the most moving museums filled with gory images of the tragic 9/11 attacks.

Before coming to New York, the food was probably the thing I was most excited for. If you know me or seen my instagram, you'll know that I'm a massive foodie and hungry every hour of the day. Feed me any day and we'll become friends instantly. So it comes to no surprise that I ate pretty well this trip and above are my favourite eats from the trip.

The fact that I still want more after digesting 2 burgers, 1 vanilla milkshake and some cheese fries later proves that Shake Shack has the best burgers in town. Although many people think it's overrated, I personally think Shake Shack is the best burger joint in the city. 5 Guys also has yummy burgers at very affordable prices for those of you who don't like Shake Shack. I read about Pure food and wine from a few different blogs so it was only natural that I had to see what the hype was about. I was worried that the food would be too raw for my taste as I read all the foreign food ingredients on the menu, but the food was honestly so amazing and knowing that what you're eating is completely raw and vegan is an extra bonus. If you're there, you should definitely try the lasagna pictured above. For more healthy food, Whole Foods Market is without a doubt the best place to go to. Walking into Whole Foods is like every health-obsessed person's heaven. For a variety of food, Chelsea Market is the place to go. There is honestly so much selection to chose from it can make you dizzy. After taking a long look at all the different stalls and restaurants, I finally ended up eating the lobster which I really recommend.

If you're on a tight budget, I wouldn't recommend Nobu as it's pretty pricey but it was Restaurant Week when I was there so the prices were super affordable. Koi was also another sushi place that I really loved. Their spin of Californian style rolls and traditional Japanese sushi make the restaurant really unique.

Last but not least, when you're in SoHo be sure to queue at Dominique Ansel Bakery. After a 45 minute queue just to get inside, you're surrounded by every type of sweet dessert on display. Truth be told, it was really frustrating narrowing down what to order because there was so many sweet choices. You must try the cronut while you're there since they were created by the baker himself! (there's even a separate line just for the cronuts!)

There are endless amounts of places to explore over New York and I pretty much went to all the touristy places so if you have any recommendations, I would love to read about them in the comments! Central park is without a doubt my favourite place to go to in New York. Take a 30 minute scroll and you'll be surrounded with lush greenery, tons of skilled buskers and lots of gorgeous architecture. Central park definitely has a very likeable atmosphere that no other park can compare to. What I love about it the most is that it provides an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. Another park worth exploring is definitely Washington Square park. I went there after a tour of NYU and explored Union Square which is just a few minutes walk away. From chess players to more buskers, Union Square is constantly buzzing as well. For awesome views of the city, I went to The Top of the Rock where if you look closely you can see Lady Liberty herself. The High Line was my second favourite place to explore. Originally a railroad, it's now been converted into a one-mile walkway and again has a very buzzy vibe. The popsicles are a definite must-try if you're walking on a really hot day like I did!New York is constantly buzzing, and it definitely is the city that never sleeps.

What's your favourite place in New York?

You can check out my summer photos on my instagram here!

xoxo

Nicole
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