Autumn Adventures: Welcome to NYC

We flew into New York a few days before going on a cruise. We landed pretty late in the day and our main goal was to grab a bite before going to a bar. We stayed in Brooklyn and ended up at Lenny's Pizzeria, which was really good. We ate our pizza while walking toward a bar on our list of must-sees. We arrived at Good Judy and ordered some drinks. After some drinks, we returned to our hotel for the night because we had a full day ahead.

Lenny's Pizzeria

Drinks at Good Judy

Good Judy

The next morning, a friend and I walked to a nice coffee shop called Full Up Coffee, grabbed lattes, and then went to the hotel to meet the others. We walked to the subway and rode it into the city center. We stopped in Chelsea to walk around Chelsea Market. Our friends stopped to get a second coffee and I got a bagel with truffle cream cheese from Black Seed Bagels. It was so delicious. Then we walked along the High Line, an elevated, linear park/greenery space along some old train tracks. The High Line is something I go to any time I'm in New York. It's a nice breath of fresh air in the city.

Walking the Streets of Brooklyn

Full Up Coffee

New York Subway Station

Chelsea Market

Black Seed Bagels

Drinking tea while walking the High Line

View from the High Line

We continued walking and ended up at the Rockefeller Center. We went up to the 'Top of the Rock' and enjoyed the panoramic views of New York City. We chose to do this instead of the top of the Empire State Building because we heard it was a better experience. I've never been to the top of the Empire State Building but the Top of the Rock was amazing and I recommend it. We had drinks at the Top of the Rock and I'm sad to say that it was probably the worst espresso martini I've ever had. Luckily we left and went to a super cool rooftop bar that my boss recommended. The Refinery Rooftop bar was a 10/10. The atmosphere was amazing and the food and drinks were phenomenal. Honestly, they had one of the best mac and cheese dishes I've ever had, which is saying something because I order mac and cheese at almost any chance I get. A bonus to this place is seeing the Empire State Building from the rooftop.

Looking Upon NYC

View of Central Park

Refinery Menu

Refinery Bar

Refinery Food

Empire State Building

After eating, we walked through Times Square and headed to John Golden Theatre to see Stereophonic, a Tony-award-winning play based on a band that seemed similar to Fleetwood Mac around the time of their Rumours album. After the show, we headed immediately to Schmackary's, an award-winning cookie shop that makes Broadway-inspired cookies. We bought so many cookies there because I wanted to try them all. We brought the cookies back to the hotel and ate them with tea.

Times Square

Golden Theatre

Drinks at the Theater

Schmackary's

Slimack Cafe Bombonoce

The next morning we met with friends for breakfast at Slimak Cafe. The food was amazing. I tried a coffee drink I'd never had before called bombonoce, which was so tasty. The bombonoce was an espresso shot with condensed milk, whipped cream, and cinnamon. After breakfast, we headed to the cruise terminal to board our New England cruise, where we went to Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

If you want to learn more about what to do in New York, click here.