Travel Log: Summer in NYC

You may remember the below outfit from last month's post "Lace and Lemonade Crop Top."  It is a perfect summer outfit, and I wore a modified version (no hat, crossbody instead of clutch, flat sandals instead of heels) during my Memorial Day weekend trip to New York City.  It is now a five year tradition that my grandmother, sister, and I make time for a ladies weekend in NYC together, and I am so thankful to have these priceless memories with these members of my family.  

Top: "Lace and Lemonade Cropped Top, c/o Conversation Pieces here
Cami: Banana Republic (old), similar "Seamless Cami" in white, $25 at Banana Republic here
Shorts: "Factory 3" Chino Short" in citrus lime, $34.50 (on sale!) at J Crew Factory here
Watch: Marc by Marc Jacobs "Henry" in gold, $250 at Nieman Marcus here
Bag: Dooney & Bourke (old), similar "Eva Small North/South Crossbody" (I am loving both the white and orange versions!), $98 at Dooney & Bourke here 
Sunglasses: old, similar "Evita" in dark tortoise, $158 at Coach here

Each time we visit the city, we have our favorite usual stops but we also look for something new and different to experience.  This year, our new experience came from a dear friend who attended grad school in New York and enjoyed living in the Upper East Side for four years.  Her suggestion was to pick a sunny day to ride the East River Ferry from North Williamsburg down to DUMBO to take in the sweeping views of Manhattan from the water.  The Memorial Day forecast was 85 degrees and sunny, so around noon we jumped on the N/Q/R line from our midtown hotel to Union Station and then switched to the L train to head under the river to Williamsburg.  We got off the train at the first stop (Bedford) and walked about ten minutes to the East River Ferry stop.  We purchased a $6 weekend one-way fare, although you can get a return trip ticket depending on where you are staying and what your plans are.  We wanted to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge back to the Financial District, so the one-way ticket worked out well for us.  Check out my photos below of our afternoon adventure, starting with the view looking at Manhattan from the deck of the ferry.

The ferry was busy that day, but we found a nice spot on the upper deck with a perfect view as well as a very nice person to take our photo.

Our ferry route took us from North Willamsburg under the Williamsburg Bridge, which of course needed another photo looking back at the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building on this gorgeous day.  It then stopped in South Williamsburg, and continued under the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges before stopping in DUMBO.

Although we enjoyed the breeze on the water, we disembarked in DUMBO to head for the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.  This ice cream shop is right in front of the ferry stop in a converted fireboat house building, super easy to find, but does have long lines on the weekend.  There are eight flavors on the menu, and you can get 1/2/3 scoops for $4/6/7.  I don't know why I didn't take a picture this time, but it's definitely worth a stop.  After ice cream, we strolled through Brooklyn Bridge Park to people watch on this crowded holiday Monday.

From Brooklyn Bridge Park, it's a short walk to the M line which takes you back across the river to the Financial District.  However, it's also a short walk to the pedestrian path on the Brooklyn Bridge.  On warm sunny days, we prefer to walk back to the Financial District via the bridge.  One thing to note is that on holiday weekends, you get to walk with 10,000 of your closest friends plus dodge the cycling tourists who can't seem to figure out which side is the bike lane even though there are very clear drawings on the pavement.  But, the view of the Manhattan skyline on your right as well as Lady Liberty and Governor's Island on your left are gorgeous, so we keep doing it.

This view of Empire and Chrysler from the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge is a favorite--I have almost the same photo from a few years ago framed in my home.

NYC is one of those amazing cities that connects people.  In addition to my time with my family, I also am so blessed to have two dear girlfriends who live locally and dropped everything on a Tuesday night to spend time with me!  I met these gals through another girlfriend currently living in San Francisco (but who grew up in New York), and I am both amazed and thankful for these coast-to-coast connections.  It really shows how between moving around for school, jobs, and better technology, people today can maintain connections all over the world.  One of my girlfriends also introduced me to an NYC blogger and overall awesome gal named Shawna.  Shawna is a runner with a refined palate, so definitely check out her blog Run This Apple for workout tips, places to eat in NYC, and food for thought.  We had such a fabulous night, starting with drinks at Leilabar in the West Village, then sushi at Tao and drinks at the Gansevoort, and I can't wait to see these girls again!

In addition to the planned evening above, I also experienced a bit of NYC serendipity on this trip.  One of my closest girlfriends (now in Seattle but from NYC) flew in prior to my arrival, but the timing of our trips wasn't supposed to align.  However, it just so happened that she got stuck in traffic on the way back from her Hamptons weekend and had to reschedule her flight.  Worst thing ever, right?  Not for me - because this gal came to meet my big sis and I after dinner at Yuca Bar in the East Village, and we had such a great evening hanging out and just talking about life while sitting in front of Shake Shack in Madison Square Park.  Eventually they closed and we moved to a different bar in Koreatown (one of her favorite college spots) and pretty much closed that place down too.

I hope you enjoyed reading and viewing these snapshots of my latest visit to NYC, and that you are inspired to reconnect with friends that you may not have seen for a while.  Even if you can't jump on a plane this summer, the good news is that friends are only a phone call, an email, or a skype call away!  Enjoy your week and thank you so much for reading.  =)