(Please, sing title in Frank Sinatra style)

I finally made it to New York.  I admit that despite being one of the top cities in the world, New York was never at the top of my travel list.  Shows like Friends, Gossip Girl, and How I Met Your Mother may have romanticized the city for me for years, but it wasn’t until one of my best friends moved there after college that I knew I had to make a trip.

On that note– everyone please congratulate Soohee Cho on admissions to Parsons The New School for Design for her masters in design studies!!!  While I would love to give you an in-depth and well-rounded shopping, dining and entertainment guide to the city… I offer you instead this short and sweet, “How to experience NY in 3 days.“

See a game.  First off, it’s best not to travel to any city during a storm- duh, but sometimes it just can’t be avoided.  Had it not been storming something serious I would’ve spent my first day at a game.  Seeing the Yankees, or even the Mets, play a home game would have been ahhhmazing even for this not-so-sports-savvy girl.  It’s about the energy of a unified crowd, I love it.  Same for the Nets, Knicks, or Giants depending on season.

Times Square.  It’s a tourist trap, but you have to go at least once.  Appreciate the hustle and bustle… then get your ass in a cab out of there.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  There are a lot of great museums and galleries in NY, but with only 3 days in the city I knew I had to start my second day at The Met.  It’s one of those can’t-miss destinations, regardless of the magnitude in which you appreciate art.  It would probably take months to see everything, so you can easily plan your day around it.  Thankfully I was accompanied by an artist with an art history degree who knew exactly which exhibits I would find interesting (love you!), but there are also audio tours available for purchase.  I’m obsessed with the Greek & Roman Galleries, the Modern & Contemporary Art Galleries, and all of the Seventeenth-Eighteenth Century European Art.  I love museums for their ability to transport you into different times to be immersed in history rather than just read about it, and to allow you to see life through each artists eyes.  I know, I’m cheesy.  If you don’t grab a bite somewhere in the surrounding Upper East Side, they do have a couple of cafes that overlook Central Park through beautiful floor to ceiling windows for lunch or afternoon tea services.  If the weather is nice (luckily for me it had just cleared up), the Roof Garden Cafe will be open and offers a great view of the city skyline beyond the park.

Provided by Soohee

Provided by Soohee

Provided by Soohee

“But mooooom”

Rockefeller Center.  Another obvious tourist destination, but it really is worth walking to especially with the Jeff Koons “Split-Rocker” currently on display.  If it hadn’t of started to rain right when I took this photo, I would’ve gone up to the “Top of the Rock” where most of the amazing NYC skyline photos are taken.

Broadway.  It’s great to book your tickets in advance, but if you choose to see a show last minute then you’ll get the best deals in person at the theatre (according to the box office telephone employee, at least).  From Rockefeller we walked over to The Gershwin Theatre just in time for Wicked The Show.  It was amazing and we were lucky enough to score prime seats.  Once and The Book of Mormon are next on my list…

Soho.  Day three, shopping.  Hands down my favorite NYC neighborhood!  Can I exist there, please?!  All of the restaurants, cafes, shops, galleries, the overall atmosphere… I’m sold.  There is great luxury department store shopping all over NY, but Soho holds most of the boutiques that you probably won’t find in every other city.  Birchbox even has its own brick-and-mortar, complete with a full service salon.  The Dean & DeLuca flagship is also in Soho, which I passed but didn’t have the opportunity to check out.

5th Avenue.  The luxury department store shopping I just mentioned… I had to!  We have the same stores in Las Vegas, but the selection in NY is so much greater.  Shout out to the sales associate at Bergdorf Goodman for saving me the last Mansur Gavriel backpack.

911 Memorial & Museum.  So much more than a “tourist attraction,” although debatably it would be in that category.  It was hard for me to understand the magnitude of the event before coming here since I was so young when it happened, but the memorial “waterfalls” where the Twin Towers stood were beautifully executed.  If you’re working with a limited amount of time I would definitely recommend coming to Ground Zero over seeing the Statue of Liberty, which I hear is quite underwhelming.

Honorable Mentions.  Restaurants & attractions that came highly recommended to me.  Wish I could’ve had time for: Eataly NYC, Momofuku Milk Bar, Ippudo NY, The Halal Guys, Blue Ribbon Sushi (the original), The High Line park, The Standard, Cleopatras Needle, Minetta Tavern, The Meatball Shop, Mikeys Burger, Clinton St. Bakery, Chelsea Market, Rosemarys, Marquee NY, Rubirosa, Motorino, Co.  Thank you to everyone who made these suggestions!  ❤An extra special thank you to Soohee, for being such a thoughtful and thorough hostess❤

I inevitably missed a lot.  Best pizza in the city?  Must see shows?  Discuss in comments, or drop an email if you prefer, and I’ll be sure to get to it next time~

xx LK