New York City Day 2

Make sure to check out New York City Day One.

Day two started super early, technically. The time changed allowed us some extra time to sleep and still be up early to explore.

We started our day with breakfast thanks to Elizabeth and 2H {that’s what my grandparents call him}. Henrique headed out early to buy bagels from their favorite bagel spot, and Elizabeth made us some yummy bacon, egg, and cheese bagels. Perfect start to a day of exploring!

Sunday, we didn’t really have any plans. I wanted to go to Chelsea Market and the High Line. We got off the train near Rockefeller Center, to check out the line for the Top of the Rock.

{I read something by a New Yorker that said they can pick out tourist because they’re always looking up, and it’s so true!}

I really wanted to get an elevated view of the city, but didn’t want to waste our time stand in line. I read some post about how long the line for the Empire State Building could be. No thank you!

Once we were inside the building, we walked right up to the ticket counter, bought tickets, went straight through security, and walked right onto the elevator. I’m not sure if there were no lines because it was the morning of the NYC Marathon, but the Top of the Rock is suppose to be a better/quicker option. And you get to see the Empire State Building!

The view was amazing! Cold, windy, and amazing!

Once we came down the 67 floors, we walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It was  a little disappointing because the inside and outside was covered in scaffolding. It was still impressive and MASSIVE. Huck took a few pictures with his GoPro, but they all came out blurry. They were in the middle of mass when we walked in, and I didn’t want to start snapping pictures. It was kind of weird walking around during mass, but they said it was okay, and the place was packed, so we pulled the tourist card and went with it.

From there we headed to Chelsea Market.

For a REALLY REALLY long time, I dreamed of working at Chelsea Market. It’s home of the Food Network, and I wanted to host my own cooking show. By the time we arrived, it was time of lunch, and we were hungry!

I follow Chelsea Market on Instagram {Do you follow me??}, and they recently posted something about Los Tacos No. 1 being voted the best tacos in NYC {I think??}, so I knew Huck would want to judge that for himself.

Their tortillas are made fresh to order, which I liked. Huck ordered a steak, chicken, and pork. I think his favorite part was the hot sauce. He loves spicy food!

Right next door to Los Taco was Mokbar and a big, spicy, bowl of Ramen sounded amazing on a cold day. I ordered the Kimchi Ramen bowl. Perfect.

I followed my soup with donuts from Doughnuttery. I ordered a small order which comes with 6 mini donuts, 3 Cacaoboy and 3 PBCP, and I ate 5 of them. Huck was full and “doesn’t like sweets”, so he only ate one. I couldn’t let them go to waste! And they’re so light it really didn’t seem like that much.

From Chelsea Market, we went to the High Line. The High Line was once an abandoned freight rail line that is now converted into a park. I’m sure during the summer it’s beautiful. We didn’t hang out long due to the crazy wind and cold, though! And we also walk south instead of north, and we didn’t want to backtrack.

 

From there, we hopped in a cab and made our way to the Flatiron District.

We walked back and forth looking for Birreria. It’s a rooftop brewery right down the street from the Flatiron, and GPS told us it was “right here”, but we didn’t see it. We walked in between two streets like 4 times looking for this place. I did find a store/restaurant called Eataly. I kept telling Huck, “Look Eataly! HAHA. That’s awesome!” “Huck look! It’s called Eataly!” “EATALY!! It’s like Italy, but Eataly!” He wasn’t paying attention, though.

Guess where Birreria was?? Eataly! If we were not so full and had dinner plans, I would have pigged out. Everything looked amazing! They had cheese, wine, meats, prepared foods, wine! Damn you small stomach! Huck managed to drag me away, and me made our way upstairs to the bar. It was closed in {luckily since it was so windy}, but it didn’t feel like a rooftop.

Huck tried one of their beers which he said was okay, and I ordered a beer from Maine Beer Company, Another One. Man, they have some great beers!

Once we finished our beers, we headed back to Astoria for dinner.

EE and HH invited us for Sunday dinner and prepared some great Brazilian foods. Henrique is from Brazil, and they cooked us an authentic Brazilian meal thanks to their local Brazilian market. They invited a few of their friends over, and we enjoyed learning more about the city from people that actually live there. One of their friends is a blogger, too. Her site is Markets of New York City, and it’s great resource if you’re planning a trip to the city and looking for stuff to do.

Dinner started with an extremely strong cocktail! I honestly thought 2H was making two drinks, but no! It was just one.

Next up was cheese bread {Pao de Queijo}. I actually just found a recipe for them while Googling the name, and it seems super easy! I wonder if I could make them with beer;)}.

We also tried some grilled cheese.  Grilled cheese= Best thing ever!

For dinner, we had perfectly cooked steak, sautéed kale, rice and beans.

And then we had dessert! Yes, there was more! Elizabeth made a Brazilian Passion Fruit Mousse {Brazilian Mousse De Marcuja}. I was so full but it was SOOOO good! And super easy, apparently!

We spent the rest of the evening talking before calling it a night.

Next up, our 2 year anniversary, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, 911 Memorial, Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge, Sixpoint Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery, and Lucero. It was a busy, long, great day! It may need to be 2 post! We did so much in one day! And walked like 14 miles.