50 Hours In New York City

Some of my most asked questions by folks at the shops or through social media are about favorite spots in our travels. We spent several days in New York City a few weeks ago in celebration of our 35th anniversary. I thought I would share the itinerary. TPS grew up not far out of the city and we have been going there together since we first met. No stay there is ever quite the same, so pick and choose from this list and I am pretty certain you will have a swell time. It is one of my very favorite cities in the world and that we can pop down from Hawthorne in just 2 hours on the train always makes me giddy. Here goes!

We took the train into the city from Hudson early on Saturday morning. It is a gorgeous ride along the Hudson River most of the journey. We hopped into a cab and took our bags to The Union League Club where we were staying. It is a grand, very old-world institution that reciprocates with the Washington Athletic Club. We refreshed after the train ride and headed to Broadway for a play at 2.

My best friend from college and fraternity brother Devin and his husband Matt are both Tony Award voters. So we joined them to see Leopoldstadt. It is a Tom Stoppard play that is just exceptional on every level. If you ever get a chance, do. It was very emotional for both of us on many levels. After, we walked to the Algonquin Hotel which is not far from the theater to grab a quick drink, a small snack and talk about the play. It is a fabulous old spot with quite a history I have stayed at a few times when buying at the gift show in years past. We then headed back to the room to rest a bit and change for the evening out.

We headed to the West Village and sat outside and enjoyed a cocktail at Bar Pisellino. People watching is world class in NYC. Supper was at the sublime I Sodi where we were transported to Italy for a few hours. We dined with Devin & Matt and laughed the night away with story upon story.

We started Sunday morning with breakfast in our room and then headed to The Morgan Library & Museum which was not even a block from where we were staying. The space, the art, the collections, the vibe—all outstanding. The museum owns all the original drawings from The Little Prince which was a delight to see all housed together.

Then we walked and did a little shopping as we headed to Central Park to meet up with our friend Barbara.

During the holiday season a tree is decorated with images of dogs who have enjoyed Central Park in their lives. Barbara had added an ornament with a photo of our sweet Bailey so we walked with her a bit so she could show us. Was quite touching to see her face among all the other pooches. Incredibly special.

Then we headed back to The Union League Club to refresh and head out to celebrate our 35th anniversary to dine at Le CouCou.

Designed by Roman and Williams, dining here has been on our list since it won the James Beard award a few years back. It might be one of the most memorable meals we have ever enjoyed. Exceptional. French food presented in such a gloriously beautiful way.

Monday morning we slept in a bit after a busy day before. We then headed back to the West Village, which is one of our favorite neighborhoods in the city. Breakfast at Buvette and then a walk around the hood.

Our walk took us to the Whitney Museum of American Art which was next on our list to see the Hopper exhibit. It absolutely did not disappoint.

We then hopped into a cab to head back to collect our bags and then headed to the train station. It was 50 hours of art and seeing friends and dining and walking and just being together in a city we love, celebrating our love. It was pretty perfect.