A view of the NYC skyline from our taxi

Earlier this month, we took a weekend trip to NYC to celebrate my husband’s birthday. We took the red eye on Jet Blue Friday night and flew back home Monday evening. It was a fine time to visit – the weather was unseasonably warm (high 60’s) and bright and sunny.

Some of the highlights:

1. Staying at Courtyard Marriott Manhattan/Soho (on hotel points alone!) Great hotel and location for exploring the area. Very clean with a really friendly and helpful staff. Added bonus of having a Starbucks inside for an early morning caffeine fix.

2. An everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and smoked Scottish salmon at Russ and Daughters. Jim Gaffigan was right. The wait was nearly an hour (take a number, then hover amongst mouthwatering deli items until your number is up! We also bought a chocolate babka to bring home and it was also divine.)

3. Seeing Louis C.K. playing at the Comedy Cellar. This is THE place for seeing comedy in NYC. We visited last year and Ray Romano was a surprise guest, who did a set. This time, we were only able to get tickets to the Sunday night show at 11:30 p.m. (There was no way that we’d get another surprise A-list comedian at that time, I thought. I was SO wrong.) Louis CK was the first one to perform and was hilarious! It’s a small venue so there are no bad seats and at $14 per ticket on a Sunday night (along with a two-drink minimum), it’s easily one of the best deals in town.

4. Walking on the High Line. If you’ve never been, the High Line is a public park built on a historic rail line through the west side. It was quite busy when we visited on a Sunday, with live music, art vendors, ice cream purveyors and plenty of beautiful plants and flowers to behold.

5. Visiting the Whitney Museum of American Art. I’ve never seen such a long line going into a museum at 4 p.m. on a Sunday, but there it was. We ended up booking tickets online for the Monday morning and this may be the only sensible way to bypass the line. (The line was still there Monday morning.) The museum itself was well curated and easy to navigate due to its size. It’s actually quite satisfying to be able to see all of a museum in a couple of hours, without feeling overwhelmed. It also has beautiful outdoor exhibition spaces and terraces, affording some excellent views of the city.

Stay tuned for some reviews of my favorite restaurants on this trip!