Early December I hopped on an early train to NYC. The Omicron variant had become a headline and I’d been watching it closely, hoping my Canadian friend, Jenn, would still be able to cross the border. All looked good for our annual reunion (that had been thwarted in 2020, of course) complete with masks and vaccine cards.
Upon arrival, I hauled my suitcase over to Bryant Park to dine at Angelina’s and read on my Kindle for two hours to sip green tea (photo above) and await the landing of her flight.
Once she landed, I headed downtown to meet her at our Airbnb on the Lower East Side. We had a packed itinerary and had carefully planned each of our outings to avoid the “what do you want to eat?” scenarios. Friday evening we dined at Dirt Candy and saw The Tina Turner Musical on Broadway. Afterwards we wandered through Times Square and Rockefeller Center to see the big tree before dropping into the bowels of the city to take the subway home.
On Saturday morning we hit a few shops and stumbled upon the Goop store nearby. Then we dashed to our brunch reservations at Ladybird—my latest go-to spot. We noshed on vegan matcha waffles and an egg sandwich. I’d never had matcha waffles and haven’t stopped thinking about them ever since. They’re out of this world. Here’s a recipe to try!
Next on our agenda was vintage shopping (L Train vintage, 9th Street vintage, Cloak & Dagger) and an afternoon ballet class at Joffrey Ballet School with the same teacher we’ve had the past few years, Desiree Errico. My first in-person class since the pandemic began! It felt amazing to be in a studio again. Desiree is a thoughtful, gentle, encouraging teacher. And Jenn is a trooper for joining me to dance considering yoga continues to be her preferred practice (note her yoga mudras in the photo below).
From there we headed to plant-based chef Matthew Kenney’s Double Zero pizza (note the yummy dessert with edible flowers in the photo below). We sat outside to savor the temperate December weather. After filling our bellies and watching an influx of intoxicated Santacon participants with lopsided hats and disheveled outfits fill the streets, we took the subway back uptown to see Stacey Kent at Birdland Jazz Club.
After a full day, we took our aching feet downtown to our Airbnb to settle in for the night.
Sunday we packed up our bags and hauled suitcases to Peacefood for our final meal. After more belly filling, she hopped in a cab and I headed to Union Square to meet a friend for tea. Later I headed a few more blocks to meet another friend for the weekend’s finale—The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center.
Although I’d just seen it two weeks prior at The Kennedy Center, one can never have too much holiday Nutcracker love in their lives. The sets and dancing blew me away! Truly the most magical Nutcracker performance I’ve ever seen.
To close out the weekend, I headed back to my friend’s apartment to grab my suitcase and we had a nightcap at Caffe Reggio. They’re known to be the first cafe in the United States to serve cappuccino. Who knew?! I loved its old school vibe and will definitely be back on a future trip.
With a few minutes to spare, I tossed my suitcase into the back of an Uber en route to Penn Station. The whole ride home I listened to jazz and read and felt so grateful.
The following week Omicron was everywhere in NYC. Broadway shows closed, the Radio City Rockettes canceled shows, Nutcracker shut down, and NYC broke COVID records. Neither of us got sick and we felt so lucky to have been able to experience the city before Omicron took over.
I hope this post offers ideas on how to savor a few days in NYC while fitting in a lot of vegan nosh, exercise (we walked 15-20k steps daily), and entertaining experiences. You’ll find itineraries from our 2017 and 2018 jaunts below, too.
Here’s to safely making the most out of this challenging time. Bisous. x
