It's no secret that NYC is hiding something that we all want a piece of. I've never heard a person say they don't want to visit New York City some day. Is it the bustle of city life that we want a taste of? Or is it the glamour of Old New York we dream about from music and film? Curious of what it would look like in this day and age post pandemic and if now is the time to plan? Let me show you what we did on our weekend in February 2021 to help you plan out what you'd do. It's definitely not the same city as pre-COVID, but the bones are there. Aight, let's shake a leg and get to my guide to NYC…

NYC February Weather

My first thought about a winter trip, post Christmas time, in NYC was... Oh shit, it is gonna be so cold. I don't mind the snow, but cold rain is just the worst lol. We visited the weekend of February 26-28th. It was mid 30's-50's and had some occasional rain. The city was pretty dead the mornings of the rain, but once the sun came out, so did the locals. Overall, I would probably recommend waiting until the spring or fall to visit NYC just due to temperatures. Going in and out of shops and restaurants with big coats on is annoying, hot and a lot to carry. The things I do for fashion. It is a benefit though that restaurants and shops were nearly empty and it felt like we had the city to ourselves. If that's your vibe, go now!

Guide to NYC

We booked our flights to arrive at LGA on Friday around noon and flew out late Sunday. So literally we were only there for the weekend. I flew United with a credit from a past cancelled travel plan (how 2020). Theres gonna be a blog post in the future about how to find the cheapest flights, but for now... I would suggest looking into Skyscanner, Hopper, or getting an airline credit card. Here is a referral link for the Southwest Rapid Reward card I use to get you started!

Guide to NYC: Day 1

On day 1 of my guide to NYC, I headed straight to our Airbnb from the airport. Click here for the link! Our host was amazing enough to let us check in early. We stayed in the heart of the East Village, a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, that was a perfect spot. We got all settled in then headed out to go eat! So we headed to SoHo!

We stopped for some grub at NOMO Kitchen's heated patio on the first floor of the NOMO hotel. I saw this place on Insta and the vibes were on point for this plant lady. The roof is completed covered in glass making the place feel huge. We had some of their pizzas and cocktails and would recommend this to all my boujee bitches out there.

After some za, we hit the streets. We walked around SoHo, grabbed coffee at Felix Roasting and then headed back to the Airbnb to get ready for the night.

We wanted to go grab drinks. Little hole in the wall joints are some of my absolute favorites. Walk around and see where the people are lined up to get into, that little seedy vibe but also where they are treating the patrons like family. We found this little bar in the neighborhood we were staying in that reminded us of Red Door here in Nashville (one of our favs for strong drinks). And BOY did she serve up a strong marg. So we got shit faced accidentally on 3 drinks and then headed home for the night.

Guide to NYC: Day 2

The next morning, we were awoken like you would imagine in a movie. I feel like in any NYC late night movie scene is always followed by a morning where people are still hollering in the street, stumbling home from the bar night before. Sure enough, 6 am rolled around and we woke up to someone yelling, "Wake up, New York!" It was funny but also like... bro. We eventually just sucked it up and got up to get bagels and start the day.

The local bagel shop did not let us down. We scarfed it down and headed uptown to Rockefeller Center. Chuck used to work in that area when he lived there and it is a crazy spot in town to just walk around. We got there and we were seriously the only people there. Not a single other soul on the street and all the large stores were closed. We decided to take some fun pics near Radio City Music Center and then head back for a nap until the rain stopped.

Manhattan --> Brooklyn

After a nap, we got up and headed to Brooklyn! I have been dying to visit Brooklyn after its rebirth in the past few years. I always see the coolest stuff happening in Williamsburg and around DUMBO. We had plans that evening to meet up with Chuck's old band mates. So before that, we first stopped at Aurora, an AMAZING Italian restaurant, for some grub. We were just walking along and we smelled firewood burning. It was coming from this patio with 90's music bumping and a bunch of young people brunchin'. We stepped in the front door and greeted by the owner telling us to come in and let him feed us in true Italian fashion. The food was beyond amazing and would 10/10 recommend a visit there.

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is popping in and out of old vintage/antique shops. The best vintage stores in Brooklyn, NYC are Malin Landaeus, Junk, 10ft Single by Stella Dallas, and L Train Vintage.

Guide to NYC: Day 3

Our last day on this weekend guide to NYC, we made some coffee at the Airbnb and enjoyed the morning at a slower speed than the previous day. We hung out on the fire escape and took some fun pics. Nothing feels more New York than hanging out on a fire escape. You can see the happenings of the neighborhood and how the people who live there use them for all different reasons. Some of the neighbors had their laundry hanging, some had their plants out there, and I swear someone had a pet owl on one of theirs. Wanna see a little tour?!

We packed up for check out and took an Uber back down to Rockefeller Center for our reservation at Top of the Rock. One of my goals on my guide to NYC was to get my ass on a rooftop. Many rooftop bars were reservation only so if you wanna hit a rooftop bar, MAKE RESERVATIONS. Instead of a rooftop bar, Top of the Rock was an exciting alternative. Overlooking the Empire State Building AND Central Park, the observation desks and windows were amazing. We even mentioned how we were glad we hadn't visited Central Park on this trip because it was a muddy mess. It costs $48/person and was worth it in my eyes.

Then, we headed back to Brooklyn to walk the Brooklyn bridge. We got dropped off at the beginning of the path and got to walking. It is such a beautiful, historic bridge and I would love to bike across into Brooklyn next time! Chuck found this awesome Israeli spot, called Reunion NYC. We chilled there while it rained, popped into a couple other shops, and, then, I headed to the airport.

LGA -> ORD -> BNA

And there you have it, my guide to NYC and what you can do in a weekend post pandemic. As restrictions loosen, there are going to be varying view points on where is safe to travel and all that. I felt completely safe and would say now is the best time to go.