When in Rome…
I’m not one of those travelers who disses popular attractions because they’re too touristy. There’s a reason why people are flocking to those sites. It’s because they’re amazing (Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, the Sistine Chapel). But there’s something so invigorating about doing what the locals do.
Instead of listing all the places we visited on our third day, I’m going to highlight what we did to blend in with New Yorkers. We spent the morning getting our sweat on at the McBurney YMCA branch in the West Village. I found coupons for a free visit on their website. No need to join the Equinox, this gym has everything but a cafeteria. Friendly staff, clean facility.
For happy hour, we had a few drinks at the Breslin Bar and the Ace Hotel. Since we got married at the Ace in Palm Springs it was interesting to see the same funky eclectic vibe on the east coast. The bar scene is a lot more energetic than laid back California.
Thanks to Sonia, one of the hippest and definitely the most worldly of my friends, we got dinner reservations to the invite-only Bohemian in NoHo. The Japanese food and the drinks were made with love. It was obvious great care was taken in preparing the dishes and making the cocktails. Dean’s drink had a ball of ice that was perfectly conformed inside the glass. But I especially enjoyed sitting in a restaurant that felt like the Brady Bunch living room. Very intimate and relaxed.
We went bar hopping after dinner. Dean struck up a conversation with an Israeli scenester who took us around and listed all the hot spots in town. We saw Aziz (from the show Parks and Recreation) at the very snobby Jane Hotel. I think the guy is a few inches taller than me.
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