We squeezed a lot of living into our last two weeks in NYC. We had some incredible sights, sounds, food, drink, and experiences. We traveled several neighborhoods and sought out some of the remaining bucket list items of Peak Experiences. This final NYC post will probably have more detail than normal, but it feels right to capture it. Larry curated a gorgeous Field Notes document with minute details of our escapades. This will not get that granular. Those last two weeks were spent in a beautiful blend of living a pseudo normal life and the living the frenetic pace of tourists who soon have to leave.

The first Peak Experience of the the last two weeks was getting reservations at the speakeasy, PDT (Please Don’t Tell). It was everything you expect a speakeasy to be: You had to enter a legit hot dog restaurant off a quiet street in the Village, enter a payphone, call a number. Then they would open a hidden back door of the phone booth to let you in. The cocktails were very good, but the huge surprise were the hot dogs. Apparently they have some very famous chefs from around the city do a take on what a hot dog could be. I was actually angry at how delicious they were because I DO NOT LIKE HOT DOGS. And yet… and yet.  After our fill of creative hot dogs, we saw John Oliver and Seth Meyers live at the Beacon Theater. Talk about peak, quality entertainment. 

Back to pseudo normalcy: on the Monday I began our empty nest Thanksgiving prep. The newest layer of this successful Thanksgiving model is that I made most of the traditional, favorite yummies on Monday, but then had Larry prepare a pasta dinner for us on Monday night. That way I got the pleasure of cooking and preparing, but the Thanksgiving foods were truly only leftovers starting on Tuesday and ending on Saturday. The house smelled great, and it was the last cooking I did for the remainder of the visit.

The holiday spirit was in full swing in the city and in my heart. Wednesday we went to the Inflation Celebration. It was a cold but clear day, and the queue to get in kept moving along at a reasonable pace. Seeing the floats as they get ready for the big day is such a fun, special thing to do. Thanksgiving itself was super rainy and cold, so we opted to stay warm (very warm in that particular apartment) and watch the parade three blocks west from the comfort of our couch with delicious mini pumpkin pies from Sullivan St Bakery. We watched Christmas movies, ate Thanksgiving leftovers, and had a beautiful, relaxing holiday.

Friday we woke up late, then we went to the Museum of Natural History (Peak museum Experience) and then down to the village to a restaurant called Dante, which was absolutely top notch (Peak Experience in the beverage department).

Our last Saturday in the city was packed with Peak Experiences. We started out with ice skating in Central Park. It was clear and cold, with bright blue skies. We teetered and wobbled and windmilled and laughed, but soon we got our footing; our muscle memory reached way back to remember how to skate. It was joyful. We weren’t too far from home, but instead of returning to the apartment, we decided to stay out enjoy the weather and the day off. We covered a wide swath of the city: Chinatown for pork buns. Of course a guitar store and a book store were in the mix. In the evening, we headed back up town, scored some crazy delicious tacos from our handy dandy award winning local food truck and called it a night. 

The first week of December was cooooooold. Sunday was spent home, relaxing and catching up with family and friends. We headed out in the evening to a reservation at Martiny’s (which was incredible). On Monday, we finally returned to Katz deli for the most incredible pastrami on rye sandwich. Total Peak Experience. We braved the cold to wander the city and enjoy the holiday decorations. On Tuesday we braved even worse cold to go to an evening with Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan St Bakery, and one of Larry’s bread heroes.

On Wednesday I had a Kimmy-style Peak Experience Day. I started my day getting rush tickets for a matinee performance of Our Town. Then I had a breakfast at Sullivan St Bakery. I went to Union Sq Market and Bryant Park market to do a little holiday shopping. I stopped into the NYC Public Library to marvel at their tree and their treasures. I even got my boots shined on a street corner shoe shine stand. Bucket list item complete! I was astounded at the number of tourists that took my picture while I was sitting there. I felt like a Boston Commons squirrel. When the time came I made my way back to midtown. I had a quick panzanella lunch at Don Antonio’s, and I never wanted that salad to end. They make the croutons out of tiny fried pillows of pizza dough. It was marvelous. Then it was time for the play. The matinee was AWESOME! I had a seat literally on the stage and could have touched Jim Parsons and Katie Holmes they were so close. I was starstruck!  That evening we had two more reservations, and the Asian inspired cocktails at a place called George Bang Bang were absolutely excellent and inventive. 

Thursday was our last day, so it was mostly spent packing and cleaning while Larry worked. We headed out for our last tastes. There was so much to choose from, but ultimately we chose to return to our favorites: L’industrie for pizza and negronis from Dante’s. These two shops are absolutely producing the top of the top in their fields.

Friday was a blur: there was the crazed stress of getting all our bags down to street level and then from lobby to car. There was the crazed stress of Larry leaving super early to get to Jersey City to retrieve the car at the parking lot, only to discover that the battery is dead. After that fuckery I found myself behind the wheel for the first time in 8 weeks trying to navigate out of the city. It was so rushed and hectic that I fell like I really didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. And I only regret not getting one more bialy for the road.

Then, before I knew it, I was in Philly for the weekend for my side quest to meet with friends at PAX Unplugged, a board game convention. We had our dear friends from San Francisco come and join us, which made it all extra special. It was an excellent weekend that ended all too soon. I stayed with friends in Virginia overnight on Sunday, and then made the 12 hour drive to FLA. I landed and hit the ground running. Larry was away on business and I had three days to unpack and decorate, shop, and wrap presents before kids arrived.

Now we are back home in Florida for the holidays and the winter months. The little house is full and happy. It feels good to be with family, to be warm, and to be in a state of normalcy, eating well, exercising daily, sleeping properly. But in my heart, there is no place on earth that can compare to New York. I don’t think we will be back next year, tho it may break my heart to stay away. With our new home on wheels, there are so many other places we want to visit, plus we need to give the bank account, our livers, and our arteries a chance to recover from this last epic romp. So until next time, here are some pictures of our final days in the greatest city in the world.