Earlier today I was reading one of my favourite new blogs....
Natalie's Holbrook's "Nat The Fat Rat".
Like many of the best blogs that I read, I can't remember how I found her....
She describes her blog thus....
"welcome! my name is natalie. happiness curator, lover of anne of green gables. i'm a hopeless optimist and prodigious over-exaggerator living in a tiny apartment in new york city with my husband brandon and my fat baby henry august (we call him huck). this blog is a love letter from my family to new york city, and where i capture all the lovely little things that make up a wonderful life. i watch a lot of meg ryan movies."
Yes, Natalie is pretty much living my dream life ;)
Her blog is really fun & has a great vibe about it....she's a lovely writer & a pretty cool girl.
I love reading about NYC & her life there....
and baby Huck is just gorgeous.
Anyway....today her post is entitled "A Christmas on Fifth Avenue Progress Report" and within seconds, I was immediately transported to Manhattan.
I love New York.
I'll always love it.
Even before I went there for the first time, I always knew I would love it.
When I first met my husband, we used to go to NYC every year, some years we even went twice....
we stayed with friends & we stayed in hotels, some days it felt as though we covered every inch of the city, we walked for hours.
the first time we were there, we stayed for two whole weeks....
which now in our life as parents seems like such an incredible luxury!
which of course it was - 14 days of just doing what we wanted.
I've talked about NYC many times on my blog before but reading Natalie's post immediately made me think of the city and what my absolute favourite memories & images of it are....
So in no particular order, here they are....
the Empire State Building - my all-time Manhattan favourite building.
i've been to the top of it lots of times & at different times of the day, it's always breathtaking.
cycling in Central Park....on Sunday the park is closed to traffic & we rented bikes,
we cycled around the whole park, quite a distance but so much fun.
autumn in New York....enough said.
blue skies, bright sunshine, crisp air = perfection.
it somehow feels different to autumn in any other city....special & romantic.
my husband proposed to me by the lake in Central Park in front of the Dakota Building during our bike ride.
it was a total surprise.
it is unquestionably my best memory ever, the best moment of my life.
i literally felt my life change.
i only have to think of it & my heart quickens & my eyes water!!
(i also made him ask me again the next day at the top of the Empire State Building, just like in all the best movies....he didn't mind!)
Carnegie Deli on 7th Avenue
the biggest sandwiches, matzoh ball soup & the best cheesecake ever.
we went there just after we'd just got engaged, sharing our secret over cheesecake, just the two of us :)
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree....
possibly the most beautiful Christmas tree in the world....
one year we were there when the lights were switched on, it was magical.
....this IS Christmas, it's a show that everyone should see once in their lives.
Pretzels & Bagels
....yes, we have them in London and no, they are not the same - or nearly as good!
Central Park Station....a really beautiful building.
We used to arrive into the station every day when we were staying with friends & it's always worth exploring instead of just rushing straight through it.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
....so much to see but one of my all-time favourites there are the Tiffany Windows, I'll never forget seeing them for the first time.
Zabars....
lots of great delis in NYC but Zabars on the Upper West Side is the best....
the best cinnamon rugelach & chocolate babka ever.
plus great kitchen supplies upstairs.
my husband & I were in Times Square as the new millennium began.
It was fabulous, freezing & unforgettable!
The very first time I went to NYC I was travelling alone....I spent the summer working at a children's Summer Camp in upstate New York & then I worked as an au pair in Westchester, about 30 minutes outside the city, for 5 months.
On my week-ends off, I used to head into the city & explore the city, go to Bloomingdales, buy lunch at Dean & Deluca, go the movies, go to Tiffany & Co, buy a pretzel, walk in Central Park.
It was one of the happiest times of my life.
It's been a few years since I was last there & of course now I have children.
I have a whole new list of places to visit in NYC....
I hope to visit next year with my family....
and one day I plan to visit again & spend a few months there renting an apartment, exploring, cooking, walking & writing.
One day....and in the meantime, I will just keep adding to my list :)
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