Sleepless in New York: Our Holiday So Far

It’s 5:30 in the morning and this is the view from my bedroom. I have my freshly brewed cup of Lavazza Americano beside my Almond Croissant from Dominique Ansel (yes from him, who created THE CRONUT…watch out for my story about him in my future post!) It has been 6 days and I am still jet lagged. But I guess the mere fact that I haven’t been sleeping doesn’t really matter because I am in the city that actually never sleeps!

If you have been following me on Instagram and Twitter, you know where I am…

Yes, I am away on holiday, thus the infrequency of my blog posts lately. I am in New York, the Big Apple, the city they say that is the center of everything- literally and figuratively. I am in the busiest, most active and most maddening place in the world; I am in the city that does not allow anyone to sleep!

As most of you would understand, when you are in an energy-filled city like New York, there are just so many things you want to see, do and eat! In the couple of days that I’ve been here alone, I’ve gathered quite a number of memorable experiences already (and pounds for sure), that range from the simplest and most mundane things to the fantastic and complex ones even – that I do not even know where to begin.

So because the room is still quiet and I am the only one awake in this ungodly hour… I decided to just use my time and energy to write. I must admit though that I do not know how much I can accomplish for today or if I can even follow it up with a second or third part while I am here.  So just be nice and reserve your judgments for now – for I am on holiday after all! 🙂

So let me share with you now just some of the highlights of my first few days in this great big city :

Chocolates, chocolates, chocolates! 🙂

On my first morning here, as I was walking around the block, the very first store I ended up going into was Godiva’s huge store on 5th avenue!

What really caught my attention here were the huge strawberries (and bananas) on display in front of the store that were being dipped in melted Godiva chocolate!

I got myself a cone of extra large, red and plump strawberries dipped in dark chocolate for 12 usd. Pricey yes, but definitely worth every cent since the strawberries were extra large, very sweet and really juicy!! 🙂

I’ve said this before that Strawberries and Chocolates are 2 of my favorite things in the world (see my previous blog post about it here). This favorite combo of mine has become my inspiration that I decided to make it my symbol, my logo for The Spoiled Mummy blog! 🙂

Next stop for me was the quintessential American cupcake place : Magnolia Bakery. Of course, we all know this shop reached its popularity due to Carrie Bradshaw and her girlfriends during the heydays of the tv series Sex and the City.

The store inside is filled with lots of color, sugar, cream and frosting!

The day I went there was the 4th of July, so they had a special box of cupcakes made just for the day’s celebrations.

But since I’ve tried their cupcakes here before, I decided to get something else this time around…and that is  their other famous dessert, the Banana Pudding! 🙂

What’s a trip to New York without going to the most popular burger place in town, Shake Shack?! 🙂

Since we are on holiday mode anyway, we ordered the double patty cheese burger, hotdogs and cheesy fries on the side too!!

We timed our arrival in New York to coincide with the 4th of July celebration. My sis in law who lives in a nice penthouse condo in Manhattan hosted this day’s event. She prepared the classic American barbecue fare  : grilled burgers and hotdogs (Nathan’s of course) amongst many other things while waiting for the city’s fireworks to start.

Our desserts for the day were 6 versions of the classic American Pie : Apple Pie, Chocolate Pie, Pecan Pie, Lemon Meringue Pie, Berries Pie, and Key Lim Pie! 🙂

And then right after we finished our burgers and hotdogs, an amazing 20-minute Fireworks display illuminated the night sky! We were very lucky that this Fireworks show was perfectly seen from our penthouse rooftop! The Fireworks were also in perfect sync with the city’s biggest concert, where some of the biggest stars like Usher and Mariah Carey sang and performed all throughout the night!

The next day found us in the place where Filipinos love to go and what we do best, outlet stores and shopping!

The closest one to the city is Woodbury Commons. The best brands with the best deals are here! Plus, because it was the weekend of the 4th of July, everything was on sale!! 🙂

I didn’t leave the outlet until the stores closed at 930pm! I got back to the city at almost 11pm, and that was the only time I realized that I haven’t had dinner yet! I was famished by then and so I decided this is the best time to have a different kind of meal –something quick but still something delicious! I wanted dinner right in the middle of the mad, busy streets of NYC!

Perfect timing. Since it was almost midnight, this was indeed the best time to have the most famous street food in NYC. This is the food truck owned by the popular “The Halal Guys”. Their truck is parked right on 53rd street corner 6th avenue, across Hilton Hotel. The lines here stretch all the way to the very end of the street corner! All kinds of people – from tourists and locals, rich and poor, young and old line up patiently to have their famous Chicken or Lamb rice dish!

Highly rated by food critics, this is the best Middle Eastern food (for 6 usd!) you can ever have in New York City!

My order was a combination of both : spicy lamb and chicken on a bed of yellow rice topped with warm pita bread 🙂

Having satisfied my hunger at past 12 midnight and feeling so tired by now, my yellow cab driver drove me down past the iconic Times Square. Good thing, I was able to take a snapshot of this vibrant street from my window as the cab sped away!

Yes, even though the day had already ended and the new one has just began, New York city is still up and running and amazingly is still full of lights, energy and action! This is by far the only city in the world that continues to leave me breathless and sleepless!

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See my adventures in the Big Apple in real time!

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