It was a whirlwind weekend but yesterday, around 5 pm, I found myself overlooking my favorite city in the world from the roof of our temporary housing.
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It’s hard to believe that between Friday and Sunday evening, we went from Geneva, Switzerland to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to New York, New York!
We ended our time in Geneva with one final barbecue along the lake. We spent the evening, perched on the rocks, talking and enjoying lots of wine and food. Like many of our Geneva nights, the barbecue evolved into a night of sipping rose wine and dancing at Les Voiles.
Needless to say, after only 2.5 hours of sleep, we were both utterly exhausted. I was so exhausted that I forgot to wash the conditioner out of my hair during my quick pre-airport shower. The early morning sunrise was far prettier than the way we felt as we loaded our suitcases into the cab and bid farewell to Geneva.
These are our “how quickly can we fall asleep now that we’re safely on the plane” faces.
Two flights and one layover later we landed at JFK Airport perfectly on-time with all our baggage. Within an hour of landing, we found ourselves en route to Philadelphia for our good friend’s engagement party. Bo deserves an award for letting me play this song on repeat the first ten or so minutes of our drive. 
While Bo drove, I managed to do a quick wardrobe change, swapping out my leggings and t-shirt for my new favorite Lilly Pulitzer dress. Paired with makeup and some hair spray I was able to go from jet-lagged to somewhat presentable.
The engagement party was the perfect way to reunite with some of our close friends and get to know the rest of the wedding party. Sean and Kelly were beaming the entire evening, so excited for the big day and to be surrounded by so many friends and family members.
After the engagement party ended our group headed into Wayne, a small town along the Main Line. I lived in Wayne for two years, from 2007-2009, and always love returning the area. We took over the back booth at our favorite gastro pub, Teresa’s Next Door and laughed into the wee hours with everyone. By the time we called it a night, we’d been up for 26 hours!
Unfortunately jet-lag didn’t let me sleep past 6:30 even though I was still so exhausted and wanted nothing more than twelve hours of deep sleep. I went for a walk, grabbed a coffee and spent the next few hours reading on our hotel’s front porch while the others slept until a normal hour. After breakfast and another coffee stop, we headed back to New York City, making it back to Time Square area in less than 2.5 hours!
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Once back in the city we spent our afternoon moving into our temporary housing, located in the heart of Times Square. While the location isn’t necessarily ideal, the apartment is very nice and conveniently located just a few blocks from Bo’s office. We are so thankful to be once again together and have a furnished place to live while we search for an apartment.
After making a last-minute trip out to Brooklyn to see an apartment that hit the market on Saturday we collapsed on the couch with dinner and a large, much- deserved glass of red wine. That, along with the first two episodes of Orange Is the New Black made for quite the relaxing evening.
What a weekend it was! Luckily there are only three more days in this week before we enjoy a relaxing weekend in the Hudson Valley with Bo’s family!
Your turn: If you’re familiar with New York, what is your favorite restaurant, bar or coffee shop I need to add to my “must visit” list now that I’m back in the city?
It’s possible you’ve been there already, but just in case – when I was in the city in March, we went to Red Bamboo and it was really good! All vegetarian; pretty soy-based and “fake meat” kind of stuff, which I usually don’t love, but it was surprisingly well done. It’s a pretty small place with a very cozy vibe.
Thanks Mindy! We haven’t been there and we always love trying new spots. I’ll add this to the list!
I’m exhausted just reading this post! You should do a post on your pro tips for sleeping on planes, and overcoming jet lag. Can’t wait to hear about your NYC adventures!
Haha Shannon if jet lag hadn’t absolutely kicked my butt this time, maybe I would do a post! But, in all honesty, this is a great idea! I’ll add it to the blog topic list!
WOW! What a whirlwind indeed! What a great welcome back home though! 🙂 Head up to Harlem near where I used to live – Red Rooster is a MUST and Double Dutch has fantastic coffee (and it looks like they’ve opened a restaurant next door, too!). There’s also a much less crowded Levain Bakery up there! Gah I miss it! xx
Thanks Margaret! Red Rooster has been on our list FOREVER!
I was in New York in March, and tried Vezzo for the first time. It was AMAZING and I love that it was all local foods. I’m still dreaming of the brunch pizza. I can’t wait to go back!
Trisha we loved Vezzo when we lived in Gramercy. There were two locations near our apartment and the mushroom pizza was SOO delicious!
Hey Ashley, welcome back! I’m from NYC originally and my all time favorite neighborhood Indian place is on the UWS and called Mughlai, so if you’re looking for some quality Indian food, definitely give it a shot! Also, some friends and I have started gone to Parker and Quinn a couple times which is in Midtown, probably not far from your temporary housing, it’s a cool place with a young crowd and the food is really good. B. Cafe is a great hole in the wall Belgian cafe on the UES and it has a super cute back yard/patio area, definitely great for mussels and drinks in the summer! And finally (last one, I promise!), for a cool wine bar and yummy Italian Uva on the UES is delicious!
Thanks Amanda for all the awesome recommendations! I’m starting a list so we can work our way through them. 🙂
I’m so excited that you’re back to NYC! Hopefully that means I will get to see you sometime when I make it back for a visit 🙂
Very close to Times Square, I love BXL Cafe for mussels and Belgian beer.
Thanks for the reco Laura! Bo LOVES mussels and Belgian beer so this is a match made in heaven! Other people have also recommended Flex Mussels. Hope to see you soon in NYC!
I’ve only been to New York once but I loved “Don’t tell Mama” piano bar. Very talented pianist and all the bar staff sing! You should definitely go – get there early to get a seat near the front!
Also loved having a breakfast burrito at Georgio’s country grill. Guacamole and salsa for breakfast – yum yum.