my love for new york is no secret, so when the opportunity arose to visit maggie and lannon for my birthday / 4th of july, i jumped. my very sweet mother allowed me to use her delta skymiles for my ticket, and off i went for a fabulous 6 days in new york city and the berkshires. below are the highlights of my trip.

birthday celebrations.

with people coming and going for the long weekend, it made the most sense to have a gathering of friends when i arrived on wednesday evening and then a smaller dinner on friday. for the wednesday dinner maggie and abi conspired to take me to king’s co imperial, a fabulous chinese restaurant in williamsburg. we assembled a fabulous group and enjoyed drinks at sugarburg followed by a wonderful dinner. we headed back to maggie and lannon’s after where we enjoyed cake and brownies and bourbon.

on friday, lili met maggie, lannon, and me at fred’s for pre-dinner drinks before heading to saravanaa bhavan for dinner. it’s one of my favorite indian restaurants outside of india, and my mysore masala dosa was divine.

visits to ellis island and the met.

every time i visit new york i pick two things i want to do while i’m in town, so for this trip i chose ellis island and the met. i have been wanting to visit ellis island for years, and my curiosity was piqued even more when i read orphan train a few years ago. maggie and lannon were both up for the trip, so we made our way down to battery park and jumped on a ferry, bypassing liberty island and getting down at ellis. we picked up our audio guides, and on the suggestion of ellie and ben, we headed upstairs to the entrance hall. from there we spent the better part of 2.5 hours learning about the immigration process that people went through when they first reached the united states. it was fascinating to learn all the different aspects to being granted admission, and we three definitely had a lot to discuss on our ride back home.

on my birthday maggie and i visited the met to see the rooftop exhibit and to wander through part of their collection. the met is massive, so we decided to see a photography exhibit before making our way to the collection of islamic art. we wrapped up our visit at the atrium before heading out and had a great time eavesdropping on a group of volunteers being trained to give tours. it was a great visit, and i would love to return in the future and check out other collections in the museum.

finally visiting shake shack.

i mentioned to maggie and lannon that i had never before been to shake shack, so maggie declared that she and i would go there for my birthday lunch. for the sake of time, as well as proximity to the met, we went to the upper east side location rather than the one in madison square park, and it was delicious. with the sky overcast, we enjoyed a lovely little lunch on the outside patio, and i continue to dream about that burger.

time spent with lannon’s family.

for the long weekend we made our way up to great barrington, massachusetts, to spend a few days with lannon’s parents. they welcomed us most graciously into their beautiful home, and it was great to spend time with them and escape the heat of the city. mama nita and papa john are fabulous people, and i had the opportunity to meet some of lannon’s extended family as well, which was a wonderful treat. and that backyard fire pit is pretty phenomenal.

james taylor performance at tanglewood.

james taylor lives in the berkshires, and every 4th of july he plays a show at tanglewood. people come from all over the northeast to see his show, bringing food and chairs and blankets and books to enjoy before he takes the stage. lannon’s parents go every year, and this year they very generously invited me to join them. it was a great experience, from seeing how new englanders tailgate to getting to hear one of my favorite singer-songwriters perform such an intimate show. definitely an experience i will never forget.

it was a wonderful 6 days spent with some of my favorite people in one of my favorite cities. each visit to new york holds a special place in my heart, and i look forward to returning one day soon. and next time, i’m definitely seeing hamilton.

xx

past new york trips: march 2014 / september 2014