Where The Streets Have Great Names - Soho, NYC

Disclaimer: Picture heavy post. Stay! Have a peek!


I woke early the next morning. When I looked at my phone it was 5.45am and so I closed my eyes for a little while longer. But my attempts weren't successful. It was 6.30am when I got up and took a few snaps out on the balcony. Shops below were starting to get ready for the day, cars were driving past, and you could hear the odd horn being honked.

I lay on the bed and stared at the view - for the millionth time. When I couldn't take it any longer I got up and got dressed for my day hitting the cobbled streets of Soho. But first breakfast.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I didn't eat at the hotel. For my first breakfast in New York, about 9am, I headed to Cafe Habana on Prince Street where I got 2 eggs (over easy) with wholemeal toast, home fries and a side of bacon, with a cup of tea.

It was tasty and certainly fuelled me for the morning. It's a small cafe but every window was pulled up letting the air and sounds of the streets filter on through. I'm glad I went that early as when I was leaving there was a fair crowd of people eating a hearty breakfast too.

I wandered along Spring Street where a few street vendors were setting up stalls with jewellery, hats and sunglasses. I made a mental note to come by later on. Carrying on into Soho and those cobbled streets I wandered and browsed in a few shops but didn't buy anything just yet.

What I did do though was take plenty of pictures because actually, not only are the shops great in Soho, but the buildings are spectacular. The architecture of these old buildings are amazing and most are adorned with symmetrical fire escapes. Occasionally there is some street art too.

After a few hours of wandering I headed back to the hotel to get changed. It was boiling hot and so I wasn't as fresh as I'd been earlier in the day.

After that I headed up to Madison Square Park for dinner, otherwise known as a burger from Shake Shack. When I got there the queue was almost half way around the park and so I grabbed a space on the bench whilst I decided if I'd wait in the queue or not.

The Shake Shack queue

It seemed to be moving quick enough and so after twenty minutes of rest, I joined the queue. Time doesn't really matter when you're on holiday, or in New York! Plus it was only about 4pm. By the time i sat down with my burger at a table it was gone 5pm, so a little over an hour in the queue. There could be worse places to do this though...

Madison Square Park

The burger was soooo tasty. A combination of good cooking, cheese and burger sauce. But I absolutely loved those cheese fries. Crinkle cut chips (not your skinny fries) with a squirt of the cheesiest, tastiest cheese sauce on them. Double yum. I devoured every last piece of them.

Once I had let the food digest I was on my way again and headed back downtown to the hotel. I was stuffed so I got off the subway at Union Square and had a lovely evening walk down Bowery passing by the Standard East Village and Bowery hotels. There were plenty of cool little restaurants which were being occupied by patrons sipping after work drinks, no doubt.

The Bowery Hotel

Street art on the wall of Rag and Bone on East Houston St

I got lost in Wholefoods!

After that it was a wander around Nolita again to Rice and Riches (as mentioned in previous post), then back to the hotel to collapse on the bed. But not before some more pictures of that view!

Kenmare Street - towards Soho

 Angela x

The Nolitan Hotel, New York

Yes. It's true. Last week I spent 5 days in New York city. Fast becoming one of my favourite places ever. I spent 3 days in Nolita and 2 days in Midtown, and I have to say I think I preferred the Nolita/Soho area best. Don't get me wrong, the whole city just has that special something about it but there's a different feel to Soho. Narrower streets, lower buildings and generally a slower pace of life, I felt. I loved it.

From the moment I got off the subway at Bowery and emerged into a balmy new york evening I knew it was going to be good.

I got off the plane after a relatively uneventful flight and waited at immigration for just over an hour. It's great. You can people watch and catch snippets of conversations depending on where you are in the queue. I had Miss Opinion and Mister Laid-Back behind me and i couldn't fathom out how they could be travelling together! I mean I don't think they were partners, there were no PDA's. She had an opinion about everyone and everything. The young, tall, naturally beautiful slim girl must have been 'anorexic' according to Miss O. I mean didn't she think that this flawless girl could be in town the week before FASHION WEEK to do castings for fashion shows because she was a MODEL, and might not be anorexic, but in fact just really tall and naturally slim. Those girls do exist. Jeezus.

Anyway, through immigration I was then to decide how I'd get from JFK to the hotel. Do I request an Uber? Nah, I jumped on the AirTrain into Jamaica station and got the train to Bowery. It was a sunny afternoon and I thoroughly enjoyed to train ride through Queens and Brooklyn, over the Williamsburg bridge and into Manhattan.

Like I say I emerged into bright sunlight from Bowery station where I hauled that giant yellow case up the stairs and took a few minutes to get my bearings. Once I'd got Google maps out, I knew which direction to go and walked to the hotel.

The Nolitan hotel was the one I'd chosen after much deliberation. It was an easy and quick check-in process where I was told I was on the 9th floor!! Woohoo - VIEW! Pay the extra for a higher floor.

View from my cityscape balcony room at The Nolitan

When I got into the room I dumped the case and headed to the window. What a view indeed. A pure class magnificent view of the Empire State building and all that Midtown had to offer. As well as Soho to the left and the Lower East Side and Williamsburg Bridge to the right. Just amazing. I couldn't stop looking at it. Even better was that my room had a balcony - pay extra for a cityscape balcony room on a higher floor. It wasn't a huge balcony but it had a little bench and it was just brilliant for people watching and stopping to catch my breath after days pounding the streets.

 The room itself wasn't massive but it was big enough for me and would fit two people nicely. Two people with no more than two large cases mind you. The bathroom and toilet were separate which may not suit some people, but the bathroom itself was of clean and simple design and the shower had a see-through glass wall which meant you could actually see the Empire State as you washed your hair - if you're an exhibitionist! No, I kid. But yes, you could see out the window. Hopefully no-one could see into your room. For those who preferred more privacy there was a curtain you could pull over to close the bathroom off. I found the room a bit dark when I did that but soon pulled it back when I'd done with the showering.

The bed was a very comfy queen, but large enough for two. There was a desk and chair, as well as a side chair, and the ceiling was bare concrete which I really liked. It added to the modern industrial feel of the place. I couldn't have chosen better.

Once I'd been in my room for half an hour I freshened up and headed out into the streets to see what I could find. The are was busy but not Times Square busy. Busy enough with people heading to cafes and bars for food and drinks.

There was a restaurant at hotel but I didn't eat there. Instead on my wanderings I happened upon cafe upon cafe upon restaurant or take out, and even a shop called Rice to Riches on Spring Street which only sells rice pudding. Yes, that's rice pudding (and some drinks of course). There was every flavour of rice pudding you can imagine - well, about 20 different flavours. I opted for the caramel flavour and got a 'solo' sized bowl which lasted me two nights. It was so tasty though. Such a great idea for a shop. I'd recommend you try it if you're in that area.

Rice To Riches

Thankfully, in Google maps, I had saved all of the places I wanted to eat at, visit, see, try out and take photos off, and many of them were right here on the streets of Nolita / Little Italy / Soho. You see I was right bang in the middle of all three places. Just brilliant.

I ate a cupcake and had a cup of tea at the Little Cupcake Bakeshop and then went to the MacBar of some classic macaroni cheese to take back to the hotel. But not before a quick trip down Mulberry street to see the Little Italy sign. By now it was about 9pm and I was hanging with tiredness as I'd been up on my feet for twenty hours. So after scoffing down the mac n cheese I went to sleep on my first night in the city that never sleeps and I didn't draw the curtains. Well, you wouldn't either with a view like this to look at...

More soon!...

Angela x

The Good Stuff Of...August

August. A funny month. The tale end of the summer, slowly but ever surely transitioning into autumn. You can feel the change. We have a saying here in the central belt of Scotland that "once the Bridge of Allan games are over, the nights draw in" and it's true. Since early August there has been a marked change in the nights. Street lights coming on around 8.45pm now...on a clear day. Earlier if it's been raining. And it's been doing that too. Like I say, August, a funny month.

Holiday - New York, New York!

But there's been some good stuff happening too. Perhaps the most exciting (for me) is that I went on another holiday. Yes, another New York holiday this year. Why the heck not eh! Cheap(ish) flights and a couple of bargains on Expedia for my hotels was the only impetus i needed to get me there. Thankfully the weather was fantastic and I even got my first bit of tan colour on my skin for the first time in YEARS! Downside - i got sunburn on the backs of my legs and it was so itchy that my legs are really scabby just now. Eesh. Anyway, sneak peek photos above. More photo heavy posts to follow in the next few days.


Connor

Connor

This guy started school a few weeks ago. He's 4 years old just now and I can't believe time has flown so quickly. He is one of the two best nephews an auntie could ever have. Swear to god. He's always smiling and is a right chatterbox, total opposite to his brother. Well I mean on the chatterbox front.

They both smile lots. And when they do the room lights up. I adore these little guys. They are my world right now and forever more. On his first few weeks at school he 'played sometimes', he 'didn't like the hymns we sang in the hall where we get gym', wasn't allowed to play football with the big boys because 'that we wuman told me I couldn't'. He ate chips, sausage egg and beans for his first school dinner (Jamie Oliver's healthy school meal initiative haven't reached these parts - several years on!!). Next week they get their school photos taken. I can't wait for the face he pulls in those. The week after that he'll be 5. A big boy. My boy. Connor.

Fitness

Picture from Kayla Itsines Website

It's fair to say my fitness is pretty decent. I go to the gym/classes at least four times per week, five times most weeks. But I've hit another plateau. I can't fathom why other than simply our bodies get used to the exercise routines that we get in to and the food that we eat. Although, swear it, I have really made the effort to cut down on sweets. I'm not going to say 'junk food' because I do eat decent food. But it's the sweeties for me. I really am addicted to sugar I think. Cold turkey may be the only option.

Anyway, the point of my story is that I happened upon Kayla Itsines and her 12 week bikini body guide. Now normally anything that mentions bikini bodies would be a big turn off for me considering the fact that I bought a bikini back in 2003 and have yet to wear it in public! True story. But, I got past the headline and read on her website. It got me curious enough to check out her Instagram and see all of these fabulous transformations, on a Tuesday (transformation Tuesday, geddit!). Granted, most of the girls in those pictures are in no way overweight but what they say is that they are out of shape and need toning up. So yeah, after perusing the website and those addictive 'fitspo' (shite word, by the way) pictures I bought her guide and downloaded it. Much to my amazement (and relief) most of the exercises in the guide are what I do at circuits / insanity / shockfit classes so that was good. They are realistic, achievable and most importantly you don't need lots of equipment therefore doing them at home is fairly simple. Now, if I'm totally honest, I bought the guide back in July and haven't really started it yet because I'm not sure where I'm going to fit it into my current routine. I know I could substitute a few of my classes for this routine but...

The guide is really informative and there's loads to read before you even get to the exercises. It's all about education from the outset = good. You have 12 weeks to complete it. There's 3 circuits per week with different themes of abs, cardio, legs etc. She says they take around 27 minutes to do, which is about the same time as my insanity classes. I plan on adding it into my weekly routine, somehow. I'll let you know how I get on. And believe me if my body turns out like those in the transformation Tuesday pictures you'll be seeing them too! *wink*.

And that was just some of the good stuff of August. Albeit a little later than hoped.

Angela x