by Wendy
Four friends spend a whirlwind weekend in one of the greatest cities on earth.

Act One: Friday Night

Amtrak cooperates and Wendy and Jack arrive on time from DC. Mike and Melanie traveled from Boston the previous day. The friends meet for drinks in the lobby bar of Hyatt Union Square and then head to trendy Cosme, listed by some as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. All are curious about a place with that level of hype. It’s a splurge, but an excellent spot to catch up over delicious plates to share, cocktails and wine. Everyone is psyched for the weekend ahead. And they hit another busy bar and stay up until almost 2am talking, exactly as one should do when in NYC on Friday night.

Act Two: Saturday Morning/Afternoon

The friends meet in the lobby shortly after 9am. Mike and Melanie have already been out and about and Wendy and Jack are wondering how? The group is going on a Bridge, Architecture and Infrastructure Tour of NYC, which everyone is anticipating. They start walking the long city blocks toward Chelsea Pier until they realize they are behind schedule and jump in a taxi but the driver doesn’t know exactly how to reach the right dock but they eventually arrive with minutes to spare!

This 2 hour and 45 minute tour booked through Classic Harbor Line circles the entire island of Manhattan by boat. It is a beautiful and unique way to see the skyline, the Statue of Liberty and other landmarks. The ticket was $78 per person and includes informative commentary by an architectural expert, one complimentary beer/wine or champagne, and an array of snacks. The crew was friendly and efficient, and there was ample seating inside or outside the yacht, as well as a bar, tables and decent bathrooms inside the cabin. Would recommend for anyone with decent odds of not getting seasick. Wendy ends up seasick but still recommends it.

Once on land and Wendy is convinced she’s not going to puke, the gang walks from the harbor to the High Line. They stroll around this pretty elevated park along with many others on a sometimes cloudy sometimes sunny very warm August afternoon. They decide to have lunch at Ivan Ramen, with its restorative soup and noodle dishes.

Intermission: Rest/Freshen Up at the Hotel

Act Three: Saturday Night

The friends meet in the hotel lobby, hail a taxi and are off to spend a Saturday evening in what could arguably be one of the best places to spend a Saturday evening with friends. They have theatre tickets at @8pm, so they go to nearby Four Seasons for an elegant round of martinis first.

The 59E59 Theatre is another brilliant suggestion from Mike and Melanie. The friends choose to watch the Summer Shorts, consisting of three plays in 90 minutes. Totally entertaining, not a major time-commitment and the tickets are surprisingly reasonable at $35 each. The friends sit mere rows from the stage, but there doesn’t appear to be a bad seat in the whole small theatre.

Afterwards there is dinner at Balthazar, the kind of memorable dinner at a cozy table where everyone is telling stories and laughing and having perfect French bistro dishes and enjoying great bottles of wine.

Act Four: Sunday

Mike and Melanie take an early train back to Boston. Wendy and Jack, left to their own devices, have a fairly lazy day sleeping in and walking around the East Village flea market and getting pizza from Nicoletta.

Wendy and Jack head to the train station and board their train on-time to DC, with the self-satisfied air of those who have managed to escape the routine for a fun weekend away without a hitch – and in NYC no less – the exciting, lively, historic, creative, cool, edgy, formidable town where as Mick Jagger warns you must be tough tough tough tough tough tough Tough!

Epilogue

Due to a fire near the tracks near Philadelphia, Wendy and Jack’s train moves backwards – yes, backwards – very slowly until stopping in Trenton, New Jersey.

They are allowed to get off the train briefly until proceeding again to DC. And the train that was supposed to arrive at Union Station at 9:30pm does not arrive until 3am. Jack and Wendy stand in the line for taxis, drowsy and depressed that it’s now Monday morning but unshaken in their belief that NYC, especially NYC with friends, is always worth it.