Birthday Trip to New York (to see Hamilton!!!!)

It's no secret that we love New York. We go at least once a year, and even spent a month there last summer (home exchange, FTW!)

Something you may or may not know about me, is that I absolutely LOVE going to the theater. Love it. I've seen a lot of shows on Broadway, London's West End, and a few traveling shows (and even one in Vegas) and they were all incredible! I love musicals, but I truly just love the way the theater makes everything so magical. They make everything so vivid, even without elaborate set changes and only a small number of people to play dozens of roles! How do they do it?!

About 18 months ago, I (along with most of America) became OBSESSED with the Hamilton soundtrack. It's one of the most innovative things I've ever listened to in my entire life. I knew I had to see it live. With our month in NYC approaching, I knew I could try for the lottery, but it was unlikely I'd win. So in June, I took matters into my own hands and bought tickets --- for March 2017. Yes, a solid 9 months in advance. So I knew we'd have an NYC trip for my 31st birthday!

SO yes, that's the entire reason we booked this trip. We had a home exchange we needed to use up anyway, so it was the perfect time. And if you have the chance to buy Hamilton tickets, do it. One of the best I've seen!

View from the Highline. I love those long, straight avenues :) 

The view from our 41st floor TriBeCa apartment was incredible! I've never had such a great view of the city.

New favorite brunch place - Maman TriBeCa. Such an inventive menu. The decor was very French Country but done so beautifully.

I love Lower Manhattan. 

More of our view - we could see the sunrise over Brooklyn. Amazing!

Other new favorite brunch - Bubby's. Apparently this place has been here a long time, and there's a reason. Get the pancakes. You won't regret it! (because I regret not getting them) Their huevos rancheros was also one of the best I've had!

An old man offered to take our picture on the Highline - he took 4 pictures, and the other 3 had his finger in front of the camera completely :) 

AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

We had dinner at VBar Seaport and it was delicious. They had a great mezze plate and pasta, it was perfect for a rainy, cold night. 

Our final brunch was at the Butcher's Daughter in NOLITA. It was fresh and vegetarian, perfect for me! :) 

Our trip was awesome. The weather wasn't my favorite (40 and rainy), but that's "spring" for you. I did all of my favorite New York things - saw a show, got my nails done, had bubble tea, wandered downtown, had pizza by the slice, saw friends, and ate and drank a lot of great stuff! 

Then, after 3 days, we hopped on a plane to LONDON! To be continued....
xo

Home Exchange: One Month in Brooklyn

This recap is WAY overdue, but we had the best time doing a one month home exchange in New York City. 

We ate SO much delicious food (I kept track of every restaurant we ate at -- one day it will all be detailed in a looonnnng post) and drank some amazing coffee. Luckily you walk a LOT in New York so it didn't seem as detrimental :) 

We checked a LOT off the NYC Bucket List. Went to a taping of Trevor Noah, went to a Yankees game, saw 4 plays, visited 5 different islands, explored new neighborhoods and saw so many cool places. I had a lot of help from friends Special shout out to Emily, Casey, Rich and everyone else to added to our extended stay!

For those who are wondering how we pulled off a full month in another city: we both work from home on a regular basis, so we just worked from their home. I even went on a 2 day work trip to Wisconsin in the middle of the month (same idea - they would have flown me out from Nashville, so instead they flew me out from NYC). "Do you guys not work or something?" was a question I got asked on the regular, but rest assured there's no independently wealthy people here :) We are very lucky to both have this flexibility, and thought we should use it to our advantage! 

We started our days with a walk to somewhere in the neighborhood to get coffee. We tried a ton of new places and repeated a few of our favorites. Then we would work from 9-5 or 6 (we are on central time so it was keeping with our normal 8-5 CST). Matt used the small desk upstairs (he has a lot more paperwork and needs a printer several times a day), and I worked from the kitchen table. We at breakfast and lunch at home and then went out for dinner most nights. Out of the whole month, I think we stayed in 2 nights. One out of sheer exhaustion and one out of terrible terrible rain, and we didn't feel like venturing out to walk in the rain or fight everyone else for an Uber into Manhattan. 

We also maximized our weekends. We saw Coldplay, the Statue of Liberty, went to the beach on Long Island, picnicked on Governor's Island, saw plays, and walked for MILES. Most weekend days we ended up walking 8-10 miles by the time we got home. 

New York is seriously so much fun. I always wanted to spend extended time there, and now I've been able to! We would totally go back for another month (or two!) because we had such a good time. 

If you have any questions about Home Exchange, feel free to shoot me an email -- avecamourblog (AT) gmail (DOT) com.

xo

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