Part two of my three part NYC travel guide brings us to The Upper East Side. This quintessential New York City neighborhood is sleek & chic with some of the city’s finest boutiques, gorgeous brownstones, luxurious mansions & sophistication lining every corner.
To adequately check out the neighborhood that Serena van der Woodsen & Blaire Waldorf call home, my mom and I stayed at The Carlyle Hotel, a luxurious hotel just a few blocks from Central Park.
Place to Stay.
Built in the 1930s, the elegant Carlyle Hotel is just where you imagine you’d stay in style when daydreaming about a mother-daughter NYC trip. Once the “home-away-from-home” to celebrities and dignitaries alike (think Kennedy & Princes Diana), The Carlyle calls itself a true Manhattan Gem.
My mom and I checked into our room early in the morning, with a full itinerary ahead of us. But upon walking into the lavishly creamy guestroom and seeing the gorgeous views from our windows, we were hard pressed to leave so soon!
The Carlyle personalizes each guest’s stay with monogrammed pillows too! We were in awe of the wonderful service and sweet touches throughout our stay.
With a view like this from the bathroom, hour long bubble baths are a must!
Cupcakes and berries also welcomed us into our room. The always sweet-craving pregnant person inside of me was ecstatic!
Stop to Visit.
After our mid-morning cupcake break, my mom and I made our way down and walked several blocks north to The Met to see the Manus x Machina fashion exhibit.
Not going to lie, I was distracted by the tourist stands on the way there. These magnets were only $1 you guys! Such fun little souvenirs. 🙂
The crown jewel of The Met this summer (in our opinion at least) was the Manus x Machina: Fashion in The Age of Technology Exhibit. It ran through September 5th, so we were lucky to be able to catch the exhibit just in time.
The exhibition explored how fashion designers are transitioning from handmade techniques to those with machines, in both ready to wear and haute couture pieces. With almost 200 pieces from the 20th century, I was in fashion heaven that afternoon!
Swooooon!
Stop for Sweets.
Upon seeing any exhibit at The Met, one must always stop for macarons and tea afterward, right?
Just a few blocks South, right in the heart of The Upper East Side sits Laudurée, an upscale Parisian bakery with the most colorful & decadent macarons imaginable.
And the tea is oh-so-delicious too!
After a busy day running around & playing tourist, we headed back up to our room for room service & to put our feet up.
Traveling when pregnant sure is exhausting at times! It’s important to take breaks, drink water, eat more food than you think you need and make time to rest as much as possible.
KAS New York Dress
An early evening at The Carlyle {complete with cheeseburgers & cupcakes} was just the answer after an exhausting but wonderful day.
With one more day left to explore The Upper East Side, we started with a delicious buffet breakfast from the hotel restaurant. I definitely let myself fully “eat for two” that morning. 🙂
KAS New York Dress // Flats // Crossbody
Stroll and See.
Soon my mom and I strolled to Central Park and joked about how at 85 degrees, it still felt MUCH cooler than both of our homes in Tennessee & Texas.
One of my favorite views!
After an adventurous day in one of the country’s most famous parks, we hopped in a rickshaw and were whisked away back to our “home” for the weekend.
More sweets awaited us and all (baby girl included) were happy-as-can-be to have their sweet tooth(s) satisfied.
Oh, and the accompanying view didn’t hurt either!
I have such fun sharing my travel diaries with you all and I hope that you can use them as sort of a guide for your next NYC adventure. Stay tuned for a post later this week all about SoHo & the center of Manhattan: Times Square!
—
alice
