They tell you about the bright lights and the big city, but no one tells you about the bruised feet.
If you follow my Instagram @thefashionpressblog, you'd know that I recently spent the weekend in New York City. My family and I had been wanting to visit for a while, as we have family there who we haven't seen in ages, so we took the plunge and finally took a trip to the Big Apple!
We stayed for three nights and four days, technically, though the first day was a travel day and we ended up getting in super late mostly due to the insane amount of traffic there is in New York. Also, we were staying a block away from Time Square, so close we could see it from out hotel room, so that probably didn't help.
We had two full days in the city, and tried to cover as much ground as we possibly could. We visited places like Times Square, Central Park, Chelsea Market, the High Line, Rockefeller Center, The Theatre District and neighbourhoods like Chelsea, SoHo, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
The weather forecast for the weekend looked pretty grim, as it was predicted to be cloudy with slight chance of rain on our first full day, and rain with chances of lighting on our second full day in the city. We got really lucky though, with a warm, sunny day for the first, and chilly yet refreshing weather for the second. On our last day, it was super sunny and hot which was nice.
I was most looking forward to the fashion in New York. Before actually visiting, I always found New York to have a really cool street style that no other city could really match up to. And trust me, it did not disappoint.
Because the fashion aspect was so important to me, I made sure to carefully put together outfits to make sure that they looked good, but also were comfortable and, somewhat, practical.
Unfortunately I didn't get to capture all of my outfits because I was so caught up in taking in all there was to see in such a short amount of time that I, honestly, forgot to take a picture every time I changed my outfit, so I only documented two of the outfits I wore.
I actually pre-planned all my outfits when packing for my trip, so I knew that I would be wearing and when I would be wearing it.
For our first full day out, I knew it was going to be pretty hot so I made sure to wear shorts. I wanted to stay away from just throwing on jeans shorts and a t-shirt— after all it is New York City, so I opted for this pinstriped button down top with amazing mid-length sleeves that I picked up just before my trip.
I threw on a pair of orange pointed-toe mules for a pop of colour, which turned out not to be the best decision for the insane amount of walking we did, but I survived... with the help of band aids. I accessorized with my favourite white mini bag and layered some gold necklaces.
On the second day, it was pretty cold and cloudy with high chances of heavy rain throughout the day. Luckily for us, the rain was light and lasted for half an hour, at most. However, it was still pretty cold for summer, which was actually a nice and refreshing.
So that day, I wore these green pinstripe trousers with a white t-shirt tied in a knot. For comfort above all else, I paired the outfit with white sneakers, and had my faux-leather jacket draped over my shoulders for most of the day, and carried the same white mini bag from the day before.
Though the trip in itself was so memorable and special, there were a few highlights that really stand out to me when I think back on the weekend.
The first was definitely when we went out for dinner at this restaurant I had heard of on Keeping Up With the Kardashians called Serafina. The restaurant had gotten pretty good reviews, so we called to make a reservation.
The food was so good and my whole family was very impressed, especially my mom whose standards for food are very high especially when it comes to Italian food, considering we are an Italian family who cook and eat tradition Italian foods.
My mom, dad, and I all had pizza which was delicious and my sister had pasta which was equally as great. When I go back to New York, I will definitely be visiting Serafina again.
After having dinner at Serafina, my family and I walked around Time Square when I spotted Sean Monahan, a hockey player for the Calgary Flames in the NHL. Initially when I told my dad that I had seen him, he didn't believe me. But after some quick, but persuasive, convincing we approached him. He and his girlfriend, who was also there, kindly stopped to take some pictures with my dad and I.
If you know me, you know that I love hockey, and that the Calgary Flames are one team that I always keep on my radar, so meeting one of their star players was really cool and definitely memorable.
Another highlight was when we went to eat at Shake Shack after wanting to try it since the day we arrived in the city. We went crazy trying to find one that was supposedly located close to our hotel, but for some unknown reason we could never find. Well, that's because it was actually located in the underground food hall at Pennsylvania Station, and we would never have known if we hadn't asked a local New Yorker.
We literally went on a mad dash to acquire the food, because we had a little over 30 minutes left on the parking meter, with no clue where Shake Shack actually was inside the station. My family and I probably looked like lunatics as we rushed through Penn Station, literally running away after we got our order under the name Rizal, rather than our actual last name which is Rizzo, which we thought was just hilarious.
When we finally got to the car with ten minutes to spare, we all agreed that it felt like we had just won a challenge on The Amazing Race. And if you're wondering whether Shake Shack was even worth all that trouble, the answer is yes. Without a doubt, yes.
Initially when I found out we would be taking this trip, I was a bit nervous because I don't really enjoy travelling, and I was afraid that I would feel claustrophobic staying in the city because of all the people and humongous buildings. My experience could not have been more opposite to my expectations. I'm so incredibly happy and thankful that I had the opportunity to go. New York was so beautiful and is definitely somewhere I could envision myself living in the future; I'm already thinking about my next trip there!