My NYC: What I love & hate

Hey everyone! I'm curious how many of you are considering moving to a new city?

After living in Las Vegas for 10 years, I decided to move back here to NYC. I'm originally from here. 10 years ago I thought I wanted a change - so we moved to the west coast. Well, I'm a city girl at heart, and my heart never left Manhattan. So, with that said - we moved back to New York. Some of you may recall the post that started it all here.

We've been back here for 5 months now. This city has so much energy - if you don't keep up, you feel like you'll get trampled on!  A few people have asked me what it's like to live here & if I would post about my fave spots to eat, visit & so on.  New York isn't ALWAYS amazing- all the time, so with that said, I'd like to ALSO mention the stuff I DON'T like about it. But first, my fave places are:

Spasso: Located in the West Village, this is a great authentic Italian food place. I went there for brunch & had the eggs benedict - they were made to perfection. Can't wait to go back again!

Vespa: the food here is delicious - Italian all the way.

Cascabel Taqueria: This is a Mexican restaurant on the upper East side. The fish tacos are the best & they have a nice assortment of agua fresca drinks, my pick would be the Watermelon agua fresca.

Pig Heaven: Awesome Chinese food, with the tastiest dumplings! 
 

Aroma Espresso Bar- The Soho location is the best, and the iced coffee is so good! Always frothy even when on ice! 

Nespresso Boutique Bar: This is a super cool coffee bar that serves amazing coffee - so much so, I own one of their machines. The bar also serves light meals and plenty of iced & hot espressos. They have a few locations in the city & definitely a great spot to meet with a client.

Uva: Also on the upper east side. Italian spot with a really nice backyard patio area. 

La Follia: Love this place, with some of the best pasta dishes & appetizers! Located on E.19th

MOMA- Museum of Modern Art (Happy now Susan?) - this is by far one of the best museums here in the city, especially if you're an art fanatic like me.

High Line Park: 

Ever since I moved here my dad had been mentioning highline park. I finally went with him & loved it. The high Line is a public park here in the city on Manhattan's West Side. It's built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets! 
 

Tina's Cuban Cuisine: I'm a sucker for homemade Hispanic food. Every so often my mom comes by & brings a few dishes to our place, it is the best! This is one thing I really missed when I lived in LV, my mom's home cooked meals. 

Well, if you can't make it to my mom's place, you can always go by Tina's. This place is delicious & very affordable! You won't believe the portion they give you for the price. Great deal.

Magnolia Bakery: There are several locations for Magnolia here in Manhattan & they're owned by different owners, so you'll taste a little difference in each. It's a long story as to why, so you'll have to look it up online. That said, my fave location is the one in midtown west. Super most cakes & frosting. My sweet tooth is always satisfied there.

Barneys:

This is one of my favorite department stores here in Manhattan. They have a ton of name brand items if that's what you're into, and get ready to spend money, it's not cheap. It's super chic with all the latest trends.

Zara: Who doesn't love Zara? This is my favorite shop here in town. Their clothing is the best, and they have a ton of variety. The best store in my opinion has got to be the one on 5th Avenue. 

Calypso Home: 

This shop has it all if you're looking to bring something hip & stylish to your home. It's also one of my faves in the city. You can find it downtown Manhattan!

Sex & the City Bus Tour: What's a trip to NYC without Carrie Bradshaw?? I can't believe I just recently went on this tour!! Have you been yet? I went with my guy & he was like one of 3 guys on the bus. It was funny, but it was something we did last minute. 

My guy didn't mind, he actually enjoyed the show at times. This tour is about 3 or so hours long & they show clips of the series on little screens - you laugh a lot on this tour - it's totally worth going on. Next time I'd love to go with a few girlfriends though.

Ok, so the things I DON'T like aren't that many, but if I had to tell you, this would be it. Feel free to tell me the things you can't stand about this city & what you LOVE.

Street smells - lets' face it, a lot of street smell like dog Urine or dog poop. No wonder my dog got sick.

Subway - If I had all the money in the world (but I don't) I'd never, ever ride the subway. It's clean & fast, but dang is it hot during the summer. Literally feels like you're in a sauna on that platform. The day they invent air conditioning on platforms, I'll be there. 

Weather - I knew it was going to be humid here, but I guess I forgot how much. I swear on days where the humidity is past 65% I just don't want to go outside. I truly miss the west coast weather.

If you think you've seen it all, you haven't been to NYC. This is where you truly see it all. What's your fave place to visit when in NYC??

-highline park images by Iwan Baan

-cupcake pic by ny daily news

-sex & the city pic by mario tama

-aroma bar pic by arancia project