Back to New York! — Patti Part Two

I had the opportunity to come to NYC for a work event and decided why not stay for the weekend??!! Thankfully it wasn't last weekend when they had the snow storm - the weather here now is perfect for January. The first two nights I was at a nice hotel right across from headquarters, but when it became my budget I moved 3 blocks away to The Pod Hotel. I have stayed here before but thought I would post pictures because I am often asked where I stay in NY. I am rarely in my room here since the purpose of coming to NY is to get out and see and do things right? So I am always looking for a place that is clean, safe, reasonable and in a good location. The Pod fits the bill especially in January which is the least busy time in NY. There are 2 Pod Hotels - one on 51st and one on 39th - both on the east side of Manhattan. I have stayed at both but the one on 39th is newer and each room has it's own bathroom. So now you are thinking - what???? Own bathroom? Isn't that a given in a hotel? Not always when you are looking for a reasonable spot in NY!!! The Pod on 51st has rooms that share a bathroom but it's not as bad as you might think. You do get the entire bathroom to yourself when you are in it - but you do have to walk down the hall to use it. Needless to say I like the location of the one on 39th better as it is just 3 blocks from Grand Central Station so really convenient to get a subway going anywhere.

This is Grand Central Station - gorgeous and massive!

So here are pictures of my room at The Pod. It's perfect if you are traveling alone or with someone you are VERY COMFORTABLE with as it's quite small. But great free Wifi, clean and comfortable - pack light!

Friday morning I moved my stuff over to the Pod and headed to Grand Central to catch the 6 train to Soho. I have walked past The Tenement Museum so many times on the lower east side and have heard that it is really interesting so that was first on my list. I arrived to 103 Orchard which is where you begin.

Book Store, movie theater and where you buy your tour tickets.

The Tenement Museum has various tours throughout the day with different themes and content. For example the tour I took was called "Irish Outsiders." I picked that one because it was starting right when I arrived but all the tours looked interesting. Each tour lasts between an hour and an hour and a half. There is a free 30 minute movie you can watch before or after your tour. Our tour guide was excellent. You actually go through a tenement that was built in 1863, and hear the story of a specific family that lived there. I would definitely go back and take another tour in the future so highly recommend it!

I headed back to Soho to get lunch at my favorite salad spot. They are located all over Manhattan so the closest one was on Spring St.

My next stop was MoMa (Museum of Modern Art) so I got back on the 6 train and headed north to 51st St. Do I ever take any train but the 6? Well yes I do but I love the 6 because it runs pretty much north and south on the east side. I walked over to the museum located on 53rd and spent a few hours getting my Picasso on. It never ceases to amaze me how incredible the museums in NY are. While most good museums have a few pieces of art from the most famous artists the museums in NY have entire rooms of their work. Since I am going to Spain in April I am trying to improve my Picasso knowledge and as luck would have it there is a special exhibit at Moma of the sculptures of Picasso. Maybe it wasn't every single piece of his but it must have been most because there must have been 100 pieces of his work! Overwhelming and incredible!

There was also a special exhibit of Jackson Pollack that was very cool.

As with all the museums I could have spent a couple more hours there, but I needed to get back to The Pod and officially check in and head to meet Tom for dinner.

As luck would have it - it is restaurant week in New York! When I found that out I started looking at our options and saw that Fig and Olive was participating. Fig and Olive has opened locations in Chicago and CA along with a couple of locations in NYC and has been on my list for awhile. If you're not familiar with restaurant week it's a great way to try a restaurant and usually at a much more reasonable price. We just had it in Kansas City and it was wonderful! Typically a set price for a 3 course meal. So Tom and I were able to get a reservation and enjoy a fantastic dinner at the location on Lexington and 62nd. I started with a wonderful salad with apple and fig, entree of a Moroccan spiced chicken with couscous and for dessert - some kind of heavenly chocolate pudding like compote. That and a great glass of wine! Does it get any better??? I think not! The only thing is that I was so busy talking and eating I forgot to take pictures - whoops!! I will try and be better.

So that was Friday - another fun day planned for today!