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New York State of Mind 🗽
31
items 7 days in New York. See where we stayed, where we ate, what we did!
Sections
5
travel stuff
hotels
food
fun :-)
clothes
travel stuff
we managed to do 7 days in new york without rolling luggage!!!
was able to pack for one weeks worth of clothes for both of us!!! it made the trip so easy!
Baggu Small Cloud Carry-On
kurt's camera bag! he brought it to london & new york. carried our camera gear & any tech. he also held onto our toiletries bag.
Nomatic Backpack
did the capsule wardrobe for our week in new york. one bag held our undergarmets. other bag held our shirts, skirts, & shorts (say that 5x fast lol)
Patagonia Black Hole® Packing Cube 6L
had some hand sanitizer & snacks for easy access
Bag Charms & Keychains
this handy dandy lil thing held my hand sanitizer, ear plugs, perfume sample, & a snack :-)
Hello Kitty Charm
perfect for walking around new york. had my lil hello kitty clip on with my hand sanitizer, snack, perfume, & ear plugs. inside this bag i had my phone, wallet, sunglasses, & camera. twas the perfect pop of green for watching wicked :-)
Round Ultra Mini Bag
brought the standard sized baggu in the kuromi design! had our packable jackets, a scarf, my smaller bag & essentials, & cameras. even got to put some bagels inside :-)
Standard Size Baggu Foldable Tote
hotels
cosy hotels in good locations! our lic hotel was a block away from two subway stations & a few food spots. our hotel near jfk had a complimentary shuttle to the air train.
perfect location in long island city! near two subway stops (about a block away each!) a few food spots nearby as well. one direct train to manhattan.
Courtyard Long Island City/Manhattan View - New York
really liked the free shuttle that took us to the airtrain. didnt get the free breakfast because we took an early flight home. but overall, lovely hotel!
Hampton Inn NYK-JFK Near JFK Airport with 24-Hour Shuttle
food
so much to eat. definitely got our fill of bagels (they will never be the same for me) & coffee (i don't drink coffee on a daily basis!) surprising didn't eat as much pizza as i thought we would (only had it twice) & didn't get to try any hal...
just down the street from our hotel! ordered the beef noodle soup, saucy sesame cold noodles, & orange green tea with passionfruit. so yummy!!!
FER
a few steps away from our hotel & right at our subway entrance!
ordered the guava cheese croissant, iced chai, & iced mocha. stopped by there another time for a latte.
Pueblo Querido Coffee Roasters
walked around to see a few tourist-y spots & had to eat somewhere before we watched wicked! would've gotten a cheesecake but we were so full lol
we ordered:
arnold palmer
cream soda
lunch combo - matzoh ball cup, corned beef sandwich
single pota...
Junior's Restaurant & Bakery
such a cute little spot in alphabet city! korean brazillian fushion. nice & cozy spot. we ate here on wed night & the surrounding area was full of people which was a surprise! definitely a hidden gem our friend shared with us
Gomi Korean Wine Bar
ordered an iced einspänner &
hot purple sweet potato latte (i still think about this drink)
such a luxe looking coffee spot! drank our drinks on our walk to the moma :-)
Ten Thousand Coffee
had to stop by a new york institution! got the classic cheese & sicilian slices. definitely will come back! we did not eat enough pizza in new york!!! joe's has a few locations & service goes by quickly. loved seeing the celeb photo wall (&am...
Joe's Pizza Broadway
stumbled upon this handroll bar in the chelsea market. this was such a great place to eat! as we told them it was our wedding anniversary, they gifted us a matcha creme brulee :-)
Maki a Mano
these bagels have ruined all other bagels for me. we tried the plain & salt with plain cream cheese & enjoyed it so much we had it twice!!! first before our museum date, second before our central park date. i still think about these hot fresh...
Popup Bagels
this was such a sweet spot. we didnt have a reservation & were able to sit at the diner without much wait. tried the breakfast sandwich (soooo yummy!) tempted by the pancakes but just watched other people eat them lol.
Golden Diner
wanted to warm ourselves up walking around chinatown after dinner. decided to wait for this place (maybe about 20 min) nice floral flavor, just sweet enough. will definitely need to try it again as more locations closer to home have opened up!
Molly Tea (NY Chinatown)
went to the downtown brooklyn location before going to the goodwill in the area. such a beautiful coffee shop!
Devocion Specialty Coffee Shop | Downtown Brooklyn
stopped by this location in brooklyn. seems so quaint. people were just relaxing & enjoying coffee & conversations. would need to go there again to try some coffee (went here right after devocion)
IXV coffee
after a lot of walking then taking pictures in dumbo, i was enticed by the ice cream truck :-) got a swirl cone. it's all about the simple pleasures.
TOP 10 BEST Ice Cream Trucks near DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY - Updated 2026
tried going to one ess a bagel before our museum date but it was closed. so we thought we wouldnt get the chance to try it out. when we were walking to trinity church, we saw that an ess a bagel just recently opened! had to stop for a bagel (this pla...
Ess-a-bagel
we realized we needed to get some nutrients & fruits during this trip, so we got smoothies when we were walking around grand central! so refreshing
Playa Bowls
fun :-)
had to watch a broadway show & visit some museums for our anniversary trip :-)
spent basically the entire day here xD paid for an extra exhibit (encounters in the milky way, narrated by pedro pascal). loved the fossils!
American Museum of Natural History
got to see can gogh's starry night :-) spent some time in the room of monet's water lilies. saw pollacks. such a lovely afternoon spent here. got souvenirs (a magnet & bookmark) then had lunch in the cafe (shared a grilled cheese & tiramisu)
The Museum of Modern Art
i have been changed for the good :'-) 20 years of wicked on broadway!!!
went to the matinee show in the middle of the week (a little bit cheaper) make note that if it's a weekday show in the afternoon, you might be with a few schools (we had 3 schoo...
Wicked The Musical
right next to the strand! cool comics & collectibles store.
Forbidden Planet
such a massive bookstore! managed to stop by here on our way to dinner after watching wicked. we wouldve spent all day here if we didn't have any other plans!
Strand Book Store
had to pivot from our original plans & spent an evening at the chelsea market. so many food spots but we ended up dining at a handroll bar maki a mano - will have its own recommendation :-)
Chelsea Market
clothes
travelling with just a carry on bag & no suitcase meant we had a limited amount of clothes to bring & had to utilize a capsule wardrobe. felt comfy & cute for our trip!!! thankfully the forecast was sunny & clear skies for the entire ...
used this in greece! lightweight jacket. more for breezy days. as we didn't have raincoats, these were worn during some heavy rain while on tours (these are not raincoats but when in greece, right?) at least we had umbrellas :)
Uniqlo Packable Jacket