city love

In high school, I was convinced that I was going to grow up, move to NYC, and be a writer.

I grew up, I’m a writer, but I do NOT live in the big city. Still, two visits have now confirmed, I love the city. And I love other big cities I’ve visited too, like London, DC, LA, and Denver. Last year, we had the opportunity to move to NYC, even, and were sorely tempted, but the job wasn’t right for Jon, and in Little Rock we stayed. Now, Little Rock is a LOVELY city, but it’s got Little right there in the name. And while I will be the first to sing the praises of La Petit Roche, it’s not exactly bustling. So, I will have to scratch my city itch with periodic trips to real metropolises, like I did this weekend. I went to NYC with my sister Jessica to help her pick out a wedding dress and have some fun.

We used Air BnB (which we have used and loved before, in Costa Rica) to find a place with a cool young couple in SoHo, so I think we traveled more like locals than tourists (thanks for a great time, Alex and Lil!). I mean, it doesn’t get much more authentic than trudging up to a 6th floor walkup over a curry place, does it?

In addition to our (successful) wedding dress mission, we were all over the city. We revisited some spots I loved on my last trip (food may have to be a post in and of itself), saw MoMA, saw the Empire State Building, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, checked out the DUMBO area, explored the Upper East Side, saw an amazing concert (shoutout to my sister’s friend Jessica who got us in to see Lord Huron for free! Which, locals, they’re playing Stickyz tonight, so go see them!), and ended our weekend with an evening in Little Italy. We walked a million miles on swollen feet (haven’t had that experience since pregnancy!), enjoyed some excellent people watching, and just had the BEST time. I’m already dying to get back and wondering if I can swing a yearly Seester Trip to the city.

Here are just a few of the highlights: