A true holiday weekend

This past weekend for the Memorial Day holiday, I took advantage of having Friday & Monday off of work and booked a flight to New York City. Rather than traveling with intent to explore the city, the purpose of the trip was to catch up with all of my friends who have embarked on their careers there. I stayed on the Lower East Side with Becca, who recently moved out there for her company, since she never really got a true visit being at Northwestern throughout college.

When deciding what I wanted to do while I was there, I realized I've been lucky enough with my travels that this was my sixth trip to New York in the past two years. While some were longer than others, my list of museums and tourist accomplishments was already pretty robust. This trip, I would observe the livability, eat, catch up with friends and let whatever happens play out.

After living in an urban area for nearly eight months, all of the nuances between New York & Chicago came to fruition. Manhattan is a lot dirtier & cramped than downtown Chicago. It is significantly more diverse. Dogs are allowed in public- in stores, on the train and even in restaurants sometimes. The variety of cultures makes PDA a lot more acceptable than it is in Chicago. And although overall it's an incredibly different culture from what I'm living in now, I absolutely loved it.

We slept in every morning. Walked nearly 30,000 steps in one day just exploring neighborhoods and shopping. Hung out on some of the most beautiful rooftops I've been on. Ran into friends & unexpected acquaintances twice. And I had plenty of good company along the way. The four days flew by, and even without a beach, it felt like more of a vacation than my typical travels. Thanks to everyone I spent time with for an incredible weekend!

Walking down the riverfront path at East River Park.

Becca, Colin and I trying the various brews at Brooklyn Brewery outside of Williamsburg.

Shaina, me and Sherman in Times Square. We got to see Shaina before her and her sister left for birthright to Israel. Twainers stick together!

A beautiful view of the city from a rooftop in Murray Hill.

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity on the Upper East Side. The service was a perfect combination of English & Greek.

Walking the Chelsea High Line with Kara & Alyssa.

Becca and I ending the weekend by exploring the north end of Central Park and walking down.