Weekend in New York

I am back in Washington after a lovely weekend in New York. Though DC is a very pleasant city, it always feels a little slow coming back. New York is really unique and I the more I spend time there and the more I get to know the different neighborhoods, the more I love the city. Jenny, who I know from Rome, just moved here after two years in Teheran and so I stayed at her place one night and two nights at Elisa and Julien’s. Due to heavy rain Thursday evening, my bus up was delayed, but Jenny and I still found some time to catch up over dinner in the evening when I finally arrived. She lives in East Village so the neighborhood is full of restaurants. Friday, Elisa and Julien invited me to join them and two of their friends to have lunch at the Gramercy Tavern, a restaurant with a star in the Micheline Guide. The food was wonderful and we spent almost three hours there, enjoying a three course lunch. (Since it was the lunch menu, it wasn’t particularly expensive, and I can really recommend trying more reputable restaurants in that way.)

The rest of the weekend was quiet and relaxing, with nice dinners at E&J’s, brunches out, a stroll in Central Park, a visit to the Metropolitan Museum (I spent eight hours there the first time I was in NY seven years ago, but have barely been back since), and a bit of shopping. I also managed to meet up with a girl who is doing the same distance MSc as me and who also lives up in NY. It was great! We spent over two hours talking about food policy and food systems – some of my favorite topics! So I really had a lovely weekend in NY and I hope to go up soon again!