Twenty-Six
Yesterday I turned twenty-six. I had the opportunity of spending both New Year’s and my birthday in New York City. This was my second time visiting this amazing city. Initially before departing from LAX, I thought I would most likely be spending the countdown for 2016 in Times Square. After talking to a couple of locals in NYC, there was a change of mind. Seeing the ball drop would be incredible, but it turns out that waiting immobilized for hours in an extremely congested area of people is not worth it when there is much more to do in the city.
My stay consisted of four nights at Lotte New York Palace (also know as The New York Palace or The Palace) in Manhattan. It had been a dream to stay at this beautiful hotel that is right in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral ever since I watched Gossip Girl. This luxury hotel offers exceptional service and the view from my room in The Towers was incredible. I must admit that during my stay there, I got hooked on their Molton Brown bath and body products that smell and feel so good. Located on Madison Avenue in Midtown East of Manhattan made it very convenient. It is walking distance to many stores, restaurants, museums, and landmarks like Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, the Empire State Building, and Central Park.
During my stay in NYC, I got to visit a couple of tourist points of interest including Times Square, MoMA, Top of the Rock, Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, and Central Park. I also got to experience part of the local side of NYC. My friend Brittany who lives in the city showed me a great time at a couple of cool bars in Hell’s Kitchen and Greenwich Village. A highlight of my visit was seeing The Phantom of the Opera. I absolutely loved everything about it and I highly recommend it if you have not seen it yet.
As for my birthday, I had a pre-birthday dinner at Casa Lever on Saturday with two special people. Casa Lever is an elegant and chic Italian restaurant on Park Avenue. Everything about this restaurant amazed me; from their original Andy Warhol portrait collection, delicious food and wine, to their phenomenal service. I can’t wait to be back in NYC and dine there again. After dinner, we first spent the remaining of the night at the Upstairs rooftop lounge at the Kimberly Hotel and then at McCoy’s Bar, an Irish pub in Hell’s Kitchen.
Sunday morning on my birthday, I had breakfast at Tiffany’s on 5th Avenue. I purchased a beautiful necklace from the Elsa Peretti Diamonds by the Yard jewelry collection in platinum. Buying this piece of jewelry made my day extra special. Then heading for a walk at Central Park and macarons at Ladurée was the perfect way to spend the remaining time of my visit before my departure back to Los Angeles. I must say I already miss this city. I will never forget turning twenty-six in NYC.
Ayer cumplí veintiséis. Tuve la oportunidad de pasar tanto el Año Nuevo y mi cumpleaños en la ciudad de Nueva York. Esta fue mi segunda vez en esta increíble ciudad. Inicialmente antes de volar del aeropuerto LAX, pensé que lo más probable era que iba a pasar el Año Nuevo en Times Square. Después de hablar con unas personas que viven en Nueva York, hubo un cambio de mente. Al ver caer el balón sería increíble, pero resulta que la espera durante horas en una zona muy congestionada de gente donde uno no se puede mover no vale la pena cuando hay mucho más que hacer en la ciudad.
Mi estancia fue de cuatro noches en Lotte New York Palace (también conocido como The New York Palace o The Palace) en Manhattan. Había sido un sueño mío de alojarme en este hermoso hotel que está justo en frente de la Catedral de San Patricio desde que vi Gossip Girl. Este hotel de lujo ofrece un servicio excepcional y la vista desde mi habitación en The Towers era increíble. He de reconocer que durante mi estancia allí, me obsesione con sus productos de baño y cuerpo de Molton Brown que huelen y se sienten tan bien. Situado en Madison Avenue en Midtown East de Manhattan, lo hizo muy conveniente. Está a pocos pasos de muchas tiendas, restaurantes, museos y lugares de interés como Rockefeller Center, Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, Empire State Building y Central Park.
Durante mi estancia en Nueva York, visité un par de puntos turísticos de interés como Times Square, el MoMA, Top of the Rock, Ground Zero, la Estatua de la Libertad y Central Park. También conocí un lado de la parte local de la ciudad de Nueva York. Mi amiga Brittany, que vive en la ciudad me mostró un buen tiempo en un par de bares en Hell’s Kitchen y Greenwich Village. Unas de mis cosas favoritas que hice durante mi visita fue ver El Fantasma de la Opera. Me encantó todo sobre él y lo recomiendo mucho si no lo has visto todavía.
En cuanto a mi cumpleaños, tuve una cena la noche anterior del día de mi cumpleaños en Casa Lever el sábado con dos personas especiales. Casa Lever es un restaurante elegante italiano en Park Avenue. Todo en este restaurante me sorprendió; desde su colección original de retratos de Andy Warhol, deliciosa comida y vino, a su servicio fenomenal. No puedo esperar para estar de vuelta en Nueva York y cenar allí. Después de la cena, primero pasamos el resto de la noche en el bare Upstairs que se encuentra en la azotea de el Kimberly Hotel, y luego en McCoy’s Bar que es un pub irlandés en Hell’s Kitchen.
Domingo por la mañana en mi cumpleaños, tuve desayuno en Tiffany’s en 5th Avenue. Compré un hermoso collar de la colección de Elsa Peretti Diamonds by the Yard en platino. La compra de esta joya hizo que mi día fuera extra especial. Luego, ir a dar un paseo en Central Park y comprar macarons en Ladurée fue la manera perfecta de pasar el tiempo restante de mi visita antes de regresar a Los Ángeles. Debo decir que ya extraño esta ciudad. Nunca olvidaré haber cumplido veintiséis en Nueva York.
Next to Gapstow Bridge in Central Park
Junto al Puente de Gapstow en Central Park
Beautiful Christmas tree and decorations at Lotte New York Palace
Hermoso árbol de Navidad y hermosas decoraciones en Lotte New York Palace
Room service after a long and fun night. It is true what they say about NYC being the city that never sleeps.
Servicio en la habitación después de una noche larga y divertida. Es cierto lo que dicen de Nueva York ser la ciudad que nunca duerme.
At the Top of the Rock
En Top of the Rock
Manhattan, I love you.
Manhattan, te amo.
To a great New Year!
¡A un gran Año Nuevo!
Empire State Building
Birthday breakfast at Tiffany’s
Desayuno de cumpleaños en Tiffany’s
Original Andy Warhol portrait collection at Casa Lever
Colección de retratos originales de Andy Warhol en Casa Lever
Liberty Island
Times Square
I hope you had a great holiday season and I wish for you to make all your goals you have for 2016 a reality.
Espero que hayas tenido una gran temporada de días festivos y deseo que hagas todas tus metas que tienes para el 2016 una realidad.
Truly,
Marisol Ceja
Great post!!! Beautiful pics !!! My collection is worth 50 million $$$ ?… Keep up the great job! You are very beautiful.
Thank you ghost of Andy Warhol, wherever you are. :p Your talent will always be an inspiration.
Chika!!!!! Qué genial que hiciste ese viaje.. Tú sabes que te lo mereces.. Me da mucho gusto que tengas esas experiencias y allas entrado el año así de maravilloso ?
Muchas gracias chica. Te lo agradezco mucho. ¡Deseo que tengas un año increíble! 😀
<3 <3 <3
great pics! I always thought NYC was just a bigger version of LA but you’ve definitely convince me to go!
LA and NYC are both very different!! You need to see for yourself! I love everything NYC has to offer, I can’t wait for my next visit.
I like your blog and your experience in New York! These adventures seem really fun.
Thank you so much Mike! I had a great time.
Great post! Love the big Apple ? Your pics are amazing!!! Thanks for the great recommendatios .
Thank you so much! I love the Big Apple too!
You are beautiful and smart, i can clearly see this from your blog. I won’t follow though because it seems too mainstream and too rosy perfect. Seems you are absorbed in your own little world making it seem like you are a wannabe celebrity or sth. Buying jewellery? and birthday parties? it’s ok to incorporate those once in a while, but i believe a young and smart woman has much more to offer. What if you shook things up? What if you talked about darker experiences or ”dangerous” topics? Successful blogs are authentic. Would you dare talking about experiences like abuse, being different, about world problems? Don’t mean to boss around on someone else’s blog, it’s yours and you write what you want about. But i follow a blog that is written from a woman whose husband is going through a sex operation, a blog of a guy who is a single father of three, a blog of 2 german girls who decided to follow their dream and move to japan alone without speaking japanese. This type of strong people interests me and has something to offer. A pretty girl who is just writing about her birthday and her healthy eating is fading and being lost among millions of other similar blogs. And i already have 2 female friends who are like that irl, i don’t need to read about it, i can experience it with them. I took the time to write this book here, because i believe you have talent and you can make a blog that isn’t just another girly, cutie, one of the same. A blog that can be trully badass and make thousands follow.
Best of luck!
It is understandable if this is a blog you wouldn’t want to follow. I know my blog is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea. My life is authentic and everything I share here is real. Have a good day.