How I spent a solo day in NYC

A trip to the museum, a rooftop moment, an impromptu drawing class, a broadway show, and an unexpected conversation

Imagine it: a late-summer day, 75 degrees, the sky a gentle blue, the sun like a light cardigan on your shoulders. The kids are at school. The world is busy at work. You’re dropped off in the middle of the greatest city in the world. You have an entire Monday to yourself.

How are you spending your day?

Come along with me as I revisit my home city and experience inspiration in a whole new way.

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10:30 am: I took the train from Westchester County, where I was staying with my in-laws, into Grand Central Station. My husband had plans to meet with friends uptown, so we rode in together, reliving the early days of our relationship when we both worked in NYC and commuted together.

11:30 am: We walked uptown together and said goodbye at maman. I found a quiet little bistro table in the corner, pulled out my book, and enjoyed a delicious lunch: lemon cream cheese, cucumbers, and lox on sourdough, topped with pickled onions and everything seasoning. 

As I sipped my iced coffee, I relished the French café-inspired decor: the brick wall, worn tables, faux florals and greenery, soft lighting — though my gaze mostly stayed fixed on the robust display of pastries at the counter.

12:30 pm: I walked a few blocks west, admiring the residential exteriors and picking out the one I could most see my husband and me living in (I do this in pretty much every place I visit).

12:45 pm: I arrived at the steps of the Met and took in the scene with a new reverence. I’ve visited the museum many times on class trips in high school and college, but just like I was never jazzed about required reading, those educational visits felt obligatory and went unappreciated. Also, I was young and immature and didn’t understand how special it was that this incredible place was at our disposal!

1:00 pm: I headed inside and veered to the right, stepping directly into the iconic scene from When Harry Met Sally. The windows and the light inside this space are incredible. 

From there, I turned into another Egyptian area and, for the first time, realized (I hope I don’t sound like a complete idiot for saying this) that there are actual human remains inside those mummies?! I thought it was just the exterior of a coffin and that the insides were empty. It gave a whole new spooky vibe to my entire experience.

1:30 pm: I made my way into the American Wing, where my favorite parts were the furniture and replications of home interiors.

I enjoyed quite a few paintings by an artist named John Vanderlyn, who was unfamiliar to me. Is it weird that when I found his portrait, I thought he was kind of cute? If we’d been in art class together in the early 1800s, I’d have definitely asked to borrow his palette knife, then “accidentally” taken it and been like, "If you want it back, you have to take me to tea." 

Most impressive of John (I think I’d call him Jack)’s work was a panoramic painting of Versailles that took up an entire room.

2:30 pm: Because I can’t quit that nostalgia, I knew there was one experience from my school visits that I wanted to recreate: sitting inside the sculpture garden in the American Wing and drawing in my sketchbook.

The experience was humbling, to say the least. I can’t remember the last time I did figure drawing (maybe my sophomore year of college?). But by the fourth sketch, I found myself loosening up. I dropped the judgment and just allowed myself to enjoy the sacred experience.

I am not nearly a good enough writer to describe how exquisite the light was inside the garden, but here are some words that come to mind: Golden. Milky. Gentle. Magical. Soft. Like satin.

3:30 pm: I did a quick weave through the European Wing and pointed at the works of famous artists like they were old friends. “Hey, a Degas! This could only have been done by Caravaggio. Oh, Rembrandt, I know him!”

4:00 pm: I was feeling pulled at this point because there was still so much to see, and I was running out of time. But being that it was such a stunning day and the rooftop garden at the Met is only open seasonally, I took the elevator upstairs to catch what might be the most beautiful views of the city I’ve ever seen.

4:30 pm: I think it has been nearly twenty years since my last visit — before Gossip Girl existed, so I had to take the opportunity to snap an "XOXO"-inspired selfie from the Met steps before dashing off to my next destination.

4:45 pm: I had great intentions to stop in a few bookstores, but ultimately only made it to one called Albertine, a couple of blocks south of the Met, which was lovely but also very French. Like, most of the books were in French, and everyone inside was speaking French. So, if you’re missing Paris, I’d highly recommend stopping inside!

5:00 pm: I slipped into the still fairly empty Bemelmans Bar inside the Carlyle Hotel and grabbed a seat at the bar. I was hoping for a basic girl bar meal of French fries, a salad, and a martini, but sadly they could only deliver on the drink.

I’ve heard/seen so much about this iconic spot, so I think my expectations were sky-high. My experience with the venue was medium. It’s small, dark, and cozy, which I love, but it felt a little more dated than I was expecting, and not in a charming, vintage-y way.

My drink, a Vesper, was delicious! And so were the bar snacks. But the absolute best part, and probably the highlight of my entire day, was chatting with the delightful couple sitting next to me, visiting from California.

My conversation with these folks was so lovely — they were so interesting (a retired art professor and an opera director), and it left me feeling, similarly to how I felt after getting back from LA, that I’m really missing interactions with people like this in my life.

6:30 pm: Because I was enjoying our conversation so much, I scrapped my plans to stop in a couple of other bookstores and waited until the last possible minute to catch a cab and get to Midtown.

7:00 pm: Curtain up! Most Broadway shows are dark on Mondays, but I was thrilled to learn that the new musical The Great Gatsby had a performance scheduled for the night I’d be in town.

I’d been listening to the soundtrack for the past couple of weeks, so you better bet I had to brace myself from dancing in my seat. It also was such a treat to see Jeremy Jordan on stage again (I also saw him in Newsies a few years, eeek, or maybe a decade back).

9:30 pm: In a New York miracle moment, I grabbed a cab and made it to my train home with two minutes to spare.

Epilogue

A couple of days later, I headed back into the city to enjoy a day with my mom and two of my sisters. We had lunch at Gatsby’s Landing (yes, a very Gatsby week!), saw Once Upon a Mattress, and because I abstained on Monday but couldn’t stop thinking about them, I grabbed a bunch of chocolate chip cookies from the maman location near Grand Central and brought them back to share with my in-laws. 10/10, would not recommend skipping them in the future.

This week’s visits, and this year’s trips, really have me missing city life. I’m going to keep seeking ways to harness that vibrant, creative energy at home. If not, I’ll be back in NY again soon for the holidays!

✍️ Creative Exercises/Journal Prompts

1. Plan a creative date with yourself, filled with all the things that make you happiest!

2. Revisit an artistic activity in which you consider yourself rusty. Stick with it long enough to feel yourself dropping judgement and enjoying the experience.

3. Strike up a conversation with a stranger.

☀️ Five good things

When we can recognize the things that bring us the most joy, we invite more of them into our lives. Here are five things that made me happy this week. Share yours below!

Five good things that happened this week:

1. We kicked off our new season of Film to Table with a rerelease of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. You can catch the episode here or here and look forward to more school stories in the coming weeks.

2. I’ve eaten an abundance of really good pizza this week.

3. Our friends introduced us to a new card game called Play Nine and we picked up a box to keep at my in-laws in NY and one to bring home with us to FL!

4. My husband and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary on Friday, and since we were out of town, we spent it with my family, which just like our wedding day, was the best!

5. We also got to celebrate the wedding of our friends Cindy and Nikash on Saturday!

💬 Share your intention

Whether it’s a giant leap, a tiny to-do list item, a habit change, or something else, there is power in accountability, and this is a safe space to share your aim. Some weeks, we’ll fail, others we’ll soar, but with support, we’ll always keep going together.

Until next week, get out there and make something beautiful.

Michelle

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