🌆 The Great Escape

We needed an escape. With a daughter moving out and our dog recently crossing the rainbow bridge, we needed a distraction from the changes at home. Since we did a day tour of New York City with my Uncle Roy in 2022 (he and my Aunt Jane live in Newtown, CT), Carrie and I had long discussed returning to the Big Apple for a longer adventure. So a few months out from a long weekend, we booked a trip to cool off a little bit – haha – and catch some fireworks.

As it turns out, New York City decided to have its hottest weekend since 1966. But that didn’t stop us two youngsters. We just accepted we were gonna sweat and went after it. And we had an absolutely magical adventure. This is the first of a three part blog on our journey – one per day – and we’ve got some great stories for ya. This was also my first adventure with the Leica Q3 so these will be a bit longer and have a bit more photos than my normal blogs.

But let’s start by checking into our hotel – the Intercontinental Barclay.

🏨 The InterContinental New York Barclay

Let me first talk up my points game: We booked this five star hotel through the Chase portal under The Edit deals. Chase offered us a $500 immediate promotion off this hotel. With the $250 The Edit credit and a $250 travel credit, we stole this hotel for less than $350 for 3 nights and that includes free breakfast at $120/per day and a $100 meal credit. Let me tell you, I have not slept so well as we did that first night.

Built in 1926, the InterContinental Barclay was celebrating its 100th anniversary during our 2026 stay. It was originally constructed as part of the massive “Terminal City” expansion surrounding Grand Central Terminal. It was designed in the classic Federal style to serve as an opulent, ultra-private residential hotel for high-society railway travelers during the Roaring Twenties. The Vanderbilts kept a luxurious 27-room apartment at The Barclay for nearly two decades.

Except for a hiccup with the mini-bar (it was hot as hell and we needed to get some waters in their packed mini-fridge – had no idea they had sensors on that stuff) which is now resolved, we loved our stay here. The dinner at The Parlour exceeded expectations – very tender hamburger – and the breakfast and coffee were good too. My favorite were these little blueberry oatmeal balls fried like boudin balls in New Orleans. Yum!

🏙️ Wandering through Canyons of Stone and Steel

Stepping out of the hotel lobby and we were immediately looking upward at the overwhelming vertical scale of Midtown’s corporate architecture. As we typically do, we wandered a bit just to get the lay of the land before heading out for dinner at Casa Mono, another Chase Sapphire Reserve find (more later). But before we wandered, we needed fuel. Enter Blank Street Coffee on Lexington Avenue. Wow.

Launched in a tiny mobile cart in Brooklyn in 2020, Blank Street completely disrupted the traditional NYC café scene. They focused heavily on automated espresso technology, hyper-minimalist aesthetics, and lightning-fast specialty cold brews designed explicitly for the high-velocity commuter.

We opted for the Shaken Vanilla Bean Cold Brew with almond milk and it was worth every single penny and sip it dished out. We’d end up with four trips to a Blank Street location in three short days.

As we wandered the corner, we noticed this gorgeous mural of a New York City firefighter kneeling over an American flag. Felt like the perfect first fun find of our wanderings. And it’s one better felt than simply seen. Take a moment.

Then we moseyed on over to Park Avenue. Originally known as Fourth Avenue, this street was a gritty, smoky cut for steam locomotives in the 1800s. The avenue was completely reborn when the tracks were buried underground to create the grand, boulevard-style Park Avenue we know today. The visual frame is famously dominated by the soaring, octagonal mass of the MetLife Building (formerly the Pan Am Building) and the ornate, gold-crowned Helmsley Building.

After circling back to the hotel to change, we headed out for dinner. But first, we had to catch a train.

🏛️ Grand Central Terminal

Opened in 1913, Grand Central is a global masterpiece of Beaux-Arts architecture. It saved Midtown from locomotive smoke and established New York as a modern superpower. Don’t miss pointing out the famous Opal-Faced Clock atop the information booth (valued at over $10 million) and the iconic Celestial Ceiling, which was famously painted completely backward by accident in the early 1900s because the astronomers drew it from a “divine perspective” outside the stars.

I always love seeing the glimmering marble and glowing chandeliers of the station. There is something magical about this place – like it is born out of a fairy tale. We will return here for the evening and catch a glimpse of the drive featured in The Avengers film. But for now, we will settle for our destination.

🚇 The NYC Subway

Operating 24/7 since 1904, the New York City Subway system is the literal circulatory system of the metropolis. It spans over 660 miles of passenger trackage, processing billions of rides a year. It’s an uncompromising equalizer where billionaires and buskers sit shoulder-to-shoulder on the classic orange bucket seats. It’s dirty. It’s nasty. And while it is no Tube in London, it is wonderful – except after July 4th fireworks and then it sucks.

The NYC subway now operates on a card reader system so you can simply use your wallet on your phone. At $3 per trip, it ain’t cheap. And we paid a 25% tip through double charges. But it made our lives easier. I love public transportation. Just, bring hand sanitizer.

🍽️ Casa Mono

Probably the third best meal of my life (Mark’s American Cuisine – now closed, Chop’n Blok in Houston), Casa Mono is a Michelin-starred staple sitting right on the corner of Irving Place. Casa Mono delivers an incredibly authentic, intimate taste of Spanish tapas. Under Chef Andy Nusser, the tiny, packed restaurant is famous for its razor-sharp execution of wood-fired plates, intense flavor profiles, and a deep curation of Spanish wines that make it an essential neighborhood reservation.

We loved our meal so much we didn’t even take photo of it. It was all delicious. Every bite. I did write down what we ordered:

• Pan con Tomate
• Arroz Negro
• Pork Sobrasada with Quince
• Skirt Steak
• Pork Meat Balls
• Patatas Bravas

I’m not going to write much more about it because you should just go. I did manage to capture this lovely photo of Carrie because she is beautiful and we need more beauty in the world.

🚦 Broadway

From there, we wandered over to Broadway. Broadway is the oldest north-south main thoroughfare in New York City, tracing its origins all the way back to an ancient pre-colonial Native American trail called the Wickquasgeck. Because it stubbornly cuts diagonally across the entire strict grid system of Manhattan’s 1811 Commissioners’ Plan, it creates unique, open intersections and flawless avenues for catching rare, glowing sunset views down the asphalt corridors.

🌳 Gramercy Neighborhood

From there, we wandered through Gramercy and by Gramercy Park. Laid out in 1831, Gramercy is an architectural time capsule designed explicitly around the exclusive, private Gramercy Park. It remains one of the last true gas-lit neighborhoods in Manhattan, maintaining an elegant, quiet neighborhood feel that has historically drawn in the city’s finest writers, actors, and creators.

🍦 Caffè Panna

Then we felt the need for a sweet treat. Seeing the line, we stopped at Caffè Panna. Founded by Hallie Meyer, Caffè Panna is a widely acclaimed, Roman-inspired gelateria that has taken the NYC dessert scene by storm. They change their house-churned, ultra-creamy flavor menu daily, famously topping their scoops with imported Italian panna (a decadent, cold-whipped cream flown in directly from Piedmont). We got a OH MY GOSH IT WAS SO DELICIOUS CHOCOLATY GOODNESS (I don’t remember the name but it was amazing).

🍺 Pete’s Tavern

Established in 1864, Pete’s Tavern proudly holds the title of the oldest continuously operating bar and restaurant in New York City. It famously survived the entirety of Prohibition by operating as a fully functional, undercover “flower shop.” Its most famous regular was legendary short-story author O. Henry, who sat in Booth #2 beneath the historic stained-glass bar mirrors to pen his literary masterpiece, The Gift of the Magi, in 1905.

We hung out here for a while to beat the heat. We each got a Strawberry Mint Mojito and it was every bit as good as it sounds when 102 deg F outside. We played for a bit. We laughed. We made faces at each other as young love does. And then we headed back to our hotel via the submerged train.

I’m gonna ring out this first blog with a some photos from Pete’s Tavern and then our journey home including the Pershing Square Viaduct, the iconic bridge next to Grand Central Terminal that is featured in The Avengers film. They used a sound stage but it’s still fun to see. Don’t miss the sunset!

We can’t wait to share Day 2 with you. It was, without a doubt, one of the most meaningful days I’ve had on the road. And it all starts with Lady Liberty.