Our NYC Staycation

This past weekend, my husband and I were lucky enough to be invited to a wedding in New York City.  When we first got the save the date months ago, I assumed my husband would be going alone, but after securing some sitters the girls would love (my in-laws), it was determined that we could both go after all.  So Friday morning before anyone was up, we escaped.And we end up in NYC before lunch.  Over some delicious diner food, my husband looked at me and asked, “So, what do you have planned for today?”.  Um…nothing?  Truth is, I had nothing planned.  No sights to see, no museums to visit, no must take pictures on my list.  Nothing.  I never even thought to plan anything.

As we finished up lunch, we tried to decide what we would do next, but all we wanted to do was nap.  So we headed back to the hotel and did just that.  I actually slept for nearly 4 hours.  Then I blogged a little, caught up on email, and chatted with a friend for nearly an hour before dinner.  It. Was. Heavenly.

I figured we’d do something distinctly New York the next day…but we didn’t.  Instead, we slept in (for us, that’s about 9am), then shopped at the Gap (conveniently located on the same block as our hotel), and I got my nails done.  It was pretty fabulous.  About halfway through the day I realized that I hadn’t taken a single picture during our trip, so I quickly snapped some pictures of Grand Central, where I snagged some cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery.  Yum.

But if I’m being absolutely honest, those pictures were taken more out of guilt more than anything else.

I kept promising myself that we’d do some sightseeing “later”, but we didn’t.  In fact, it took us over 24 hours to realize that the Chrysler Building was actually just steps from our hotel.  We just didn’t notice.  We were too busy sleeping well, eating at some amazing restaurants, catching up with friends, and consuming just a little too much wine.  And who could forget the hours of television that didn’t include a talking dog, cartoon character, or the song “Let it Go”?  Because that doesn’t happen often, folks.

Of course, we took some time out to celebrate with friends at a pretty amazing wedding under the ivy clad trellises at the Gramercy Park Hotel (that middle picture on the right is of chicken and waffles – those things will live in my dreams FOREVER).

But by the end of the reception I was exhausted and it was back to our hotel for our last night of uninterrupted sleep.  I never even made it to the after party.

Bottom line is, I wish I had great NYC pictures to share with you (or maybe a picture taken with a real camera instead of just a camera phone?), but as it turns out, our vacation was more of a staycation.  We stayed close to our hotel.  We didn’t see any sights, unless we stumbled on them.  And honestly, everything we did in New York – with exception of the wedding, of course – could have been done in any other city.  We could have just stayed in South Florida.  Hell, there’s a Gap 5 miles from my house.

But this “staycation” of sorts was good for my soul.  I took care of myself.  I came back refreshed.  I got some quality time with my husband.  It was nice to get away and, yet, do nothing at all.  Just like it never occurred to me to plan out our sightseeing that first day in the city, it never occurred to me to plan an entire trip where we did nothing.  I had no idea how badly I needed a trip like that until I was there.

Who knows, maybe we’ll make this staycation thing a regular thing…and maybe we really won’t leave town next time.