Two Girls, One Big City

I just returned from a weekend up north in the city with my best friend from high school, Ally. She’s been living up there for the past four or five months, taking on fun party jobs and living it up as an aspiring musical theatre actress (and a talented one at that)! After months of calls and texts anticipating this trip, I finally hopped on a flight and made it to the Big Apple last Thursday evening.

We had a pretty packed weekend, full of nights out at various NYC clubs, rooftop bar hopping in Manhattan, shopping in Soho, and sapphic country line dancing in Brooklyn… it was a lot to fit in one weekend. I’ve always ended an NYC trip feeling exhausted but fulfilled by the culture, nightlife, food, and, of course, the classic romanticization of being a 20-something girl visiting a big city.

Oftentimes, there’s too much to do, and an indecisive, type-B visitor like me can get overwhelmed by the plethora of activities and places to see. So! I thought I’d narrow all those fun little activities down into one day and share them as a guide to “Two Girls Spending a Day in NYC!”

I stayed in Harlem during my visit, where our day would typically start with a slightly hungover shower and the forced (nauseating) consumption of a toasted bagel before we took to the subway. First, we made a pit stop for my friend to get her nose pierced.

She’d been eyeing my nostril and septum rings that morning, and with the impulsive question of, “Should I get my nose pierced?” and the simple answer of, “Um DUH!” the decision had been solidified.

We went into Soho looking for a good piercing/tattoo shop as we made our way to ELOREA, a super chic cafe and perfumery. We ended up popping into Love Machine, a tattoo shop with the most unique and mind-blowing art hanging on its walls. I helped my friend pick out a cute stud and browsed the contradicting religious symbols in their artwork. The rather controversial pieces—some of which would send an older conservative woman to crazy-lady town—had all been painted by the tattoo artists.

We sat with the piercer as he sterilized his tools, and he explained how each piece had been made by the artists who worked there. With the addition of one sparkly nose jewel and a couple of cups of filtered, ice-cold water, we returned to the heated streets of Soho to find our next destination.

ELOREA is a small business unique in its configuration of coffee/drinks, perfume, and ice cream. The shop was broken up into three parts, with the perfumery at the entrance. The rich, refreshing scents hit me the second I walked through the door, and the array of classy perfumed bottles drew me in immediately. ELOREA presented their scents with little sniffing cups to hold up to your nose and breathe in. There was a large collection across the front of the store, with woody/earthy scents, refreshing flowery scents, and even some rich, luxurious scents.

A table sat amid the walkway leading to the cafe, where ice cream was being sold in large, plastic containers. Shoppers sampled different flavors of sorbet and ice cream before moving on to drinks. The menu had been created to go hand-in-hand with the perfume collection, each specialty drink assigned to a specific smell card. My friend and I both purchased the orange-blossom chai latte and received a citrus-smelling card to pair with it. The act of sniffing our cards while sipping our coffees added another layer to the experience. I’d never stepped foot into a cafe so dedicated to manipulating one’s senses to create a full immersive environment.

Ally, who was friends with one of the baristas, asked for a good lunch recommendation in the area, which led us to Mommy Pai’s. Mommy Pai’s is a Thai fusion window-style food spot with delicious fried chicken, dumplings, scallion pancakes, and more. The combo meal comes in a giant box with enough food to feed a four-person family.

We stopped for Italian ice on our way to explore Soho and eventually stumbled upon the Glossier store. When Ally told me she’d never shopped at Glossier, I pulled her through those shiny double doors immediately. I, frugal as I am, stuck to sampling lip glosses and shimmery eye shadows while Ally went on an entire shopping spree. The store was tall and warm, with colorful accent walls in pretty shades of red and pink. Ally picked up her order from the counter, as if she’d just picked up a prescription, and we continued.

We’d planned a full weekend of clubbing and going out to bars, so Ally was looking for a good night-out dress. Luckily, we stumbled upon a hidden gem: Blanc clothing. We walked in, hoping for good prices, and got exactly what we were looking for amid the variety of styles: island, club, prom, wedding… Ally, who’d been dying to visit Jaded London, was satiated by the similar styles and lower prices.

Unfortunately, we had to squeeze into one dressing room out of the two that were open while a long line of people waited to try on clothes. We even had a woman tell us to “hurry up” and force open our curtain when the other dressing room had been occupied by the same person since before we’d even arrived. After visiting a couple of random shops here and there, we went home to get ready for our night out with Ally’s friends.

At 9:00 pm, the girls had arrived, and we chatted over shots of Bacardi and root beer chasers. We hopped in our ride an hour before midnight and made our way to my new favorite NYC dance club: Wiggle Room.

We entered upstairs and got shots at the bar before making our way down to the dance floor. We weaved through the crowd until we found a platform the four of us could fit on to dance. There was a giant disco ball in the center of the room that reflected colorful lights and beams across the room. The bartenders activated their bubble machines, and I had a blast trying to pop them in the middle of the club like some child who’d never seen bubbles before.

They played the perfect music for clubbing: early 2000s party music. We’re talking Usher, Kesha, Beyonce, Nellie, Shakira… all of the best music I so luckily grew up with.

Besides the various men trying to record us on their phones and Meta glasses, we had a blast dancing with one another and getting rum & cokes (with extra lime!) at the bar. At the end of the night, Ally and I took the subway home and hit our pillows like bricks.

We also spent the weekend ping-ponging around the whole of NYC, visiting Chelsea’s art district, the Whitney Museum, and the walkable High Line. We hit up Brooklyn’s thrift stores and dive bars. We even took a day trip on the ferry to the shores of Rockaway Beach (a beautiful beach, if you were wondering).

Although the city that never sleeps took much of my rest away from me, it was worth it for a weekend of feeling alive. There’s just something about taking on the city with your best friend that puts a spark in your step, like a shot of espresso or a burst of adrenaline. It was the kind of weekend I needed after a rough couple of weeks and months of missing my friend.

I am still recovering from all of the drinks, the walking in high heels (my toes are still numb), and the high-energy environment, and yet…

Here I am, wondering when I’ll get to be a 20-something girl visiting her best friend in the city again.