This was our first full day in the city, and the day we did our walking tour of Greenwich Village. I started by getting a latte (with caramel syrup and oat milk, always!!) at Le Café Coffee by the YMCA. I went here almost every day—the baristas and coffee are amazing.
We took the train to W 4 St/Washington Square. It only took 18 minutes. MARTA could never. Here’s a picture of Dr. Sexton looking super Mrs. Maisely. I did not ask for her consent when I took this picture, hopefully that’s ok:):
On the way to Washington Square Park, we checked out Edgar Allen Poe’s former house at 85 West Third Street (originally Amity Street). The building is actually a reconstruction similar to what the original building. It had tall windows and even a gas lamp attached to the brick exterior. Many of the building around NYU’s campus have this old-looking red brick with some stone inlays (is that the right word?), and huge beautiful windows. I’m a big fan.
We made it to Washington Square Park around 12:30. It was perfect weather and the park wasn’t too crowded. Summer wasn’t yet in full swing. We saw Anderson Cooper and his child! I swear that kid has been a toddler for years.
We then went to Caffe Reggio! It was a beautiful restaurant with stained glass windows and Italian Renaissance paintings on dark brown walls. It was a very cozy, artsy vibe. Some of the tables were marble, and some (ours) were wooden, with hooks for bags. I thought that was a touching feature. I got pasta with spinach and mascarpone cheese 🙂
We walked to the Stonewall Memorial, which I didn’t get any picture of but which was very moving. The park was wonderfully peaceful. I got a lot of pictures of graffiti on the way, and of some of the buildings, like this one covered with ivy.
We walked to Harper’s Magazine, where we had a meeting at 3. I didn’t get any pictures of the office, but it was adorable and not at all what I expected from such a well-known publication. In one office, a guy was just chilling on his couch. It was so relaxed and seemed very artistically & intellectually inspired. I came out of this meeting wanting to intern with them and wishing they paid. I thought the two people we met with were incredibly helpful.
The group split up after Harper’s, and I went with Jodi, Maddy, and Twix to St. Mark’s Church, consecrated in 1799. I thought it was encouraging that the church had a sign commemorating the people enslaved by members of the church:
St. Mark’s had the vault in which lies Petrus Stuyvesant, the Captain General and Governor in Chief of New Amsterdam. He died in February 1672 at 80 years old—they must have re-buried him when they built the church.
We then went to L Train Vintage in the East Village, which has a huge selection of Hawaiian shirts, overalls, and camo pants, strangely. Then we went to a Sao Mai, a delicious Vietnamese restaurant. Twix and I got pho, and Maddy and Jodi got bao buns. I HIGHLY recommend this place! It was affordable and the portions, at least for the pho, were generous. Look at this cute mushroom!
We wanted some drinks but weren’t prepared to pay for the $19 cocktails at Joe’s Pub, so we made a pit-stop at Keybar, just a block away. We got lychee vodka shots and then headed to Joe’s Pub for the House of Speakeasy event. I think my favorite speaker was Latasha N. Nevada Diggs, who talked about her experience as a stripper in the city. She just published her book Village about trauma, memory, grief, etc.
Then I caught a Lyft back to the YMCA with Noah and Dr. Sexton! It was her birthday, as I recall!