The Manhattan Bridge stretches across the East River in New York City

It had been years since I’d been to New York City — over six, in fact — which is why I was incredibly excited to return. Past visits had seen me climb aboard a boat and circle the island of Manhattan, passing the Statue of Liberty and plenty of other landmarks along the way; scale the Empire State Building to get a peek of the sea of lights down below; and venture to a rooftop bar in Williamsburg to take in a different view of the city, from across the East River. But here’s the thing about New York: there’s always a new adventure to be had.

That is even the case when you only have roughly 36 hours to spend in America’s largest city, needing to cram a number of stops and activities into a short amount of time. But under those kinds of time constraints, what can you feasibly make happen? Well, let me tell you…

First off, what you’re gonna wanna do is fly into LaGuardia (preferably) by 4 or 5 p.m. at the latest on Friday. Why? Because let’s face it: the friend you’re visiting likely lives on the Lower East Side, or in Greenwich Village or Dyker Heights — somewhere that’s gonna take at least an hour to get to by train and/or bus (because we both know your friend doesn’t have a car in the city, and you’re sure as hell not paying that Uber fee).

Okay, so you’re already looking at roughly 6 p.m. before the shenanigans can even truly begin. How to combat that? Well, thankfully, you packed light (right?) and don’t mind carrying your backpack around for the evening, which means instead of dropping your stuff at your friend’s place on the Lower East Side, you can save some time and simply meet them out and about somewhere.

Roughly 6 p.m., as we said, you arrive at Essex Market, and wouldn’t you know it? There’s your buddy waiting outside, Chinese dumplings and a Peking duck sandwich in hand — because they knew you’d be hungry (and that the dinner reservation was for 10:30 p.m. in Brooklyn). So you head inside and make your way upstairs to one of the empty tables to scarf it all down, passing by the many treasures of the market — grocery stands, sushi bars, flower shops, and the like — along the way.

It’s all so enchanting already, but there’s precious time to spare. So you destroy those snacks right quick and run back downstairs, and then out to the street, before hopping on a pair of Lyft bikes so you can ride all the way around the underside of Manhattan. A short time later, you wind up in Hudson Yards, on the West Side, where you have a 7:20 p.m. date with the observation deck at Edge NYC.

Your friend leads you inside the Shops & Restaurants at Hudson Yards, leading to some momentary confusion (“why are we in a shopping mall?”), but then you see that in addition to the Cartier, Fendi, and Ray-Ban storefronts, there are also signs directing visitors like yourself up to the 4th floor, where the elevators to the Edge await. Past the ticket counter and the line of schmucks who didn’t buy their tickets ahead of time, you and your friend step inside one of those magical elevators and zip all the way up to the 100th floor.

At last: the Edge — and a bajillion people waiting to get their picture taken where the outdoor platform comes to a point, facing southeast. “Eh, I’m sure there are plenty of other good spots around here to get a decent photo,” you say, initially shrugging off the hype. And sure, the 360-degree views of New York are fantastic just about any which way you look (unless you’re talking about the view of New Jersey across the way, am I right?) — but the picturesque point that everyone’s clamoring for proves too much. So you wait in line and get not one or two pictures, but several. And, no surprise, they are spectacular.

An overwhelming urge to have a fancy cocktail in the sky washes over you, with that whole “what the heck, I’m on vacation” attitude creeping in at the edges. But you resist (!), taking a moment instead to freak yourself out walking over the glass floor showing just how far off the ground you are, and taking several more moments to appreciate the vastness of Manhattan rising up around you.

Suddenly, a time warp opens up. You’re not sure what’s on the other side, but you and your friend jump through anyway, throwing caution to the wind. The clock fast forwards to 9:30 p.m., and you find yourself walking on a sidewalk in Brooklyn, heading for Bar Blondeau, a French-style hangout on the sixth floor of the Wythe Hotel.

However, there’s only enough time for a single cocktail, because dinner down the street at Laser Wolf is next up on the docket, and you absolutely do not want to be late for that. “This is the spot in New York right now,” your friend tells you as you walk through the lobby of The Hoxton and make your way toward the elevator. And, sure enough, as the hostess escorts the two of you to your table, the veracity of this claim proves itself undeniable.

Your belief cements itself even further as the food begins to arrive. First, the server brings over the salatim, an assortment of side dishes, including such selections as Israeli pickles, kale baba ganoush, and Moroccan carrots. This, of course, is accompanied by pita bread, which can be slathered in hummus or combined in any number of delicious ways with the other offerings on hand. Then, you pick your kabobs from the charcoal grill — chicken, steak, lamb, or brisket — and add those to the mix, as well.

It’s all very scrumptious and delightful, but oh my goodness, would you look at the time? Next thing you know, you’re back at your friend’s place, watching “Friends” (at your behest) and scheming to head up to the roof at 6 a.m. to catch the sunrise. “Sure,” you think, “like we’re actually going to get up in five hours and do that.”

*Cue narrator: “Five hours later…”

Wearing a knit cap and a borrowed striped sweater, you step out into the chilly morning air, twelve stories above the East River. The light from the still-rising sun colors the city in an alluring blue, making the early wake-up call completely worth it. Being the cultured individual you are, you waste no time abiding by the new Golden Rule: pics (and, in some cases, videos), or it didn’t happen. The Manhattan Bridge, and Brooklyn’s skyline across the river, couldn’t be more accommodating.

After capturing an appropriate amount of content, your inner monologue proclaims, “We did it, Joe!”, much as it does in the immediate aftermath of any achievement, big or small, these days. But now what you must do, Joe, is head back downstairs and take a quick snooze, because it’s about to be another long day.

By the time 9:30 a.m. rolls around, you’ve napped, showered, and biked just under two miles, and now find yourself standing in line for a morning snack at Lafayette Grand Café & Bakery. Your friend had been dying to get their hands on TikTok-famous “Supreme” — a round croissant injected with one of several fillings, such as strawberry, raspberry, or pistachio creme — and your visit was the perfect excuse. They end up with the chocolate creme-infused variety, while you opt for a cinna-crunch croissant. Spoiler: both are delightful.

Breakfast in earnest comes roughly a half hour later, as you sit down at Jack’s Wife Freda, a Mediterranean bistro down the street. Having already stopped in at Lafayette, you opt to take things easy, splitting a Mediterranean breakfast (two eggs, chopped salad, labne (similar to Greek yogurt), avocado, and pita bread), along with a side of duck bacon.

But hey, chop chop, wrap it up, because it’s time to explore SoHo on foot. The neighborhood, filled to the brim with designer boutiques, high-end art galleries, and fancy-pants chain stores, is a popular one for visitors — and the prices you stumble upon in nearly every store reflect that fact. No matter; you’re perfectly fine with window shopping, and trying on $1,800 leather coats at Reiss just for funsies, anyway, so that’s okay.

Don’t look now, though, because it’s time to take a breather and grab an afternoon cocktail at The Tyger, a Southeast Asian spot on Howard Street. Except the cocktails all run about $19 and it’s a little too early in the day to go that hard in the paint, so you opt for a hard cider ($9) instead. The food options here — oysters, steak tartare, Phnom Penh fried chicken — all sound delectable, but your stomach is still processing breakfast (and pre-breakfast), so you’ll just have the one drink, thanks so much.

No time to eat anyway, because you need to get over to Hall des Lumières, the art museum that regularly features 4D-esque exhibits. The current offering: Destination Cosmos, a journey into the deep, dark depths of outer space. As you walk in, the floor and the walls and the ceiling come to life, transforming into a dark sea filled with stars. It feels like you’ve fallen into a black hole, but in a good way.

Before you know it, another one of those time warps has opened and you’ve fallen right in. With memories of sugar plums dancing in your head, and a much-needed midday nap in the rearview mirror, you find yourself standing on the steps of The Plaza Hotel on 5th Avenue. You and your friend figured you’d grab a pre-dinner drink at the fancy-schmancy lobby bar — only, all the seats are taken and the hostess, bless her heart, informs you the surrounding dining area is for hotel guests only. So there goes that.

Rumours Bar & Grille, an Irish pub on 8th Avenue, will have to do, you suppose. Turns out a burger and a couple of Sam Adams was just the thing you needed, and now you’re all fueled up for the walk over to Schoenfeld Theatre to catch the Olivier Award-winning Broadway spectacle that is “Life of Pi”. For the next couple hours, you laugh, you cry — you feel — as Pi and his magnificently-crafted puppet friends take you on a journey into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Sadly, the magic on the stage comes to an end, and it’s time to catch the subway back over to the Lower East Side and wrap this whole thing up. So you take a quick stroll through the hustle and bustle of Times Square, find the station, and jet off once more.

Except there’s one final piece of the puzzle that must be fitted into place: a stop at Pier 35 along the East River, where giant swings let you sit back, relax, and catch your breath while, in your head, you run back through all the things you were able to accomplish in a day and a half in America’s largest city. One last look at the Manhattan Bridge and the city rising up around it, all of it lit against the night sky, ain’t too shabby, either.

-LTH

No Matter How Many Times You've Been, New York City is Always a New Adventure