My New Favorite NYC Spot

During my most recent trip to New York City I did something I’ve never done before: I never ventured north of 38th Street. Stuck in what I call the “Midtown Slump,” I always stay in Midtown & then take the subway down to the Union Square Farmers Market & other places on the lower half of the island. But since I was just staying overnight, I thought I’d try a new neighborhood & see how it went.

I scored a room at the Hotel Giraffe through the awesome Hotel Tonight app & set up shop at the corner of 26th Street & Park Ave. – a block away from Madison Square Park. After a Saturday morning stroll down to Union Square & the surrounding neighborhood, I ended up in Madison Square Park for the first time.

The streets around the park are home to some of Manhattan’s most famous buildings, including the Flatiron Building & Met Life Building. The park also has a spectacular view of the Empire State Building. Perhaps most notable is the original Shake Shack, which is located in the southeastern corner of the park. With time to kill, & beautiful sunshine beaming down on a warm early-March day, I found myself a bench & just sat, soaking in the sun & admiring my surroundings.

I not only managed to break my Midtown Slump, I also managed to find a new favorite spot in NYC: Madison Square Park.