travelgirl falls for habit-forming manhattan

Written by Lynn Parramore : Photos by Celeste Joye

 

New York crackles with so much energy, your feet get charged simply walking down the street. You'd think the city would just implode, burn itself out in the urban equivalent of a supernova. But thankfully New York energy is a constantly renewable resource. Every day, new ideas flash. Deals fly. Scenes sizzle. Every imaginable shock is absorbed. Come what may, the colorful human kaleidoscope of New York perpetually shifts itself into new and more dazzling patterns. The Big Apple. Gotham. The City That Never Sleeps. Whatever you call it, here, you are free to reinvent yourself. You can be saucy, hip, brilliant, impossibly sexy. A little loud. This city has the power to switch your mood quicker than a billboard flashing in Times Square. Possibility is the miraculous essence of every molecule of concrete, the gleam in the eye of every newcomer. For every taxi on Fifth Avenue there's a different side of you New York will entice to come out of hiding. So let's go, travelgirl.

Which New York Are You?
In choosing your hotel, you decide which New York you'll be slipping into first-like a fabulous outfit you're free to change at any moment. Even if they're not your destination, NYC hotels beckon you to soak up their style for an evening, an hour or a passing moment as you stroll by.

Dare to dream of an uninhibited you at the new Dream hotel, brainchild of hotelier/model/actor Vikram Chatwal. Drop the ego's clinging masks and dip into your inner world amid ethereal blue lights and tree motifs that conjure up an enchanted forest. From interiors designed by surrealist David LaChapelle to an Ayurvedic treatment center created by spirit guru Deepak Chopra, the Dream hotel provides a place where Chatwal, the world's sexiest Sikh, assures us "nothing is wrong, nothing is awkward." Lounge among the clouds at Ava and gaze upon the dreamscape of Times Square, or dive below ground into Subconcious, a cavernous lounge sparkling with granite and shimmering onyx. Pinch yourself, dreamgirl. This is really your life.

Fancy yourself gliding across the black-and-white marble floor of a luxurious Art Deco lobby? The Carlyle Hotel is the epicenter of Upper East Side social life, where Baccarat light fixtures shine on the well-heeled and urbane. Let a white-gloved operator whisk you to a room appointed with Louis XV furniture and heart-stopping views of Central Park. Catch an exhibit at the city's most famous museums and take in a cabaret show at Caf 'e9 Carlyle when you return. This is New York at its most classic, cosseted and glamorous - perfect for the 1930's film star in you.

Maybe your New York is a literary oasis where piquant conversations are exchanged over the driest of martinis. If so, 44th Street's Algonquin Hotel is a paradise for your inner bookworm, a place where words still matter mightily. If you find yourself suddenly engaged in verbal jujitsu, you're channeling the spirit of Dorothy Parker, who launched her literary slings and arrows from "The Gonk" in the 1920's. After you've had a drink at the venerable Blue Bar, pay homage to Matilda the cat, the hotel's genius loci, who presides over the lobby in splendid indifference. Then sashay out for a Broadway show, perhaps stopping for a scotch at The St. Andrews pub on the way back. When you're happily ensconced in your small-but-cozy room, go ahead - start taking notes for that novel.

The Carlyle Hotel on the Upper East Side

At night, you'll find The Maritime's bars and restaurant stuffed to the gills with a lively crowed of gallery world darlings and Warhols-to-be. Join them. Who knows? This could be the start of your fifteen minutes.




Fabulous Fanny's in the East Village carries over four thousand pairs of vintage eyewear!

New designer shops are shooting up like bright flowers in a vacant lot in an area once known for seedy S&M clubs and industrial waste.

Window shopping on 9th Street.


Do gallery openings make you drool? If so, Chelsea's Maritime - part hotel, part happening - will plop you in the heart of a neighborhood crammed with the creations of New York's artists du jour. Gaze out from port-hole shaped windows in this distinctive white-tiled building originally designed for a sailors' union. Plumb the depths of the neighborhood's provocative art scene, taking in beautifully preserved brownstones and fantastic furniture and flea markets as you go. At night, you'll find the Maritime's bars and restaurant stuffed to the gills with a lively crowd of gallery world darlings and Warhols-to-be. Join them. Who knows? This could be the start of your fifteen minutes.

The fashionista in you will flip for Soho's 60 Thompson, a one-hundred room hotel nestled on tr 'e8s chic Thompson Street. 60 Thompson's garden bar, with its sweeping rooftop views and signature restaurant, Thom, are among the city's most sought-after scenes. When you leave, peruse Soho's distinctive cast-iron architecture and do some damage to your credit card at the dizzying array of designer boutiques. Get a glittery makeover at FACE Stockholm and count yourself among the insanely beautiful people walking the swanky streets. Beloved restaurants like Raoul's, Blue Ribbon Sushi and Aquagrill are neighborhood faves sure to please you with out-of-this-world eats sans snooty service.

If you're a true bohemian, you'll want to hang your beret at the best budget lodging in the city - East Village Bed and Coffee. A little daring rewards you with the city's best digs for under a hundred bucks. The "C" in Alphabet City's Avenue C used to stand for "Careful!"-but now it signifies "Cutting-edge," as the neighborhood has mellowed from Dodge City to Destination Hipster. In this European-style guest house, you'll share common areas and baths that lead to funky Mexican or African-themed rooms. Set out and explore the eclectic neighborhood, including a spate of ethnic restaurants and intriguing shops that have emerged to service all those indie film producers and up-and-coming actors. Lace up your old Doc Martens and let your freak flag fly.

Dressing the Part
Of course Fifth Avenue has your Bergdorf Goodman, your Saks and your
precious Tiffany & Co. And you'll undoubtedly hit Soho, where you'll swoon over Anna Sui and prostrate yourself at Prada.

But just a step off the beaten path brings you to shopping Shangri-las less
well-known to visitors. Elizabeth and Mott Streets in NoLita (stands for North
of Little Italy) are chock full of petite boutiques that frequently out-clothe the
pricier and more generic stores. Calypso, with its flower-child-goes-upscale vibe, is a perennial favorite, while Janet Russo has flattering, feminine, frenchy designs that will smarten up your next cocktail party.

A must-see is the Meat Packing District, the red-hot hunting ground for the hip above Greenwich Village. New designer shops are shooting up like bright flowers in a vacant lot in an area once known for seedy S&M clubs and industrial waste. Point your Jimmy Choos to Jeffrey, the insanely trendy micro-department store that electrifies shopping mavens with its rapturous shoe collection and eye-popping designs for men and women. You'll also need to check out the show-stopping stores of Yigal Azrouel, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney, whose deliciously naughty creations frequently make red carpet appearances on the backs of the young and hip.

Every weekend, the Lower East Side's Orchard Street is lined with street hawkers selling hats, gloves and scarves at unrivaled bargain prices. Tucked among the discount leather and handbag stores, you'll find designer boutiques like Skella, where expressive eveningwear collections in touch-me fabrics demand your attention. Don't miss vintage jeweler Doyle & Doyle, where you're sure to find that 1950's strand-o-pearls you've been hankering for. Bonus: at 97 Orchard you can time travel in the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, which celebrates the lives of neighborhood immigrants who struggled towards the American Dream in crowded buildings like this in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Then grab a pastrami on rye at Katz's Deli on Houston Street, the scene of Meg Ryan's orgasmic lunch in When Harry Met Sally.

For super-eclectic boutiques, vintage wear, and one-of-a-kind wedding gowns, make a stop at 9th Street in the East Village. Just a block from hippified St. Mark's Place, you'll find some of the best vintage stores in town, including Fabulous Fanny's, where you can spend an afternoon rifling through drawers filled with four thousand (yes!) pairs of vintage eyewear.

Two travelgirls on a Fashion Mission
On a recent pilgrimmage to 9th Street, my friend Caroline Tigner and I spent an hour doing mental closet space calculations as we tried on coats at Meg, the smart boutique of designer Megan Kinney. By the time we've tried on every chapeau at Cobblestones Vintage Clothing & Accessories, we realize we've got just thirty mintues to make cocktail hour in the Meat Packing District. Dilemma: Caroline has no time to get home to Midtown to change.

If shopping is a sport, Caroline is sprinter. In just one block, she manages to pick up a vintage tennis skirt at Atomic Passion, a Merlot-red off-the-shoulder blouse at Peacock NYC, heart-shaped earrings and a new pair of prettily trimmed panties to go under that short skirt at Girly NYC (would you wear a thong with a tennis skirt?). Less than twenty minutes and under two-hundred dollars later, I am staring at the miracle of her perfectly pulled-together look - sort of vintage Valley Girl. At this moment New York truly does seem like a city where anything can happen. We're armed and ready for Erica's Badass Cheeseburgers at ONE, our favorite new hotspot on Little West 12th.

She'll Take Manhattan
The Meat Packing District is the most sizzling after dark scene in town - you can't help laughing at the name once you've been crammed in cheek-to-elbow in an elevator at Hotel Gansevoort, trying to make it to the bar. Biker chicks in leather minis, uptown girls tripping over cobblestones in Ferragamos, sleepy-eyed models and media pirates jostle each other to gain access to the latest de riguer spot for New York impress-arios.

The Meat Packing District is the most sizzling after dark scene in town - you can't help laughing at the name...

Biker chicks in leather minis, uptown girls tripping over cobblestones in Ferragamos, sleepy-eyed models and media pirates jostle each other to gain access to the latest de riguer spot for New York impress-arios.

Sinuous wrought iron and flickering candles give ONE a kind of naughty, Spanish Inquisition flair. Conceived as a place where 30ish persons- of-style could avoid club-kid overkill but find something more festive than just dinner, this multi-levelled mecca of mood food serves Dicktinis and Diver of of style could avoid club-kid overkill and find something more festive than just dinner, this multi-leveled mecca of mood food serves Dicktinis and Diver Scallops to appreciative crowds who don't require a babysitter. When a tennis-skirted Caroline and I meet friends for cocktails, we end up parking it for hours on our cozy banquettes, grazing on succulent shrimp satay and the most divine lobster sandwiches we've ever tasted. Erica's Badass Cheeseburgers (named for co-founder Erica Cohen) are mini burgers topped with gorgonzola and goat cheese - brought to us by a waitress in Versace. Now that's what I call style.

For wine connoisseurs there's Rhone, a converted garage space where pounding hip hop can sometimes seem at odds with wine-bar sophistication. At French brasserie Pastis, may I suggest sidling up to the zinc bar and ordering a steak frites and a glass of Burgundy? Or find your inner francophile (you know you have one!) at diner Florent, where the 24-hour cuisine feeds after-hours disco mamas and drag queens.

A Chilly New York Minute
On the cold, dusky days of winter, tourists love ice skating at Rockefeller Center and carriage rides through Central Park - and when New Yorkers feel like tourists, we do the same, and love it. But most of the wintertime we're just trying to get out of the cold. Two favorite spots to contemplate the New York-ness of it all without risking frostbite are two Art Nouveau palaces open to anyone and everyone: Grand Central Station and The New York Public Library. Sheltered inside the airy space of Grand Central, New Yorkers rush past each other a little more civilly, as if the celestial ceiling murals bring some majesty to the mundane proceedings of coming and going. Complete a tour of the shops with a steaming bowl of Oyster Stew at the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant, where you're wise to keep an eye out for Andy Rooney and his CBS cronies.

Or spend an afternoon at The New York Public Library, where two famous lions greet you, challenging you to be as smart as this lavish haven for the literate demands. Order up a suitably serious volume from the bowels of the city and take a seat among scholars under the gorgeous cloud ceiling murals. You are now inside a fairy tale where the princess reads Dostoyevsky.

Some of the best places to take the chill off a wintry day are the city's used book stores. Curl up in a leather wing chair with a novel at Housing Works Used Bookstore Caf 'e9 on Crosby Street (between Houston and Lafayette) after a Soho shopping binge. Then browse the vinyl jazz collection as soothing bossa nova floats over you. Cookbooks, children's books and rare first editions are just some of the treasures you'll find at one of the most inviting public spaces in town.

When you're ready to really unwind, the warm, womb-like space of Carapan Urban Spa, one of the city's first destination day spas, cannot be surpassed for comfort. Gentle spirits of the southwest preside over this Chelsea townhouse where a setting of Indian pipes, flickering candles and Navajo blankets will exorcise your urban demons. You may find yourself reading the I Ching as vintage photos of Indian warriors gaze solemnly overhead. Then melt in the hands of a magic-fingered massage therapist as aromatic oils ooze across your body.

Perhaps you'd like a workout to go with your work-over? Fuggetabout blaring TV screens, cheesy music and ugly metal lockers. Gym meets Asian retreat at Threshold, a hidden West Chelsea studio outfitted with carved Moroccan doors, Persian carpets and Asian-inspired paintings. Let Lowell Boyers gently guide you through his signature Superslow workout routine. Then bliss-out with Eileen Kelly's transcendent Thai Massage that's one part massage, one part meditation and one part dance with an invisible partner. Get stretched and kneaded in a darkened room as you sit on cushioned floor mats and imagine that you've reached Urban Nirvana.

Once you've let New York capture your imagination, it becomes hard-wired into your brain. The best thing about leaving is that you get to take away all those cinematic moments when you were the star. And every time you return, the camera starts rolling all over again.