Chelsea

40.7465° N, 74.0014° W

48 Hours in New York City! Crazy right?! Kevin flew to New York City on Wednesday for business meetings and I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to meet him there! I caught a morning flight on Southwest Airlines that Friday and landed in The Big Apple later that evening….. by the time we were on our Sunday flight home, a quick 48 hours had passed!

How on earth do you see this fantastic city in 48 hours?! A bit overwhelming if you ask me! Well, that’s just it…. You don’t! We chose to focus on one neighborhood (and then we figured if we had a chance to see anything else — we’d consider it “gravy”, “icing on the cake”….)

We decided to get to know the neighborhood of Chelsea!

Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. You’ll find a mixture of low-rise apartments, townhouses, luxury high-rises and hip, trendy attractions like the Chelsea Market and the High-Line…. We saw a mixture of young professionals and young families walking the neighborhood.

We took the train downtown from our hotel in Times Square and got off at the 28th Street Station. This is a great place to begin your walk of Chelsea. We found ourselves right at the beginning of Manhattan’s Chelsea Flower Market. There are plant and floral shops on both sides of the street — offering a generous selection of flowers for bouquets as well as larger plants like fiddle leaf trees (perfectly sized for New York City apartments). We arrived early and the markets were all coming to life as trucks were being loaded and plants were being set out.

You’ll also find yourself at the corner of West 28th and Fashion Avenue…. Home to the Garment District and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Chelsea is known for its many art galleries but, it is also known for its role in the fashion industry. You’’ll find a mixture of wholesalers catering to those in the industry as well as smaller shops catering to consumers. You’ll also find Mood Fabrics of Project Runway in this area!

We encountered these beautiful ladies crossing at the corner of 28th and Fashion — they were so cute! We asked if they were dressed for something special. They are engineers + friends who work together at Kaiser Permanente Maryland. They take an annual trip to New York together and every year they choose a costume for the weekend…. this particular weekend it was tutus!

Further down West 28th Street is a collection of murals painted by FIT students. We loved the creativity of them…. some were funny and silly while others had a more serious message. Most of them paying homage to the city of New York and the people who live there.

We had decided early on that we’d wait and get breakfast once we made it to Chelsea Market. Along the way, we perused the fresh fruits and vegetables, jams and breads and an assortment of other items at the Chelsea Farmers Market.

The neighborhood was relatively quiet this early in the morning. I loved these high rise apartments and the selection of restaurants, hair salons and boutiques that were dotted along the avenue leading to Chelsea Market.

Chelsea Market was the perfect break for a light breakfast and perusing the eclectic mix of shops and restaurants that reside in the Marketplace. The selection of food is really eclectic and a bit difficult to choose from —- Ting’s Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Takumi Taco (“Japanese Inspired Mexican Food”), A spice shop and even a shop specializing in hot sauce. You can find anything here for a picnic lunch or pick up something to take back to your Airbnb! And, don’t leave without visiting Artists & Fleas —- a collective of local artisans.

Chelsea Market is a definite stop if you’re visiting the Manhattan burrough……. our next stop, was the High-Line and a visit to see the Yankees battle it with the Oakland Athletics but, you’ll have to read about that in our next post!

Happy Travels!