Tips for NYC Tourists No. 2: "A New Yorker's Amazing Saturday"

Saturday was a fantastic day, filled with simple pleasures. Days like that remind me how much I love New York, which is why for this edition of "Tips for NYC Tourists", I wanted to do a day in the life style post.

Sweet hubs and I decided to go to the Upper East Side and take in the Houdini: Art and Magic exhibit at The Jewish Museum. It was a small, but very nicely curated exhibit.

They did an excellent historical background on Houdini and his rise to an american icon. One of my favorite parts was that on display were props used for his performances. It was really neat to see the actual size and construction of them as well as being able to learn more about the individual tricks. I really loved the paintings by one artist in particular that were on display by the name of Deborah Oropallo. It was a really well rounded exhibit and I'd definitely recommend seeing it before it closes on March 27th. Also, on Saturdays, it's free.

Since the weather was so beautiful, we decided to spend the rest of the day walking around in the city.

We started out walking down along Madison Avenue since it was time to grab some lunch. We ate at a little cafe called Viand on the corner of Madison and E. 78th Street. This was a very New York little diner/coffee shop. When I say "very New York", I mean it absolutely looks like a set from a Woody Allen movie. Anyhow, it was perfect for a quick lunch. Tourist note: If you're up in the "Museum Mile" area, you'll find plenty of little restaurants to grab lunch at along Madison Avenue - don't expect to find them along 5th Avenue where the museums are, unless you want to eat at a museum cafe, which will typically be overpriced and not that tasty.

After lunch, we headed over to 5th Avenue to walk down along Central Park, took some photos and enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air. We ended up wandering all the way down to Soho, which is where I happened to be meeting my girlfriends, Christina and Stefanie, for drinks at Pegu Club (77 W Houston St at W Broadway), which has absolutely amazing cocktails and dinner across the street at Jane (100 W Houston St between LaGuardia Place/W Broadway and Thompson Street), which is a fantastic little New American restaurant.

Madison Square Park (26th Street and 5th Avenue)

Madison Square Park (24th Street and Madison Avenue)

E 22nd Street and Park Avenue South

E. 11th Street and 4th Avenue

E. 11th Street and 4th Avenue

Sweet hubs.

Cooper Union (Cooper Square and Astor Place)

The Noho Star (and yes, that's actually how their sign is) - Great little restaurant. (Bleecker St and Lafayette St)

Lafayette St. and E Houston St.

Pegu Club (W. Houston and W. Broadway)

The Tune-Up at Pegu Club

Me, Stefanie and Christina at Jane

So that is a day in the life of a New Yorker. It was a simple day filled with lots of walking and taking in the beautiful architecture that NYC has to offer.