- Oct 24, 2015
- 3 min read

Living the Upper East Side Dream

Manhattan, New York

Is it shameful to admit that I really miss the show Gossip Girl?

Grand Central… where it all began

Probably… but then again I feel the world would be a better place if Chuck Bass was still on our TV screens.

In case you are not familiar with the show it is is based off a book about the lives of a group of young, impossibly good looking, and ridiculously wealthy New Yorkers who all live in incredible apartments on the Upper East Side.

Seen while strolling around the Upper West Side

In the midst of all the usual scandal that one would expect in such a show, you catch a glimpse into the fairytale lives of Manhattans well-to-do. Ok I know the show is fictional but for some reason I can’t imagine it is too far wrong.

Capitalism at its finest

So on this sunny Sunday morning in New York I was excited to do all things Gossip Girl, i.e. brunch, sitting on the steps of the Met, and dinner in fancy restaurant!

Anj and I started off our morning with the essential brunch outing to Sarabeth’s which is next to the plaza and right opposite central park.

We went for the classics, pancakes and waffles!

Sarabeths is exceptionally popular so you either need to drag yourself out of bed very early in the morning or book well in advance to get a spot.

I ate the world as usual and felt my jeans instantly getting that bit tighter.

The guilt started to kick in straight away after brunch so instead of hopping in a cab I walked the 20 blocks up to the Met.

Like all good Gossip Girl fans I knew that sitting on the steps of the Met was as much of an experience as the Met itself.

Sitting on the steps of the Met

After a sufficient dose of culture I strolled back through the park before winding up at Saks on Fifth Avenue another hot spot for the Upper East Side elite.

Sadly I just wasn’t able to justify spending $4000 on a rabbit fur waistcoat, so I made do with wandering around and admiring all the shiny things from afar… oh and enjoying the wifi, which is free by the way!

The guilt from the morning’s waffle indulgence had finally disapated by this stage so it was CAB TIME back to Anjli’s place where we had the laziest of afternoons on the promenade by the Hudson.

The weather was incredible, such a turn around from the hurricane weather at the start of my trip (read my first NYC post here!).

I even convinced Anjli to step out of lawyer mode and indulge me in some artsy photos of her sunglasses 😉

Ray Ban Vision

In the evening we went to Tao in the meatpacking district.

Tao

This place is really winning in New York’s hot or not list… I don’t think I have ever seen so many trendy sophisticated people in one spot.

The décor in Tao is super hip, they totally hit on the zen craze with Buddha references everywhere.. including a giant glowing Buddha that towers over the whole restaurant.