Recently, I had a work trip to New York City and stayed at a very bourgeois hotel in Soho. Hubby and 23 year old niece went with me and since it’s our first ever trip to NYC, we wanted spend our first evening on the 26th floor rooftop deck to view city lights. So we had fancy $25 drinks at the bar then headed up the elevator.

What we didn’t know was…the outdoor deck is attached to a lofty penthouse suite. Lucky for us we rode the elevator with a server delivering lots of ice to said swanky suite and it didn’t take long to realize an epic shindig ran full throttle in there. “Not to worry,” server guy said. “Door to the rooftop is on your left.” In we went.

Turns out, flip-flops, t-shirts, and blue jeans made a not-so-favorable impression on the designer wearing elite currently occupying the top floor. Despite this rough start, I believe the hostess and I shared a moment. Mine was a friendly smile, hers more along the lines of shocked horror. It didn’t take long to realize we were intruding and wisdom said to make haste for the exit before our dubious welcome began tumbling south. Deciding city lights will have to wait, we reversed course pronto and graciously headed out. About a half hour later we ran into the server again. He apologized, but all’s well that ends well, right? We got a funny story to tell and still had a lot of New York to see.

The remainder of the trip turned into a whirlwind of “We shall see ALL the things!” In the span of just 3 days we managed to hit a pretty big list of iconic New York attractions. Along with admiring unique and fascinating architecture, we took in Times Square, Central Park, 9/11 Memorial, USS Intrepid, and my personal favorite…Top of the Rock…the 70th floor observation deck of Rockefeller Center. It had a primo view of the Empire State Building and Central Park. It was a cloudy evening, but we watched the sun set over the city and the lights begin to shine. It was gorgeous! Definitely a better reward than the view from that penthouse suite.

Hubby and niece got the added bonus of walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and enjoying views of the East River whilst eating lunch on the other side. At one point we even managed to ride the subway successfully. For a total rookie, that’s an accomplishment! On our last night we took in the Oculus (sadly no photo, but it's amazing. Google it!) and enjoyed dinner at Eataly, an incredible Italian restaurant and market.

This tale has a sad ending though. It involves a $16 jar of Italian honey I bought at that market. This delicious treasure was unceremoniously ripped from my carryon luggage at LaGuardia airport. I begged that TSA agent. I said… it’s made from ITALIAN BEES! IN ITALY’S WINE COUNTRY! He had no sympathy. Which I guess is a good thing, but I’ve no intention of forgiving him. Not now. Not ever.

After all is said and done, and despite an award winning effort on our part, it’s impossible to see all New York City has to offer in the short time we had available. There’s still plenty left to explore, which means…we’ll be going back one day. And when we do, I'm coming home with some of that honey!