My ideal vacation day would consist of breakfast at a quaint café, aimless meandering around the city (on foot, preferably), lunch someplace with a view (or prime vantage for people watching), a relaxing cup of coffee, sightseeing and/or napping, followed by a fantastic dinner.

Last weekend, a trip to visit friends in Brooklyn unexpectedly turned into an unplanned weekend in Manhattan, and though I consider myself a fairly flexible traveler, I found myself quickly feeling overwhelmed.  Where to stay?  What to do?  Where to eat?  What to see?

I put the power into Priceline’s hands, and quickly scored a 3.5 star hotel in midtown for only $150 a night!  The Club Quarters was cramped, but safe and clean, and the staff was very friendly.  Before crossing the bridge (literally) to Manhattan,  I had the saltiest, most delicious egg and everything bagel sandwich at Bergen Bagel’s in Brooklyn.  I loved a lot of things at Bergen:  the delicious chewy bagels, the endless assortment of cream cheese (easily mistaken for a case full of gelato), and that every patron is asked if they want ketchup, salt, and pepper on their egg sandwich.  Why, yes I do, fine sir.  Yes, I do.

After breakfast, I took a stroll near the Brooklyn Bridge where I spotted the Statue of Liberty.

Before stepping foot in Manhattan, I accumulated a large list of restaurants to try  through Facebook, Twitter, and SOS emails.  Despite this, our first meal in the Big Apple was picked based on hotel proximity and Urbanspoon reviews, and that dinner at Bistro Milano ended up being the best meal of the weekend.  The cavatelli with sausage was fantastic, and I loved the contrast of the bitter broccoli rabe, sweet sundried tomatoes, and garlicky tomato sauce.