In my six years living in New York, I can only remember a handful of times spent below Canal street. I worked and played from Soho to Harlem, from Alphabet city to Chelsea, but somehow the Financial District never got much love from my well traveled city feet. Once I moved out of New York I began spending much more time south of Houston visiting friends who had moved downtown. The past two weekends have given me a taste of everything I was missing!
My friend tipped me off to a great new hotel app, Hotel Tonight which I used to book both of my weekends in the city. Download this app for access to discounted prices on rooms that hotels have yet to book. It's extremely helpful and very easy to use. The first weekend we stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown for just $99 (a ridiculously cheap price for NYC). We were upgraded at check-in and had a beautiful room with floor to ceiling views of the Freedom Tower. This past weekend I booked a stay at Gild Hall, which was very luxe. We were treated to prosecco upon arrival which we sipped as we unpacked and changed for our evening ahead.
Let's start with the must-knows: Navigating Lower Manhattan can leave you walking in circles; it's a maze down there. I highly recommend that you're familiar with navigating Google Maps, or my personal favorite offline map app Ulmon Pro. None of these streets are numbered, and there is no grid to follow, just a lot of weird intersections and street names like Gold and Fulton. A map is a must!
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I have a wonderful friend that I lived with in college. About once every other month I would come home and find the apartment freshly cleaned with her numerous crystals soaking in a bowl of salt water by the window. Her door would be closed and I could discern by silence or noise if she was napping or organizing her closet. When she finally emerged, I would always know what was coming. "I'm soul cleansing," she would say with gusto, brandishing her detox tea in one hand, burning sage in the other.
Soul cleansing became an expression that was both code word and inside joke, but it was also a real ritual and I still say it today when I'm taking a day for myself. It's exactly what it sounds like: time spent clearing out the cobwebs that build themselves unconsciously in the corners of our minds. Time spent emptying out old patterns and habits to make room for newer, cleaner, higher energy. Time spent cleaning the spaces we occupy; our homes and our bodies. A literal and figurative cleansing of the soul.
With the spring equinox just a week away, now is the perfect time to plan your own version of a soul cleanse. Your cleansing can be whatever feels right for you. Maybe you want to focus just on your eating habits, perhaps getting back to the gym or an activity you love. I suggest a trio: trying something new, doing something that's been on your mind for awhile, and cleaning something out. As with anything, it's important to follow your own path and do things that are enjoyable and make you feel good.
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