The other weekend, my boyfriend Sam and I went to New York City to visit some friends to celebrate his birthday. We took the train into the city and dropped our bags off at our hotel, Marriott Vacations Club Pulse, and were thankfully able to check in early and get our bearings before our brunch reservation at Bandits in the West Village.

Once we got to Bandits, we were greeted by a 1970s disco vibe (they do disco brunches on Saturday that we sadly missed). We ordered mimosas and bloody Marys to kick off a fun day in the city. Its disco tots and bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches were delicious, as was the berry French toast.

After leaving brunch, we made our way to the Natural History Museum, as gawking at dinos and mammoths is an essential part of any successful weekend. It was fun to walk around and look at the exhibits; but after a morning of travel and a long night ahead, we were ready to head back to the hotel for a quick rest.

Following our power nap, Sam’s friend Eli and his girlfriend arrived to kick off the night. The hotel had a cool rooftop bar we visited and shared a bottle of wine before our dinner at Let’s Meat, a Korean barbecue restaurant nearby.

I had never tried Korean barbecue before, but it was really interesting with all the sides and sauces and cooking of the meat right in front of you. Everything was delicious, plus we had fun watching everything being made.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel before going out for the night. At 12 a.m., we sang “Happy Birthday” to Sam and hung out with friends. I ended up running into a really close family friend at the bar — she was visiting her boyfriend in New York. Small world.

The next morning we dragged our tired selves out of bed and went home to relax for a nice evening of Tyler Childers vinyl (Sam’s birthday gift), homemade pasta and meatballs, and The Godfather. Overall, it was a perfect weekend for his birthday!

— Aly Evans, business development and events coordinator