Buckle up folks, this is our documented 5 day trip to New York City. My first real vacation in years and our first time in the big city, ever!
Night One: After a long day by bus ( from Portland- Boston ), then train ( from Boston to NYC ), I exited the station like a kid walking down the steps on Christmas morning. A little unsure of what to expect, slightly cautious, but excited non the less. I walked the 5 blocks to the hostel and checked in. It definitely felt more like an apartment than a hostel. It was almost directly below the Empire State building ( Ted Mosby would be pumped!) First of all, it was the most secure building I’ve ever seen in my life. You needed a key to get into the building itself, then a key to get onto your floor from the elevator, then a keycode to enter the floor after the elevator, and THEN a keycode to enter your bedroom! We most certainly felt safe, that’s for sure. I unpacked, looked around, chatted to some other people staying in the hostel then decided it was time for the first supper in the city. I walked a few blocks and ate at S’MAC. A gourmet mac and cheese restaurant which cooks and serves your gourmet MNC in a skillet… Delicious. Though I barely finished half of the meal. I then walked home, showered up, looked over the plans for the following day, and fell into a much needed slumber on the world’s comfiest beds!
Day Two: After a pretty good sleep, I woke up, got ready and headed out for the day. I walked up 5th and ventured into the Public Library, which was incredible. For one, I don’t know how anyone studies in there, two, I would go every day if I lived in NYC. I wondered around, then decided to go grab an espresso on the way over to Grand Central Terminal. It was exactly as expected. Tons of tourists, but also tons of travellers running, dashing, sleeping, and zoning out. The building itself was pretty fascinating to be inside. Then I walked back to Bryant Park, made my way through the crowds and ended up in Times Square. SO MUCH HONKING. I don’t know how anyone has the patience to drive in NYC. I could never. Especially when parking in spots is 30$ per half an hour SO MANY LIGHTS. SO MANY PEOPLE. Every one wants to sell you something, and when you say no politely, they insult you, and if you ignore them, they insult you. AND if they say it’s free and you take it, they then expect you to pay for it. I hung around and bought discount tickets for the broadway musical, Matilda. Headed back to the hotel, had a glorious nap, then saw the show! ( Biggest highlight of the trip. ) I then walked to one of the best food trucks in town, grabbed some grub, and walked home. It only took one day to fall in love with this city…But it also only took one day to make me feel more exhausted then I’ve ever felt in my life.
The image below was published on Vogue Italia’s website!
Day Three: It was blistering cold this day with winds that almost pushed you over. I decided to buy a hop on, hop off bus. Do the full downtown loop on the bus, then make our way back to Wall street, to see the American Museum of Native Indians, Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island. I enjoyed seeing the sights from the bus tour and braved the cold and the wind as we walked around down Wall Street. The museum, was meh, I jumped on the ferry and passed by the Statue of Liberty, but decided to take the ferry to Ellis Island to explore there instead. I search on the database our last names! Was pretty cool since my last name is so uncommon and I’m certain I’m related to everyone with my last name, in some way! I ate one horrible meal that cost 15$ at a restaurant on Wall street ( for a panini ), the luck was no better with dinner. I checked google, checked yelp, and trip advisor for almost everything in NYC. With mostly good reviews, I decided to try our luck at a buffet restaurant in Koreatown, just one block up from us. Sadly, the majority of the food was terrible, which made me a little sad, so I bought a chocolate bar and went to sleep. Only two nights in…and I was exhausted!
Day Four: Weather was slightly less frigid today. I grabbed my morning muffin and bagel at the vendor outside my place. Seriously, the best muffins ever, and by this time, he knew my order and my face before we even reached the cart. I jumped on the bus and headed down to Chinatown and Little Italy to do some exploring. A lot less busy than the rest of the city, but with some amazing cafe’s, restaurants, and vintage stores. I had some espresso at a pretty fantastic little cafe, then headed to NYC’s first and oldest pizza resto! Lombardi’s. I got the small pizza…About a large, here in Canada. It was simple, yet delicious. I walked down to the Brooklyn Bridge and admired the view from the city. Headed down to City Hall, watched some street performers, jumped back on the bus, and took a nap! I headed midtown to jump on the uptown bus tour, did that, then after a delicious meal in times square, I headed on the night tour! The bus makes for a great napping spot.
Day 5: I took our time getting out of bed on the last morning here. I was so so so tired. Even though I was in bed by 10pm every night, up by 8, napping 1-2x a day, I was tired. My eyes were shaking, the brain on overdrive, and my stomach’s aching from all the delicious carbs ( pizza, muffins, bagels, gyro’s ) I ingested over the last few days. I took it easy and decided to head up 5th avenue and do some window shopping. I admired, from afar, all the expensive stores and had to quickly duck into Tiffany’s when the downpour started. It was my first time in Tiffany’s and I was pretty curious about the costs. The first three rings I saw were between 500-700,000 $. Yikes.
I was up near Central Park, when I slipped into a small cafe for a coffee. I took my seat in this aisle of booths and sipped on my espresso, once again escaping the rain. I remember saying that just to see one celebrity before I left would make NYC complete. ( I mean, how can you go to NYC and not see a celebrity! ). As I am sitting, sipping away, and the slightly dunge-y, but busy cafe, I heard a familiar voice from behind me. Who was it, you ask? Of course, non other than Sarah Jessica Parker. Yes… I saw THEE Carrie Bradshaw in a small cafe, in Manhatten. Now, being the polite Canadians, I decided not to bother her and just let her attempt to enjoy her coffee. ( While tons of girls kept approaching her for photos, she politely declined. ). Though I was excited, and my trip to NYC was NOW complete, I have met her before when I was about 10 years old. She filmed a movie in my hometown on a friend’s property, and I was lucky enough to hang out on set most of the time! Still… Seeing Carrie Bradshaw, in a cafe, doing work while she sipped her coffee…in NYC… pretty fantastic.
As the rain stopped, I walked into central park and headed down to the Dakota, Strawberry Fields, and the Museum of Natural History. Museum of Natural History was pretty incredible. I faced my fear of dinosaurs and came face to face with the massive t-rex. It was absolutely fascinating to see I spent a good chunk of time in there, then grabbed a delicious gyro, and ventured on the metro for the first time since being there. Bombed my way back to the hotel, got ready and headed to our Isolation Tank appt. ( Google it!). It’s supposed to be incredible good for both mind and body. Though the first 15 minutes I panicked… ( You’re basically naked, in a giant pod filled with body temperature water and 1000 pounds of epsom salts – so you float. It’s completely dark and silent, you can’t tell where your body ends and the water begins.) Complete sensory deprivation… sounds scary, but it was an incredible experience! One hour inside is equivalent to 5 hours of sleep! After the anxiety hump, the deep sense of calming meditation was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I somberly made my way back to the hotel, got dressed up, and headed to Ayza – Chocolate and Wine bar, right next to the hostel. Food was amazing, the chocolate wine was delicious, and my last night couldn’t have been better!
I headed back on the train to Boston, then bus to Portland, then I drove back to Fredericton! All in all, it was a busy, but amazing experience! Definitely not what I’d call a relaxing vacation, but I was never really fond of those anyway! I love to explore and we did just that. We conquered NYC in 5 nights! I didn’t take as many photos as I thought I would, but to be honest… I just wanted to be in the moment and not be behind the lens the entire time! Definitely can’t wait to go back to explore more!
Where I stayed? Urban Oasis Hostel.
Best places I ate? Ayza Chocolate and Wine Bar. Biryani car – Best lamb gyro’s of all time. Any breakfast cart.
Most memorable experience? Matilda, the Musical.
Tips?
-Know you aren’t going to see everything you want to see in the time you are there. Be flexible and just go with the flow!
-Also, take naps! It definitely helped us enjoy more of NYC by being well rested.
-Wear good shoes for walking.
-Bring ear plugs, it’s ab absolute must to get a good night’s sleep downtown. The honking…the yelling…all the time.
-Don’t be afraid of the street meat, some of our favourite meals were from carts.
-Don’t look like a tourist, try to blend in.
-Don’t take any photos with the characters in Times Square, they want money in return and when you refuse to pay then, they chase after you and can get violent. ( Luckily my sister gave us this tip before we went ).
-Buy a hop on, hop off bus pass. Either 24-48 hours.( Don’t buy the green bus, find a bus tour that does all the loops and a night tour – we did the Big Bus )
-If you are bringing Travelers Cheques… Be prepared to have people at the banks not understand what they are or deny you. Almost every bank did this to us. We finally just kept going to the same Chase bank because other’s would say no. It was pretty hilarious, as a huge city, that they don’t understand the traveler’s cheques are just money…
-Eat as much pizza as possible.
