3.5 Days in NYC (USA Part 2)
Again due to airline schedule constraints, I had less than an ideal amount of days in NYC, but it just meant that we had to pack a lot into 3 full days! The flight across from LA to NYC takes around 6 hours, plus there is a 3 hour time difference, so you basically lose an entire day when making the journey. We arrived into JFK at 5pm and caught a Lyft (similar to Uber – a blog about this is to come) into the city which took roughly an hour and a half. We were staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Central Park South which is on West 54th Street between 7th & 8th. It is in an absolutely perfect location, just a couple of blocks from Central Park and a couple of blocks from Times Square. It made walking the city extremely easy! We were hungry by the time we checked into our hotel, so our first mission was to find some dinner. We wandered up towards Central Park where there were plenty of food vans, although nothing was taking our fancy. We decided to get a pretzel to ward off the ‘hangryness’ and explore the area some more. In the end we ended up in a Chipotle Mexican Grill which is a restaurant chain in the USA. Probably not the best we could have done, but it was nice and cured our hunger pains!
The next day we jumped straight on a hop on hop off bus to get an over view of the area. If you haven’t been to a particular city before, these are a great way of finding your bearings while learning some interesting facts. This particular one had live commentary instead of pre-recorded which was a nice touch. We drove through Time Square, Madison Square Garden, past the Empire State Building and the Rockerfeller Centre, through the Soho area and more. We spent a few hours on there until we ended up down near the sea where the Ellis Island Ferries left from. We hopped off the bus here, and hopped onto a ferry which took us around the Statue of Liberty, it was so surreal to see her up close! Although we didn’t get off on the island, we got some great photo opportunities and also a great view of the NY City Skyline from the water. After getting off the ferry, we wandered back in the direction of our hotel which took us through Times Square. Even in the day time this area is impressive. Massive billboards, flashing signage, TV screens and scrolling advertisements, you just don’t know where to look first! For those who are looking for cheap Broadway tickets, there is a booth in Times Square called TKTS. Every day at 2pm they release their discounted tickets for that evening’s shows. Worth checking out to see what you can get your hands on!
Tonight we had booked tickets to the Baseball at Yankee Stadium. It was the New York Yankees vs the Toronto Blue Jays. We thought we’d try out the Subway to get to the Stadium and it wasn’t too hard! You can purchase your tickets at automated booths in each station which was pretty straight forward, and only a few dollars. We managed to get on the right subway, and then after asking some fellow riders who were decked out in baseball gear which stop we needed to get off at, we made it! It is a great atmosphere at the Baseball, and even if you don’t follow or understand the game, its definitely worth going too! Plus you can experience all the fried chicken, hotdogs and popcorn your heart desires!
On our second full day in NYC, we had another Urban Adventures Tour booked in. This was only a half day tour called the Midtown Sights & Bites. It started at 2pm so we spent the morning doing a little bit of shopping and wandering the streets before meeting our guide whose name was Josh, at the clock tower in Grand Central Terminal. I’m glad we hadn’t really eaten lunch as this tour was full of taste testing! There was only the two of us, and 1 other girl on this tour, so again it was really nice to have such a small group. We started off by exploring the stunning architecture of the Terminal and visited the famous ‘Whispering Wall’ where you can stand in one corner and your partner can stand in the opposite corner which is about 10 meters away and speak to each other by speaking into the wall. Your voices travel through the unique domed design and you can hear each other as clear as day! From the Terminal we walked out through a secret exit that most locals don’t even know about, and Josh showed us the first of our snack stops which just happened to be a little hidden Swedish Church. Inside, we discovered a quaint little library and café which specialised in home made cinnamon scrolls. Delicious! It is popular with the Swedish locals due to all the books and everything being in Swedish, but they also display some interesting art. After leaving the Church, we found ourselves wandering towards the Rockerfeller Centre where Josh showed us how to access the underground walk ways that are popular with the locals who want to escape the weather or the crowds. The walk ways were lined with boutique shops & cafes and an area that most tourists would not even know existed! We popped up out the other side and headed along 47th Street into what is known locally as the Diamond District. This is a predominately Jewish area which is a hub for everything to do with Jewellery and Diamonds. Shops, designers, wholesalers and more. It was incredible the amount of sparkle one street could hold! The reason for our visit here was because of our next snack stop which was to try some local authentic Jewish samosas. The little shop was accessed via a hidden staircase off of the street, and up 3 flights of stairs before coming to a little take away window where we picked up our order. It was so hidden I doubt I’d ever be able to find it again. The samosas were delicious! We then washed it down with a visit to a local coffee shop near the area which wasn’t a Starbucks for a change, rather a small shop owned by a local fellow who was more than happy to have a chat! From here we walked back towards Times Square and Josh explained a little about the history of the area as well as showing us some old photos. He then took us down a little side street to our next snack stop which he told us served the best authentic NYC Pizza by the slice. The tiny little shop was called Patzeria. We sampled the original Margherita and it was amazing! By now we were feeling very full, but we had one last stop to make which was a dessert stop. Around the corner from Times Square on 8th Ave we found the Row Hotel. It looked just like any normal hotel on the outside, but after entering, Josh took us up to the second level and showed us a little hidden food court that was a favourite for locals, but not so known to the tourist trail. It housed a dozen or more little stalls selling all sorts of amazing smelling cuisines, but the reason we were there was to sample the incredible donut shop. Dozens of different flavours of donuts, all baked fresh daily. Soooo good! If you’re staying in or around the 8th Ave area between 44th & 45th streets, then do yourself a favour and pop in to the Row Hotel and sample some of the amazing cuisines on offer (and finish off with a donut!) That is where our tour ended and needless to say, we definitely didn’t need any dinner that evening!
On our third morning we hired bikes for 2 hours and cycled around Central Park. You definitely need waaaaay more than 2 hours to see the park properly (you could easily spend a whole day there) but we were a bit limited on time so it’s all we really had. It’s super pretty and calming in there, I can see why it is so popular with the locals. Between 11am and 3pm (I think) all cars are banned so it is even more peaceful. Some gorgeous sights and spots to have a picnic if you wanted. You can even take a horse and carriage ride! From Central Park, we grabbed some lunch and had a second go at the Subway to take us down towards the 9/11 Memorial Site. We had a tour booked in which we were supposed to meet at 2.30pm, however due to the Trump Protests that happened to be on, the tour was unfortunately cancelled. So we did a little bit of a self guided tour around the memorial site, and purchased tickets to the Museum which was an incredible and extremely emotional experience. I will admit I did cry in there more than once. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. It is definitely a must do for all visitors to NYC, however be prepared it is quite graphic. Also make sure you allow plenty of time, as we spent over 3 hours in there, and still could have spent another couple of hours, there is so much to see and read about.
This evening we planned to do the Top of the Rock experience which is the viewing platform at the top of the Rockerfeller Centre. It’s normally a less busy, but just as amazing alternative to the Empire State Building. We thought we would do it late in the evening to avoid the crowds and it was definitely worth it! We took a 9.20pm time slot and although it was chilly, the views over the Empire State Building and city lights was incredible! Definitely worth doing either during the day or at night time. Apparently early in the morning is the best if you want to avoid the day crowds!
So there is my 3.5 days in NYC. I would definitely recommend spending at least 5 days in this beautiful city if you can, as there was so much more that we could have explored, but it definitely gives as a reason to visit again some day soon! If you are interested in visiting this beautiful city, and would like some assistance in planning the perfect stay, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
A x