Prior to going to Maine, I had told Tim I really wanted to go to New York. I begged him to stop there while on our way there or back but it just wasn't going to work out. However, with a little planning we were able to plan a getaway over Fall Break to explore the city! I had previously gone back when I was 15 and was dying to get back, show Tim around, and explore more myself. Here's a quick rundown of some of the things we did and what we saw:
Day 1: We took a way early flight and were able to get in at 8:30 am. It was nice to be there early but we definitely could both feel it - we were tired! However, once we got there we hit the ground running - and never really stopped. We flew into Newark airport in NJ so we had to take the train (NJ Transit) to Penn Station in NYC to catch the subway to where we were staying - Brooklyn. What we didn't anticipate is that both our phones would die soon after making it to Penn Station. Since I hadn't wrote down the directions to the AirBnB we were staying at (Wife of the year, right?) we had to make a pit stop to charge our phones. So luggage in hand, we exited the station in search of a coffee shop for some caffeine and a place to plug in! Considering where we were, this was relatively easy to find (though finding a spot at a table was not quite so easy). Soon after charging up, we took the subway the rest of the way to our AirBnB. It was a cute little studio off of the main park in Brooklyn - Prospect Park. The neighborhood reminded us of Fountain Square at home as far as culture/feel - kind of up and coming as far as the area. We unpacked our suitcases and decided to set off in search of lunch. We ended up walking around the area a little just to explore and finding a cute little cafe with brunch food called Blessings Cafe. After lunch, we walked over to Prospect Park and walked about halfway around the park - we were able to see a really pretty pond, some bridges, etc. After walking around here, we went back to the apartment for a quick rest (getting up at 4 am is hard!) then set off again to see some more areas around Brooklyn. We went to the Grand Army Plaza (near the front of the park), the Brooklyn Public Library, and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. This path goes above where the cars are driving on the bridge and is gorgeous! We got some beautiful views of the sun setting with Manhattan in the background. We ended our day walking around Times Square at night.
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| Brooklyn Public Library |
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| Grand Army Plaza |
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| Brooklyn Bridge with Manhattan in the Background |
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| Brooklyn Bridge |
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| Prospect Park |
Day 2: We started off our second day in Little Italy and Chinatown! Don't worry, we didn't disappear into any sketchy areas in search of Coach purses...but we did enjoy walking around and looking around...and smelling all the yummy Italian food :) We then went down to an area known as "Seaport" - it was an old shipping area. We went into their museum and toured an old iron ship that was docked there. We also got an awesome view of the Brooklyn Bridge on the dock! We then took the subway back to Brooklyn and walked around Brooklyn Heights and on the promenade so we could get another good view of the lower end of the city. Last, we took the train out to Coney Island. I had read online they would be open on the weekend...and sadly they weren't open - their signs said only Saturday and Sunday. 😒 But we did walk to board walk and pier and saw everything, just not lit up.
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| Little Italy |
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| Seaport |
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| The ship we toured with the city in the background |
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| Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn in the background |
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| Brooklyn Heights |
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| The lower end of the city - view from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade |
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| Walking the pier at Coney Island |
Day 3: We started our first day with a walk through Central Park. We walked by some gorgeous areas! We had lunch at a cute Italian restaurant - some of the best and most reasonable food we had the whole trip! We then walked to a couple other sights. We went by some beautiful churches and cathedrals, Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City Music Hall, Rainbow Room Observation Deck, Times Square, Bryant Park, the New York Public Library, and Grand Central Station. We then took the train out to Coney Island to try (a second time!) to see it in action. And again...were disappointed. It was open during the day but had closed by the time we got there. However, we did get to eat dinner at the original Nathan's hot dog stand - where the international hot dog eating contest takes place on the 4th of July :)
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| Central Park |
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| Central Park |
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| Cathedral |
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| Rockefeller Plaza |
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| Rainbow Room |
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| Radio City Music Hall |
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| Times Square |
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| NY Public Library |
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| NY Public Library |
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| Grand Central Station |
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| Coming back from Coney Island on the subway |
Day 4: We started off our day by taking the Staten Island Ferry so that we could get a good view of the Statue and see Staten Island. It was a colder day so it was nice to be inside on the ferry. We got a great view out the window and once we got to the island it was starting to warm up and we were able to walk around. We went to the Postcards 9/11 Memorial and walked around one of their historic districts before re-boarding to head back. When we got back, we walked to Battery Park, Wall Street, the 9/11 Memorial, the Freedom Tower, Federal Hall, the US Stock Exchange, and the Freedom Tower. After all that we went back to the apartment to rest for a little then took an evening stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge again and went to Little Italy to have dessert before calling it a night.
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| View from Staten Island |
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| View of the city from Staten Island |
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| Federal Hall |
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| Federal Hall |
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| US Stock Exchange |
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| Night time walk on the Brooklyn Bridge |
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| Night time views of the city |
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| 9/11 Memorial |
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| 9/11 Memorial |
Day 5: We started out the day by exploring the campuses of NYU and Columbia University. Talk about gorgeous! We then went back to Central Park to continue exploring it. We went to the Grand Reservoir and walked by a couple museums at the edge of the park. We also went by (and in) a castle in the park and walked through the Shakespeare Gardens. We went to lunch at a cute little place in Little Italy (Tim's request). We went back to Times Square and got tickets for a play - Miss Saigon. I ended up being a little disappointed - good play just not my type of play. However, it was Tim's first Broadway play and he ended up really liking it! It was definitely eye opening as far as culturally learning more about the Vietnam War.
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| Central Park |
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| Central Park |
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| Central Park |
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| Gardens in Central Park |
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| Castle in Central Park |
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| Times Square |
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| Miss Saigon |
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| Columbia University |
Day 6: Our last day was crazy packed! We started off the day early seeing Live with Kelly and Ryan - I had gotten free tickets weeks ago. We were excited because there was a special guest from a show we watch - Riverdale! That was pretty neat. We then grabbed a coffee and headed toward the ferry to actually go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, versus driving by. This was one of our favorite parts of the trip. It was inspiring to be in a place where my ancestors may have once stood and to know that so many Americans would not have the opportunities we have if not for our ancestors coming through there. We then had dinner in Times Square before heading to the 9/11 Museum - I had gotten free tickets for this as well. Though it was busy, we didn't end up waiting long and this as well was one of our favorite things we did. We actually wished afterward we would've had more time for both this and the Statue/Ellis Island because there was just so much to see. The museum really put into reality what so many Americans went through that day and was a sobering moment for both of us. Last, Tim surprised me and we went to see Anastasia on Broadway. He knew I was disappointed with the other show we saw and had really been wanting to see Anastasia but was hesitant because the tickets were more since it was a popular show. We lucked out and got the last 2 tickets on sale in the TCKTS booth on Times Square and they were 3rd row. I totally fan-girled and I am still to this day constantly singing every song. My husband...beyond thankful for a man who would take me and who is continuing to endure me listening to or singing the songs 24/7. What a guy.
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| Live with Kelly and Ryan |
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| Live with Kelly and Ryan |
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| Ferry to the Statue |
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| View of the city from the Statue |
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| Statue of Liberty |
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| Statue of Liberty |
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| Ellis Island - Main Immigration Hall |
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| View of the city from Ellis Island |
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| 9/11 Museum |
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| Anastasia |
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| Waiting to get inside for Anastasia |
Day 7: We knew we would need to leave for the airport pretty early (between 10:30-11:30) so we didn't plan much of anything for this day, but we did walk to get coffee and walked over to Prospect Park and around before leaving. We actually almost missed our flight out because it took so long to get to the airport from our apartment...We literally checked our bags less than 40 minutes before we were supposed to be taking off 😅 But we made it thank goodness!
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| Last walk through Prospect Park |
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| The boat house in Prospect Park |
Talk about an action packed vacation. We loved NYC. We loved the culture and everything we got to see (I am sure I am forgetting half of it as we did a lot of "walk by's"). However, we were thankful at the end of the week to come home to our cars and cornfields (for once, I looked forward to driving!). It made us appreciate the open land we so readily see by our house, driving a car versus taking the subway, and having so much space to relax and call home at the end of the day. However, we definitely enjoyed getting our NYC fix and already have a list of things we want to do when we go back again in the future :) Until next time, NYC!
