In 2018 for my Mum's birthday we went to New York. 7 of us (the Magnificent 7, or the 7 deadly sins, we couldn't quite decide...) were there for 3 days and managed to squeeze a LOT in and experienced weather ranging from the hottest February day on record (26degrees C) to the pouring rain.
They're not lying when they say it's the city that never sleeps... it was hectic, buzzing and absolutely brilliant!
This is quite a long post, so I've broken it down into 3 sections:
1)= our itinerary and what we did
2)= there are photos scattered throughout the post but I gathered together some photos that I wanted to put in the writing but didn't want to overload it.
3)= tips and other info
This is quite a long post, so I've broken it down into 3 sections:
1)= our itinerary and what we did
2)= there are photos scattered throughout the post but I gathered together some photos that I wanted to put in the writing but didn't want to overload it.
3)= tips and other info
Day 1
After an 8 hour flight we touched down at JFK airport. Hailing a yellow cab we sailed relatively quickly through the outskirts of New York before hitting the notorious traffic... at least it gave us time to get a first glimpse of some of the sights. Our hotel was the Westin in Times Square on W 43rd street. It was a great location with Times Square, the Rockefeller and a subway station within close proximity.
After dropping our bags off we headed our into Manhatten. The first port of call was the Rockefeller Centre and a trip to the Top of the Rock. The architect on the building was amazing and the views even more spectacular. Sweeping views over Central Park in one direction to the iconic Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty in the other direction. We went in late afternoon as the sun was starting to set, which I'd highly recommend.
Day 2
Thanks to jet-lag, getting up early wasn't hard. For breakfast, we found a brilliant 24 hour diner- Times Square diner and grill, where the pancakes were humungous and the coffee continuously flowing. Tummies full, we headed down to the subway and hopped on a train to Battery Park.
The subway was easily navigated. The lines are coloured and then numbered or lettered ,and are labelled depending on the direction you are travelling: uptown or downtown. It's better to refer to the letters or numbers rather than the colour of the line.
It took about 30 minutes to get from Times Square to Battery Park. We managed to time our journey with rush hour, which wasn't horrific but you could distinguish the tourist passengers from the commuters.
Once we arrived in Battery Park, we soon found the entrance to the Statue of Liberty ferries. Even though we arrived about 10 o clock we still had quite a queue through security. However once we returned later on we saw the queue had tripled so it's well worth getting there early.
Once aboard the ferry, make sure you stand on the right side of the boat in order to get the first and best glimpses of the Statue of Liberty.
Through the mist Lady Liberty appeared. It was quite awe-inspiring but also quite eerie through the mist. The boat trip is about 25 minutes from the boat dock to the statue and by the time we docked at the Statue, the sky had cleared and glorious blue sky awaited us. We spent about 45 minutes wandering around the deck taking every possible photo from every possible angle.
As part of a circular journey, once the boat leaves the Statue of Liberty it then moves on to Ellis Island. I was intrigued but felt because I personally didn't have a connection with any of the original inhabitants maybe I wasn't as interested as I should have been. I can imagine it must be amazing to track your ancestor's journey.
After a quick bite to eat in a British pub (You can take the people out of England!) we traipsed over to Brooklyn Bridge. We didn't manage to cross the bridge (mainly because we got lost and therefore only saw it from afar, it was the chance to take a photo of one of the iconic sights.
P.S look how beautiful the weather is. Despite packing for winter weather, we were walking around just in t-shirts! It was the hottest February day on record.
After the Empire State, we stopped off in nearby Macy's for a wander around. We only looked around one floor but I managed to buy a playsuit :) . I would love a longer look around but we were all a bit hungry. After lunch we wandered around the midtown area... I wanted to find a Sprinkles cupcake ATM which I didn't realised turned out to be near Madison Square Garden. Some of my favourite artists have performed here and I was gutted there were no concerts on while we were in NYC.
Later in the afternoon, we had some 'free time'. We had all been cooped up together and on such a tight schedule to fit everything in that we decided to have an afternoon where we could do something that not everybody else would want to do. My mum and I decided to go back to Central Park. I'm a big Doctor Who fan and one of my favourite episodes is set in New York and a big chunk of it was filmed in Central Park. So, we trudged in the rain to find the Bow Bridge, Bethesda Fountain and one of the walkways lined with trees and benches. (The captions below the pictures relate to where they appear in the Doctor Who episode 'Angels Take Manhatten'... Feel free to skip if you're not a Whovian)
Whilst the majority of us marvelled at the views,
some of us found them a little unnerving.
By the time we came back down the Top of The Rock, the sun was setting. We had a quick mooch around Times Square and the surrounding area.
Having been up already for 20 hours and knowing we had an early start the following day, we found a diner (The Iron Bar) which specialised in amazing burgers, had a quick look at Broadway and promptly crashed out as soon as we got back to the hotel around 8pm.
Thanks to jet-lag, getting up early wasn't hard. For breakfast, we found a brilliant 24 hour diner- Times Square diner and grill, where the pancakes were humungous and the coffee continuously flowing. Tummies full, we headed down to the subway and hopped on a train to Battery Park.
The subway was easily navigated. The lines are coloured and then numbered or lettered ,and are labelled depending on the direction you are travelling: uptown or downtown. It's better to refer to the letters or numbers rather than the colour of the line.
It took about 30 minutes to get from Times Square to Battery Park. We managed to time our journey with rush hour, which wasn't horrific but you could distinguish the tourist passengers from the commuters.
Once we arrived in Battery Park, we soon found the entrance to the Statue of Liberty ferries. Even though we arrived about 10 o clock we still had quite a queue through security. However once we returned later on we saw the queue had tripled so it's well worth getting there early.
Once aboard the ferry, make sure you stand on the right side of the boat in order to get the first and best glimpses of the Statue of Liberty.
Through the mist Lady Liberty appeared. It was quite awe-inspiring but also quite eerie through the mist. The boat trip is about 25 minutes from the boat dock to the statue and by the time we docked at the Statue, the sky had cleared and glorious blue sky awaited us. We spent about 45 minutes wandering around the deck taking every possible photo from every possible angle.
As part of a circular journey, once the boat leaves the Statue of Liberty it then moves on to Ellis Island. I was intrigued but felt because I personally didn't have a connection with any of the original inhabitants maybe I wasn't as interested as I should have been. I can imagine it must be amazing to track your ancestor's journey.
After departing from the boat we walked around the financial district. Eventually we came to Ground Zero which was one of the most humbling and serene places I've ever been to. An event so tragic has been transformed into a place of respect and, kudos to the Americans, it was so classy and tastefully done.
P.S look how beautiful the weather is. Despite packing for winter weather, we were walking around just in t-shirts! It was the hottest February day on record.
Tired from walking, we hopped on the subway to Grand Central Station. The iconic ceiling was beautiful and I was particularly a fan of the astrology theme. We then walked along Madison Avenue and Park Avenue with the aim of finding Central Park. We seemed to get stopped at every crosswalk (which gave 'slower' members of the party to catch up) and it was extremely muggy but eventually we made it... shattered.
Central Park was beautiful, massive and never-ending. We managed to find Strawberry Fields and after nearly getting kicked in the face by someone doing a handstand on it, and waiting for other people to do their instagram pose, I finally got a photo. I can see why it's a draw for Beatles/John Lennon fans, but being a Ringo girl, I'm glad I got a picture but it wasn't a massive thing to cross off my New York list.
We finally admitted defeat and hopped onto the subway back to the hotel.
Mum's birthday!! After a birthday breakfast at the 24 hour diner from yesterday, we made our way to the Empire State Building. We got there about 8.30 am and as a result we didn't have to queue. Most people have said they preferred the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller to the Empire State as you can actually see the ESB from Top of the Rock. However what people didn't mention was the architect within the Empire State Building itself. Unfortunately, it was raining when we went so the views weren't as clear as the previous 2 days, but it was still amazing to see the New York skyline around us. We were able to see things we hadn't from Top of the Rock including Madison Square Garden, which being a music fan was a bonus, and the Chrysler.
Day 3
Mum's birthday!! After a birthday breakfast at the 24 hour diner from yesterday, we made our way to the Empire State Building. We got there about 8.30 am and as a result we didn't have to queue. Most people have said they preferred the Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller to the Empire State as you can actually see the ESB from Top of the Rock. However what people didn't mention was the architect within the Empire State Building itself. Unfortunately, it was raining when we went so the views weren't as clear as the previous 2 days, but it was still amazing to see the New York skyline around us. We were able to see things we hadn't from Top of the Rock including Madison Square Garden, which being a music fan was a bonus, and the Chrysler.  |
Visibility was poor so
please excuse the dodgy
picture
|
After the Empire State, we stopped off in nearby Macy's for a wander around. We only looked around one floor but I managed to buy a playsuit :) . I would love a longer look around but we were all a bit hungry. After lunch we wandered around the midtown area... I wanted to find a Sprinkles cupcake ATM which I didn't realised turned out to be near Madison Square Garden. Some of my favourite artists have performed here and I was gutted there were no concerts on while we were in NYC.
Later in the afternoon, we had some 'free time'. We had all been cooped up together and on such a tight schedule to fit everything in that we decided to have an afternoon where we could do something that not everybody else would want to do. My mum and I decided to go back to Central Park. I'm a big Doctor Who fan and one of my favourite episodes is set in New York and a big chunk of it was filmed in Central Park. So, we trudged in the rain to find the Bow Bridge, Bethesda Fountain and one of the walkways lined with trees and benches. (The captions below the pictures relate to where they appear in the Doctor Who episode 'Angels Take Manhatten'... Feel free to skip if you're not a Whovian)
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| Bow Bridge: Where The Doctor and Amy are reading Melody Malone and discover Rory has gone missing. Also at the end of the ep, the Doctor runs across it to find Amy's note.
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