I got back from my NYC trip on Tuesday after a week of being away and it has been a hard transition over the past couple of days. I find it hard to get back into the groove of things when you come back from a trip.
We had so much fun on our NYC trip and even though we were only there for a week, we saw a lot and definitely had a full trip.
Why NYC?
I have always wanted to visit NYC. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t. I’m sure I glamorized it heavily from all of the media that happens there, but it was always #1 on my North America must-see list.
In early 2012, I was at work and discussing travel with my coworker and it struck me how big of a deal my graduation is. I know for most it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I defied all odds. I lived on my own, worked full time and worked my little butt off to graduate. I got a job before I graduated college in the field that I went to college for, and frankly, I’m super proud of myself for doing all of this while paying for most of my semesters out of pocket.
So I texted a friend who has also always wanted to see NYC and asked her to go with me. And her answer was, of course, YES.
First Impressions
After the worst ever experience on Delta Airlines, I was exhausted and grumpy and just wanted to be at my destination, so my first impression of NYC was not as favorable as it could have been.
Seeing something through grumpy, exhausted eyes is much less dazzling then through fresh, excited eyes, and, plus, we flew into Newark.
When we walked outside we were hit with a wave of heat and humidity I`ve really only ever felt in Mexico. It was unpleasant. But we got a little more excited when we got into Manhattan. We stayed in Queens to save some cash, so we had to get from Newark to Manhattan and then over to Queens. It was quite the treck.
It was exciting when we finally got cleaned up and went back out to spend the late afternoon and evening in Manhattan to see the sites.
A Few Things I Was Surprised By
The subway stations are filthy and HOT. But surprisingly efficient, cheap and easy to follow.
New Yorkers in general are not rude, at least not to us. Customer service reps were almost 100% of the time super rude, but people we stopped to ask directions were always unbelievably helpful and friendly.
I have never seen worse driving than that which I witnessed in New York.
New York drivers honk ALL THE TIME, and I saw so many near-misses it’s not even funny.
New Yorkers seem to defy typical American stereotypes and weaknesses (ie obesity, rudeness, etc). I didn’t see very many obese or even overweight people there compared to other American places I have visited
It feels safer than people claim it is. I never felt unsafe, even on the subway at night.
The Highlights/Lowlights
There were a few highlights of the trip that were definitely things that I would recommend other visitors do as well. Hands down one of the best things we did when we were there was walk over the Brooklyn Bridge.
When we got to the center of the bridge, it was stunning. Shaded and quiet, and windy (so nice and cool). The views were beautiful and it was just so scenic. I’m so glad we did this. It was on the top of my list but usually attractions like this disappoint me. Not this one!
While I’m glad we went up the Empire State building, and I can understand why it’s such an attraction, it definitely wasn’t worth the long lineups in my point of view. We stood in lines for triple the amount of time that we spent on the lookout. I got some amazing pictures but the city is so hazy/smoggy that they weren’t as clear as they could have been.
This pigeon totally photo bombed this picture! That was fun.
Soho was also pretty cute. We ended up in Soho by mistake and decided to take a walk and find some dinner. We ended up seeing the guy who plays Cyrus in Gossip Girl (lol) and walking all the way over to Nolita where we ate at Pulinos, which was fabulous.
A huge highlight was Bryant Park. We ended up at the park when we went to go see the NY Library at around dusk the day we got there. It was so beautiful with twinkling lights and grass! Real grass! (We didn’t see much grass in the city but the grass that we did see was in parks).
My camera wasn’t cooperating at this time but this is the only picture I could get from Bryant Park:
Unfortunately we didn’t get to go to a Broadway show which I would have loved, or even go to any(!!) of the restaurants I wanted to go to, but it was over all a great trip.
I could never live in NY. The lack of grass and room and the overwhelming amount of people was a little bit much for me. But I would definitely visit again (just not when it’s so hot/humid!).
Have you been to NYC?
Sounds like a good trip. I’ve been before, but not in a long time.
I had a blast when I was there for the 2008 Macy’s thanhsgiving day parade! Wow… that was 4 years ago! Ouch! Do you plan on going back soon?
Haha your observations are spot on. I’m glad I moved, but I’m even MORE glad you had an awesome trip!!
What a fluky run-in, Cyrus from GG? ::giggle::
Sounds like you enjoyed yourself despite the humidity. Love all the photographs and descriptions. Hubs and I are considering a weekend getaway to NYC soon and now I definitely will add the Brooklyn Bridge to our itinerary.
I love, love, love NYC! I’ve only gone once so far, but I’m planning trips for the future. I’m most looking forward to finishing up with the stereotypical tourist attractions so I can focus on just seeing the city, visiting all of the crazy shops, etc.
You reminded me of something though. Mom and I both remarked on the lack of obesity in NYC too! Coming from Tennessee (second most obese state in the country), it was a marked change from what we were used to. I agree that New Yorkers weren’t rude at all, the way everyone I’ve talked to says they are. Everyone we spoke with was super helpful with directions, and we actually had some meaningful conversations with a few of them on transit (both the subway and the Staten Island Ferry).
I’ll save my tips for my own wrap-up posts (I cannot do a week’s trip in one post. It’s just too much, lol.), but there’s no way I would have done the Empire State Building during the day. We went to TOTR in the morning after ESB (we got to ESB when it opened and had express passes), and we could see from my camera that it was PACKED. I couldn’t imagine trying to take photos of ourselves with that many people up there. (One of my fav photos was of us on top of ESB, and another tourist offered to take the photo out of the blue! I <3 nice people!) I'm glad you had such a fun trip! Maybe one day we'll go together, eh? 🙂
I love NYC! I went twice with a friend who was a seasoned veteran and she showed me the ropes. A couple of years later I took Mrs. Beagle and stepped into the ‘veteran’ role. One of my favorite stories was when my friend and I decided on a whim to check out a Broadway show (it was The Producers, which was one of the hot tickets at the time). It was cold and rainy so our outdoor walking around plans were not going to work and we were there right around the matinee. We went to the box office window and asked. They had two seats but they weren’t even together. We were kind of talking about it when she said, Oh wait, we just got a set of tickets…center stage, sixth row. I guess they reserve some for cast members that they can distribute to friends and family and they went back up. That was absolutely incredible luck!
I loveeee New York City. My wife and I have been there a couple of times. I love the energy that city has. I also love the amazing restaurants. I love never be able to live there either though. Chicago was big enough for me and I got tired of that after 5 years.
* Manhattan
Glad you had a good trip, looks like you had great weather too! I’m sure it was nice to go with a close friend too!
I’m planning a trip to NYC in December, I’m very excited. Glad you had a good trip 🙂
I found NYC to be okay when I went. It was fairly shortly after living in Europe for a year, so honestly I found it to be a bit of a letdown. I did enjoy getting to see several shows while there though.
A friend of mine did a work exchange there for four months and said the experience of living there was amazing.
PS – Central Park is huge and has lots of grass and trees 🙂
I love NYC but I only go there when someone else is picking up part of the tab (example: my husband had a business trip there recently and we got several nights of the hotel covered) because it’s so pricey.
I really wanted to walk the Brooklyn Bridge, but we never made it over there. Maybe next time!
It’s funny to me that you thought NYC was humid and hot…don’t ever come to Texas in the summer! We thought NYC was “cool” and kept going on and on about how we were “escaping” the Texas heat 🙂
I went years ago when my brother was living there – so it was great to have a free place to stay. I think people walk everywhere in NYC -hence the lack of obesity. I agree with the *insane* driving (after taking a cab, my husband remarked it was better than a ride at Disneyworld!), but I found people friendly and helpful.
I hate when flying mishaps spoil my mood. Even though that pigeon totally photobombed, it’s a really great picture! I wish I knew what to say about background vs. foreground, but I don’t so I’ll just leave it at aesthetically interesting. 🙂 I went to NYC once as a kid, but it was accompanying my dad on a business trip. I saw FAO Schwartz, which was really cool as a kid, but that was about it.
I had some of the same impressions of NYC that you had regarding the weather, traffic, people. Nice to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there! My mom has always romanticized NYC, or at least Manhattan, because her grandparents lived there and she had great times visiting them. When we visited family there when I was a kid we spent a lot of time in Central Park, but on our visit last year we did more of the touristy things.
NYC is definitely tops on my list of North American destinations as well, but also like you, I could never live there!
I’ve never been and don’t really plan on going. Not that I have any thing against NYC, just don’t have enough enthusiasm to visit for some reason. I’d rather spend the money to go oversees and see countries I’ve never been to before. Your trip did sound nice though besides the Hot weather and filthy subways.
Hi Daisy!
I’ve never been to NYC but I have heard alot of what you described in your post. I loved the pictures and your detailed reviews of each area. What did you find to cost the most while you were a tourist in NYC? What would you do differently next time to save some Cash$$. Cheers Mr.CBB
Sounds like a fun trip. I’ve been to NYC once, but quite a few years ago. I went during the Spring, so the weather was great. I totally agree on not living there. Great place to visit, but not to live.
Glad to hear you had a good time. My wife, brother, and I spent a week in NYC last month, and our conclusions were pretty similar. We paid out the nose for our hotel in Manhattan (but still “saved” a little due to an online deal–still nowhere as inexpensive as staying outside the city!).
Imagine, for so many foreigners, that NYC is what they think of when they think of America. Life there couldn’t be more different than the whole rest of the country. Sounds like you had a great trip — glad you went!
Sounds like a great trip. I definitely want to visit NYC sometime soon!
I’ve never been to NYC! Crazy, I know. It sounds like you had a great time. I agree about the lack of space. It’s just so crowded (again…never been there, but just what I’ve heard) and I like having my own little plot of land. This doesn’t mean that I want to live in the Midwest forever, but definitely not such a concentrated place like New York. I SO want to visit there some day! Maybe I’ll actually go see the ball drop one of these years, like my friends and I have talked about so many times before.
I have a friend living in NYC right now on the one-year post-graduation visa who’s loving it!
Another friend went last year and told me he could totally see me living there. I’m not so sure but it’s definitely on my bucket list.
New York City is a blast! I love visiting it, especially in the fall. Time Square is my favorite place as well as Central Park. It’s an incredible place: so multi cultural and diversified in every way. Thanks for sharing your experience. It was fun reading about your trip and made me want to go there again!
I *love* NYC. Fortunately for me, whenever I go down I always get stuck in traffic headed towards the Lincoln Tunnel which means that I have quite impressive views of the skyline. I love the subway but, having never been on the Brooklyn Bridge or outside of Manhattan, I am jealous that you walked along the bridge. One day!!
I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I’ve been to the City several times, but mostly because I grew up so close. I can’t imagine I would travel just to visit it.
aww I love NYC! I wish I had gotten a chance to take the subway but my ex was too much of a chicken to try it when we went there lol instead he just made me walk 60 blocks/day.
I agree that New Yorkers don’t fit typical American stereotypes. They’re all thin and friendly and super fashionable!
Haven’t been to NYC yet. Isn’t on my bucket list though. The only places left on my bucket list are New Zealand, Ireland, and Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil) again. I’m set for the USA, lol.
Sounds like you had a great trip. I’m only 2 hours away from NYC and still haven’t been there in too long. These pictures make me want to take a day trip there asap 🙂
Ah NYC is so fun! I was in upstate working a volleyball camp for a week, but I made it to the city for 2 days/1 night. It was awesome and I can’t wait to go back. The bars stay open til 5 am! haha that’s just dangerous..
I’ve been there twice and luckily neither time was hot or humid (Oct & April visits). I had a great time both times and got to see two broadway shows (Newsies and BOM) by winning the lottery, but unfortunately my luck ran out on the last day and got a stomach but so the ONE thing I really wanted to do was walk across the brooklyn bridge and I didn’t get to. ugh! I think it’s an exciting city, but I could never live there either. Maybe when I was in my 20’s and loved the idea of living in a city, but now I need more space.
Soho’s great – that’s where we stayed when we went to NYC. We rented an apt in the area and found it super close and convenient to everything! It’s too bad you didn’t get to go to a show, we didn’t either. We did catch a live taping of letterman, which was pretty cool.
When we were there, I also found the majority of New Yorkers friendly. One guy spent a good 5 minutes helping us figure out the metro for the first time. Though I agree… it’s rather dirty. We even saw a NY subway rat! :S
I definitely want to go back though. It’s not a city you can finish exploring in a week.
I love NYC. I’m so jealous you got to go. I haven’t been for a few years and am itching to visit it again. Sounds like you had a great time. Did you get to The High Line? I REALLY want to go see it. It’s the first thing on my list next time I go.
I went a long time ago with the drama club from my high school. We saw two broadway shows. Being from small town Kentucky, we hadn’t had much culture, but both blew our socks off. I also thought people were friendly for the most part and I never felt unsafe. I would love to go back as an adult.
People always talk about how rude people in Paris are, but after my trips to New York, I think ALL people in the most touristy areas of cities are pretty rude. I love NY because we don’t spend much time in the big tourist spots. People are VERY nice. They were in Paris, also, except (of course) near Notre Dame and all the tourists.
Sounds like a great trip. NYC is definitely on my list of places to see and visit.