Day in New York City

City Skyline from ferry

We went up New York City on May 11^th for a one day photography workshop on Ellis Island (see other blog post: Finding the Light on Ellis Island) and decided if we were up there to just spend the weekend and take in the city.  We spent a mere day and half exploring the city, and only saw a few of the big attractions.

We flew into LaGuardia, which was closer to our hotel then JFK. Our hotel was in lower Manhattan near the Financial District and Battery Park. We chose this area because it was the area the workshop recommended, we also found it was quieter section of the city. Arriving at the airport and grabbing a taxi was fairly easy. The taxi fare was a bit expensive, but I was expecting that, and it let us check NYC taxi experience off our bucket list. We had a nice view of the harbor and the Statue of Liberty, from our hotel room on the 34^th floor.  We grabbed a light dinner at Bill’s Bar & Burgers after we dropped luggage in our room and then went to bed, because we had to be at the ferry at 5:45 AM for the workshop.  

The workshop went from 5:45 Am till about 3:00PM when we took the ferry back to Battery Park. After we got back, we stopped at the hotel, which was about a 5-minute walk from Battery Park to drop our gear off before heading out again.  We went back to the park to walk around, see a few statues and ride the Sea Glass Carousel. Sadly, the Sea Glass Carousel broke while we were riding it, so they gave us complimentary tickets to come back.  We also stopped by the “Charging Bull” statue, which had super long line of people waiting to take a picture touching the bull’s balls. It says a lot about the human population when they want selfies touching bull balls. No, I did not take a picture with the bull balls.  After that we grabbed some New York pizza and cannoli from a local place and headed back to the hotel.  We were really exhausted after the workshop; it was a super tiring day.

Line to take pictures with bull balls

The next day we slept in (for us anyway) until 7:00AM. We got our stuff and headed out to see at least the lower part of the Manhattan. Our first stop was Liberty Bagels, to get breakfast. It was right across from the bull statue, which didn’t have a line this early in the morning.  From there we figured out part of the subway system to go up to Grand Central Station, and then walk the rest of the way up to Rockefeller Center.  We had tickets for “Top of the Rock” so we could get a 360 view of the city. It was bit hazy in the morning so the visibility was good but not spectacular, plus the sky was boring.  I picked the “Top of the Rock” over the top of the Empire State building because 1) it was cheaper overall, and 2) I could get the Empire State building in my photograph.  If I ever go back, maybe I’ll go the top of the Empire State building.  Also, for those that know me, know I’m not a big fan of heights but I felt fine on the top of the building due to the big glass panels surrounding the open-air observation deck.  I also didn’t look straight down, that might have been bad.  From there we headed over to Central Park, passing Radio City Music Hall on the way.

Charging Bull

View from Top of the Rock

Radio City Music Hall

Central Park is large. We walked around the lower fifth of the park.  We saw some of the main features like the Cop Cot, Central Park Carousel, The Dairy Visitor Center, the mall, Bethesda Terrace and fountain, Cherry Hill, and the Bow Bridge.  After walking around a bit, I was starting to get hot and needed to start looking for a place to cool down.  It was cooler by our hotel due to a breeze but there was no real breeze the further we traveled from the harbor.  So, we decided to make our way over to where my husband’s family was staying to give them the complementary tickets from the Sea Glass Carousel.  It was a complete coincidence that they were on vacation in New York City the same time we were there.  After that we got lunch at Beer Authority.  From there we walked part of the way to Time Square, which was a dumb idea on my part.  It is just too crowded and not very interesting unless you are into billboards and being run into by tons of people.  From there we walked to Bryant Park and the New York Public Library - Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.  The library is beautiful building, with lots of white marble.  After that I called it a day, because I was just too tired and hot.  So, we got back on the subway to head back to our hotel. 

Bow Bridge

The San Remo from across lake in Central Park

After spending some time in the hotel room to cool down and just relax for a bit we ventured out again for dinner at Schillings Restaurant and Bar. They had one of the best veal schnitzels, I have ever had.  Jim and I actually split it because neither us can ever eat a whole schnitzel on our own, they are always so big.  We also walked over to see the 9/11 Memorial.  It is a very tasteful memorial, and the area was quiet compared to the rest of the city. We didn’t feel the need to go into the museum.

World One and Memorial

The next day we had a few hours in the morning before our flight, so we ventured back down to Battery Park to walk around and then over to New York Stock Exchange, where the “Fearless Girl” statue is located.  On the walk back to the hotel we saw Trinity Church and Alexander Hamilton’s gravesite.  After getting back to the hotel we packed up and took and Uber to the airport. The Uber was a lot cheaper, plus I had a 20-percent off code.  We had a couple hours to kill at the airport, you never know with traffic better early then late, so we hung out in the Delta Lounge.   The flight home was uneventful.

Fearless Girl

If I ever go back to New York City it would have to be in the early spring or fall because it was just too warm for me walking around. The temperatures were in the upper 80’s while we were there, which is not a great temperature for me without a breeze.  Also, I would spend longer than a day, and get the city pass to visit the museums.  One of the reasons we didn’t do a lot of the museums was because of cost, since I was looking at about $25 a person for each museum. Also, I would take better advantage of the subway system.  We didn’t use it as well as we could have, to save walking and travel time.  I also would plan a little better. While I was looking at a bunch of things to do before the trip, I didn’t develop an itinerary, which would have been helpful. Lesson learned.   At least I went and saw a few things, so I can check New York City off my bucket list.  You can see pictures from our day in New York City, here.