Several months ago, I asked Theo if she wanted to go on a trip after graduation. We quickly decided on going to New York City. I've been dying to go there for as long as I can remember! Once we landed on a destination, I started looking up hotel and airbnb deals. I figured if we stayed in an airbnb with a kitchen, we could save money on breakfasts. One of the things about airbnb's is that you don't get an exact address until days before the trip.
I chose Brooklyn based on the prices at the time. I also thought it would be a fun and quirky area to stay in. The day came when I got the address and I was a little disappointed about how far it was from the downtown area. But I still had no clue about what it was going to be like to get around.
As the trip got closer, I began to check the weather. The temps looked pretty good and the forecast didn't show much rain. We tried to pack according to what we thought would be comfortable. Here's where I learned the first thing about NYC. If you're going in late spring, don't plan on wearing pants. It just so happened that the humidity was very high most of the time during our 5 days there. We walked our butts off. And I can only speak for myself when I say, there was a lot of sweating. Next time I go, I'll bring shorts and dresses! The thing I did right: my shoe selection. I wore a pair of shoes from Old Navy that are similar to DC's or Nike Air Force Ones and a pair of sketchers that have memory foam soles. Don't get me wrong, my feet were sore everyday. I don't think anyone can visit New York as a tourist and not end their day with sore feet! But they were comfortable shoes and I'd definitely wear them again on a trip like that.
Backtracking a bit, this was Theo's first time to fly. She was a little nervous but the flights were pretty smooth. We had to fly to the airport in Virginia for a connecting flight to New York. I would have brought an airplane neck pillow just for a little bit more comfort during the layover. And more comfortable clothes for the flight. I wear jeans almost everyday in my regular routine but comfort when traveling is priceless! You'd think I would have learned my lesson the first time I flew...to Ireland.
The second thing I learned was that our carry ons should have had wheels. Theo had a backpack and I had the weekender bag from Vera Bradley. Size-wise, they were both big enough for everything we brought, but ease of movement wasn't as good as it could have been. We decided it would have been worth it to check a big suitcase and bring one carry on to be able to pack souvenirs in. Side note: we both used fanny packs and they were perfect to carry around the city. Great for keeping everything safe and super handy while taking the subway or shopping.
When we got to LaGuardia, we didn't really have a solid plan on getting to the airbnb. I had already planned on buying 7 day, unlimited ride MetroCards. And I'd read that they sold them at the airport. Only problem was that they weren't clear on where exactly to get them. We went from the gate to the baggage claim level and didn't see a single place to buy them. So we went for an Uber instead. Such a big expense! But on the other hand, it was nice to have one single ride to get there instead of changing trains or buses without really knowing how it worked.
The airbnb host was lovely and the apartment was super comfortable! But it was a good 10 minute walk to the nearest subway station. This brings me to the second thing I learned. It would have been worth it to stay in Manhattan. That first day, we just settled in and I made a Target order. We ordered dinner and watched a movie. The next morning, we got ready and tried to find a place to buy the MetroCards. I googled a bunch of places to buy them and went to the closest one I could find. A local pharmacy. They did not, in fact, sell them even though they had a sign on the door stating that they did. So we took another Uber into the city for the lunch reservation we had at Serendipity.
I did a lot of research leading up to the trip so that we could make the most out of the time we had. I tried to choose things that we'd both enjoy and knew that she'd love eating at Serendipity. She's never seen the movie, but she didn't need to! She took one look at the menu and said yes immediately!
It's located right by the Roosevelt Island Tramway, so before we went to eat, we went to the closest subway station and bought the long-awaited MetroCards so we could hop on the tram right after lunch. One thing I'd change on this day would have been to explore the Island a little bit before heading back on the tram. After the tram ride, we went on the subway over to Times Square. We had no plans there other than to just see it. We had the same goal for Grand Central Station. From there went to Union Square park and the Harry Potter store! The store was at the top of our list and it did NOT disappoint!
The thing about the wardrobe I brought is that it made that first day full of walking and sweating not so pleasant. Which, in turn, made the shopping not as fun. I didn't buy a single thing from the store except a butterbeer. I'd go back in a heartbeat though!
Third thing I learned...bring a "pocket juice"/battery bar fully charged everyday! Theo and I both were so low before it was even dinner time. She did have hers with her but was constantly on it for pictures and while riding the subway so she used even more battery power than I did. I had one with me on the trip and forgot to bring it into the city. LESSON LEARNED!
We headed home after a light dinner at Panera (thinking that we'd be able to charge our phones there, but not a single outlet in sight). We watched a movie after we got home and called it a night.
The next day, we hopped on the subway and headed towards the Staten Island Ferry. Theo brought my Canon. From there, we went to the World Trade Center. It was quite overwhelming. Another top choice on our list and I'm so glad we were able to pay our respects to the people who lost their lives in that place.
We ate at a little pizzeria right by Ground Zero and headed over to FAO Schwartz. It was supposed to rain. Storm, actually. We had tickets to the Yankees game that night and didn't know if we'd get to go or not at that point. But we ended up going back to the airbnb to get changed anyway. This was just another example of why we should have stayed in Manhattan in a hotel. The train ride from basically anywhere in Manhattan to Brooklyn was around 45 minutes. It ate up so much of our day to go back to the airbnb.
While we were getting ready for the game and resting a bit, I got a text. A very exciting text! I entered about 4 digital lotteries for Broadway shows hoping to win just one. This text informed me that we won lottery tickets to see Moulin Rouge for the next night. We only had to pay $68! After I secured the tickets, we left for the Yankees game. The longest train ride ever! But worth it! It was our first time at an MLB game and we had a blast! We ended up leaving the game early only because we knew how long the train ride would be after. We beat the rush a little and didn't have to ride a totally crowded train the whole time.
Our last day, we finally really got the hang of the train! Of course. We started our day with an Uber to the beginning of the Brooklyn Bridge Promenade so we could walk across to Manhattan. It was so cool! We got the best pictures that day! Once we got across, we grabbed a sandwich and walked to a nearby park to use the public restrooms. Fourth thing I learned...there aren't a ton of public restrooms, so you sometimes have to use a nasty park bathroom! See, the sandwich shop had a bathroom but it wasn't in service. And I think a lot of businesses are still doing things the way they did during Covid or have had a hard time with business and haven't been able to do repairs or maintenance.
Anyway, after we found a bathroom, we went on to the American Museum of Natural History. Not. enough. hours. in. the. day. It's so big and we really only got to see about a third of it. We thought we might be able to go over to Central Park after because it's right there next to it, but because we had the show that night, we had to take the train back to Brooklyn to get ready.
And because we had to walk 10 minutes to the subway, I got all cute for nothing. (LOL) We left earlier than we needed to so we could eat dinner before the show. I looked up a few places around the theater and we ended up at Junior's. It was good but pricey. Nevertheless, it was in a prime spot and we got to see a lot of fun things on the way from the subway station. We ate and then lined up for the show.
Now let me tell you, I couldn't have asked for a better experience in a show. TPAC is amazing and the show tours they book are usually wonderful (not always, i.e. Oklahoma), but it has nothing on Broaway. The theater itself was incredible! The interior design was just so lush and decadent. And the show...oh my word, the show! It's up there among my favorite shows ever. Maybe even number 1. It'll be hard to beat Newsies, but I'd go see Moulin Rouge every day of the week! The cast was impeccable. Even better than the OG cast, in my opinion. The part of Christian was played by Derek Klena who originated the role of Dimitri in Anastasia and he was phenomenal. Ashley Loren played Satine and I wish my voice was half as good as hers! Powerful, clear, never missed a note. I mean...none of them missed a note, let's be real. Choreography was killer. Sonya Tayeh...chef's kiss. Theo absolutely loved it too. She had no idea what the show was about and had never heard any of the music from it (which is actually how I like to see a show for the first time too). I'd say it was a highlight of the trip and the best way to end it! After the show, we walked over to Times Square to see it at night. So many people. So many different things going on. Dance battles, people in costumes, someone with a snake who was letting people take pictures with it! One final train ride to Brooklyn and we crashed for the night!
The fifth thing I learned is that there's no way you can do everything you want to do in a single trip. We must go back! And I'd love to go in September or October for a cooler feel. And going for a long weekend would be ideal too. A cheaper trip. Now that we know more about the city, we'll be able to get more things checked off the list in a shorter time!
I've only taken a few trips in my life where we haven't been to visit family. This trip ranks right up there with our trips to Disney! I probably wouldn't ever get tired of visiting NYC!
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