In summer 2013 I visited one of my favourite cities – New York – for the first time. Then in 2018 I got to experience the magic of NYC in the winter. Now, 10 years after my first visit, it was time for me to head back and explore the city that never sleeps in a new season: spring!
Day 1
New York is known for having multiple seasons in one day, and we definitely experienced this on our first day in the city. When we landed at JFK, we were greeted with temperatures of nearly 30°C (86°F), which was completely unexpected for mid-April. The first place on our list to visit was my favourite place in the city: Central Park. Our hotel – Park Central Hotel – was located just a few blocks down from the south entrance, which was really convenient. New Yorkers were out in force throughout the park, enjoying the rare warm weather. The atmosphere was amazing, and so relaxing. I just love walking around Central Park, it feels so separate from the rest of the city. After stopping for lunch, we headed up to 72st, where Strawberry Fields is located. New York in the spring is famous for its cherry blossoms, and that’s what we went to see. I’d been looking forward to seeing the cherry blossoms, and it was so worth the wait.
That evening we headed back to Midtown, as we’d booked to visit Summit One Vanderbilt. This is one of New York’s newest observation decks, but it was so much more than that. There are several rooms, and each room has a different type of immersive art installation. The main room had mirrors on the floor, walls and ceiling, reflecting the city lights in different directions. I’ve been to 3 of New York’s 5 observation decks, and this one was definitely my favourite. Tickets were about $48 each, which is pretty good for what’s essentially an observation deck and art exhibition rolled into one! I’d also definitely recommend going up at night, it is busier but the lights of the city are just so beautiful. The Empire State Building, usually lit up in white, was blue that evening to mark the beginning of Tartan Week. I love seeing the Empire State Building lit up in different colours, so it was great to be able to experience this.
Day 2
On our second day in the Big Apple, temperatures returned to normal. Our first stop was to get one of New York’s most famous food items: bagels. Liberty Bagels is known as the home of the rainbow bagel, and their impressive selection of cream cheese. I got the everything bagel with lox cream cheese, which was soooo good. This kept us going for our morning adventures; Lower Manhattan was on our list today. Our first stop was Battery Park, where we got our first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. We noticed a lot of people trying to sell Liberty Island tours outside the subway station, but we went for the Staten Island Ferry, which is free and gives you great views of both the Statue of Liberty and also the Lower Manhattan skyline.
On the way back up to Midtown, we stopped at the 9/11 Memorial, an incredibly poignant landmark that’s definitely worth a visit. We arrived in Midtown via the incredible Grand Central Station, and then we made a quick visit to the New York Public Library, which famously appeared in disaster film The Day After Tomorrow. We then headed over to Times Square for another famous NYC food staple: pizza. Joe’s Pizza is renowned for having multiple celebrity guests over the years, and it definitely lived up to the hype. With a large selection of toppings and slices around $3 each, it was without doubt one of my favourite New York food experiences!
We ended the day by having dinner in Blaggard’s Pub, an Irish-style pub with great food and surprisingly cheap drinks. We also made a quick stop at the Empire State Building, which was lit up in orange and blue to mark the New York Knicks’ first game of the season (according to their website!). Fog had settled over the city that evening, which meant that the top of the skyscraper was hidden in the clouds. We also snuck inside for a quick look at the lobby’s beautiful art deco design – although we didn’t visit the observation deck, it was great to still go inside this famous building.
Day 3
One of New York’s most up-and-coming areas was at the top of our list today. Hudson Yards is the newest neighbourhood in the city, and is filled with modern apartment blocks and many diverse restaurants. One of its best features is the High Line, a park and walkway built on a former railroad line, connecting Hudson Yards to West Village. With the city known for being a concrete jungle, the High Line is a refreshing mix of urban and rural. It feels peaceful walking along there, even though you’re still in the middle of the city. It takes about 30 minutes each way to walk the High Line, which helped us build up an appetite for lunch. Little Spain is located in Hudson Yards, and is made up of many Spanish food outlets. You can’t go to Little Spain without having patatas bravas (my favourite Spanish food) and churros – exactly what we needed for our busy afternoon ahead.
Our next adventure took us off the island of Manhattan, and over to Brooklyn. Our first stop was the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, yet another place in New York with the best cherry blossoms. This place is a plant lover’s dream as there’s so many different themed gardens, from the Fragrance Garden – designed to be a multisensory experience – to a Japanese-themed garden and lake. It doesn’t feel like you’re in the middle of Brooklyn when you’re here, it feels very peaceful. We soon headed back out into the city and made our way towards the famous Brooklyn Bridge. We did stop at one landmark that’s very important to both of us – the NYPD’s 78th precinct, which is the exterior filming location of our favourite sitcom Brooklyn 99! Once we got up to the famous bridge, we decided to walk back across to Manhattan. It’s pretty busy on the bridge as you can imagine, but it’s definitely worth doing. You get great views of both Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as being able to soak up the atmosphere on one of the world’s most famous bridges.
For dinner we headed out to the famous Little Italy. After our trip to Italy last year, we were desperate to enjoy some Italian food again. One thing to be aware of in New York is both the portion sizes and prices of food – it’s a lot! We’d been sharing meals for most of the trip so far so were planning on doing this again in Little Italy, but the restaurant we found had surprisingly decent-sized portions at a reasonable price. We were able to sit outside as the weather was still pretty good, which was really nice and something you don’t normally expect to do in New York. After dinner we headed back up to Midtown to visit the Rockefeller Center. This is always a nice place to visit at night, as the whole building is lit up. There was also a roller rink where the famous ice rink usually is, so we were able to watch some incredible rollerskaters dance under the city lights.
Day 4
Our last full day in NYC was our one rainy day of the trip, and even then it wasn’t actually as bad the forecast said it would be! We decided to have a museum morning, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a few hours. You can easily spend a whole day in the Met, as there’s so much to see. Art from all around the world, from Europe to Asia, was on display, including Ancient Green and Roman statues, paintings by my favourite artist Monet and also ‘The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer’ by Degas. It’s a fantastic museum, with so many different historical periods and cultures to explore. One thing to note is that the cafes inside are not cheap, we ended up finding a nearby Shake Shack for lunch!
Our next stop, just in time for the sun to come out, was West Village. This is a beautiful neighbourhood, known for its rich history and how it feels completely different to the rest of New York. We were almost able to take a breath here – you could barely hear any traffic on the quiet residential streets, lined with traditional brownstones. One of West Village’s most famous landmarks, aside from the filming locations of Friends and Sex and the City, is the Stonewall Inn. Known as the site of the 1969 riots that revolutionised the gay rights movement, Stonewall is now a national monument and a powerful tribute to those who fought for equal rights. Nearby was Washington Square Park, a great place to sit and enjoy the sunshine. If you’re looking for all the places to see cherry blossoms in New York, Washington Square Park is yet another place to add to the list!
For our last evening in New York, we went to 230 Fifth, a rooftop bar with incredible views of the Empire State Building. It was one of the cheapest bars we could find, and had a great atmosphere. The Empire State Building was back in orange and blue that night, and we were able to watch the lights turn on as the sun went down. For dinner we went to Dos Caminos, a Mexican restaurant just off Times Square. As we went late it wasn’t too busy, but we did end up sharing a meal again as the portions are pretty big!
Day 5
It was our last day in the Big Apple, and we had to go out with a bang. We headed to Carnegie Diner & Cafe, just a few blocks down from our hotel, for breakfast. We had what is possibly the biggest portion of pancakes I’ve ever seen, which definitely kept us going all morning! Our last landmark to visit was Top of the Rock, one of our favourite observation decks that I’ve visited every time I’ve come to New York. It was pretty windy up there, so we didn’t spend too long at the top – but we were still able to enjoy the magnificent views of the city.
After leaving the Rockefeller Center we headed back down to Joe’s Pizza for a quick snack (somehow we still had room after breakfast?), then went back up to visit Central Park one last time. We went on a different walk this time, visiting Sheep Meadow and stopping for a quick drink at a cafe next to it. On our way back we spotted several filming locations from alien film Cloverfield, which is set entirely in New York but not much was actually filmed there, so it was pretty cool to see some of those locations. We also spotted a racoon – one of the city’s more unusual wildlife species. New York is full of unique and fascinating things, and I think seeing the racoon was a perfect way to round off our list!
As we headed back to the airport with camera rolls full of memories, we reflected on how much of New York we’d been able to see. With 3 trips now under my belt I feel like I’ve explored so much of this incredible city, but there’s still so much more to see. I’ve got one season left to tick off – I hope to one day visit in the autumn, and see even more of what the Big Apple has to offer.
Jetsetterss 