On the 1st August 2019, my partner and I flew out of the country and off to America, a trip I'd be waiting years to go on. Starting in New York, we travelled to Washington, Miami, New Orleans and lastly, Las Vegas.
I wanted to put together a little journal about my trip, the places we went and the things we saw, both as a series of commemorative posts for myself to come back to in years to come, but also to give you guys the low down on things to do, things to see and even some of the not-so-great things to be aware of if you ever find yourself in any of these American cities.
To start our trip, we spent five days in the New York - and we still didn't see it all! So, I figured I'd start the guide here.
NEW YORK - DAY 1
To begin, I wanted to quickly mention where we stayed during out five days in the Big Apple. We rested our heads each night at Hotel Five44 - named for the street it's on. Our room was a downstairs room, so I can't speak for the rooms upstairs, but I did find the room a little dark as the one window we had looked into a court yard which was lined with tall buildings and therefore didn't allow for much sunlight to get in. It was great for getting to sleep at night (that and all the walking we did each day), but when we would come back to have a quick rest and get off our feet during the afternoon, it wasn't the prettiest place to stay. While I didn't mind it at all, and as we spent most of our time out of the room I wasn't overly fussed on the negative aspects of the room, we will probably find something with a bit more sunlight next time around, but if you're looking a cheaper option that is still not a bad place to get some shut eye, I would still recommend it - maybe ask for a room that isn't on the bottom floor if possible.
I always figured that our first day would be on foot, just wandering around and taking in where we were. Our hotel was located only a few blocks from Central Park so we made our way in that direction as we searched for coffee. As we walked the blocks, I instantly knew this would be a place I'd be coming back to one day - the amount of streets and shops and sights to see, it wasn't something we could get done, even in our five days here.
Just before we hit Central Park we walked into Columbus Circle. Columbus Circle is basically just a huge and heavily trafficked roundabout. Aside from being close to Central Park, the roundabout is also lined by a variety of high end shops and other commercial buildings.
After walking through Columbus Circle and finding a stand for a coffee and breakfast muffin just on the border of Central Park, we made our way into the place that would quickly become one of the top highlights of the whole trip.
As you step into Central Park, you will completely forget you're in the middle of a bustling city - you can't hear a single car, bus or truck as you make your way to the middle. You could literally wander around all day and probably still not see it all - there are so many areas to see, sit at and so many paths to take, it's kind of overwhelming. We ended up seeing about half of the park during our stay this time and I would definitely come back to just explore the other half.
If you ever have a day with not a lot to do and it's a nice out, nothing would be better than taking some food and setting up a picnic and spending a few hours just laying around. Also, if you happen to go at the right time of the year, they have some pretty good acts putting on small gigs in the park - so always do some goggling on what's on during your time there to make sure you don't miss something awesome.
Eventually finding our way out of Central Park, we choose a random direction in which to walk and kept exploring. As we wandered, we realised we were heading in the direction of the Empire State Building and decided to make our way there and tick another must-do item off our list. As we made our way there, we suddenly found ourselves in front of the famous New York Public Library and had to take a quick detour and head inside.
Going inside the Public Library is free. Some areas are roped off and only accessible for people who are actually there to use the library's resources, but you can still go inside most sections to have a little look - and yes, you can go and see that famous room with row after row of desks and the classic lamps that you've no doubt seen in all the movies. You can't wander the room unless you're there to sit and read, but there is a small roped of area just inside the door for you to go in, check it out and take a quick snap.
Then we made our way to the Empire State Building. Navigating the building is a pretty simple process, as you just follow the lines and roped off pathways to make your way to the top. In terms of crowds, at the time we went (on a weekday and a little bit after lunch time), the crowd wasn't anything to crazy. One part of the journey to the top which I thought was an awesome addition, was the elevator ride. As you wizz up level after level, the roof of the elevator plays a video of the construction of the building, taking you through the scaffolding and bare bones of each level as you make your way up.
Once at the top, as you make your way through the crowd and find yourself a viewing spot, I can definitely say the view is worth making your way up there for. There are a few different buildings you can choose to go up and see the city from above (such as the Rockefeller Centre) but I honestly feel like once you've been up one and seen the view, you've seen it all. One of the most spectacular views was definitely seeing Central Park from above and really getting a sense of just how huge it is!
Once we got back down to the bottom of the Empire State and back on the streets, my partner and I both agreed our feet were feeling pretty wrecked and it was time to make our way back to the hotel.
As we navigated back, we made our way through
Times Square, which was only a couple of blocks from our hotel.
One thing to note about Times Square, whether you go day or night, it is always busy! Busy to the point it can be pretty hard to find a good spot to stop and get a few snaps, but I still highly recommend making your way there if you're ever in New York. I would also say try and go once during the day and once at night - it truly takes on another life at night (we went back at night on another day, so I'll post the photos of that in another post).
New York can feel a little overwhelming at first - there is so much to do and so much to see, you wonder how you'll get through it all and honestly, unless you're spending a couple of weeks there, you probably won't and you'll need to make your way back at some point. But, after a day of walking around the city and trying to take it all in, I loved the city and knew this was one place I would be coming back at some point.
