Just after Halloween we flew over to New York City for 6 days. Granted this was a work trip for me, but as always, with my travel head at the forefront of everything I managed to turn it into a holiday! I roped my parents in (who didn’t take too much persuading) to come and look after Faye on the days I had to work.
For me this was a cheap way to travel, work had paid for my flights, petrol, parking, hotel and food – so I just had to foot the bill for Faye! I took Faye out of school for 4 days. I wrote to the school, they didn’t allow it which was to be expected, but then her teacher wished her a fab trip and said he couldn’t wait to hear all about it – the school is used to me taking Faye out of school here and there, but I understand it can’t ever be approved. Such a shame really as Faye learns SO much when we travel and it’s really helped her to grow, gain confidence and get a greater appreciation of life and whats out there.
I had to work at an exhibition at the Javits Center for 2.5 days, the convention centre is on the west side of Manhattan. My work put us in the Stewart Hotel near Madison Square Garden as it was in walking distance for me to work. It’s also just next to Penn Station which can pretty much get you anywhere via the subway. Hotel location was fab, the lobby and reception were really nice however, the room itself a little dated and noisy but it did have good square footage for an NYC hotel room!
Faye and I had visited NYC about 6 years ago in the summer and had a great time so we were really keen to go back and experience the winter! Unfortunately for Faye we didn’t get any snow, but it was bitterly cold on a few days so definitely glad we packed the ski coats!
As with any trip we do, we got ourselves down to the library to raid the travel section for Lonely Planet guides. I always try to read the most up to date version especially for somewhere like New York that has a constantly evolving list of new restaurants and hotels. For Faye, Lonely Planet do these cute guide books for kids – they’re a shorter version with lots of pictures and Faye really enjoys to have a read ahead of the trip to find out what she’s interested in going to see when we get there.
Here’s what we covered;
- Statue of Liberty – When we were here in 2013 we couldn’t get onto Liberty Island, it was closed off to the public so we keen to do this time. We booked our trip with Statue Cruises. We headed down to Battery Park to get on the ferry, there’s a couple of security points to get through, (I think I took my belt off about 5 times – hot tip – don’t wear a belt!) and the journey takes about 15 minutes. Previously we had done the free Staten Island Ferry but you don’t get anywhere near as close. It was great value for money – $25 for the both of us and we were on Liberty Island for at least 3 hours and then went over to Ellis Island (immigration port) for another hour. Ideally we wanted to go up to the crown but tickets for this sell out about 4 months in advance so we did the next best option of going up to the pedestal for a better view.
- SeaGlass Carousel – We passed this by chance in Battery Park. The cutest little indoor carousel for anyone of any age in my opinion!
- Times Square – This was only a few blocks up from our hotel so one evening we wandered over there. It was as busy as I remember it, with people dressed in knock off Disney costumes trying to get you to pay for photos with them!
- Ellen’s Stardust Diner – A few blocks up from Times Square. This is also somewhere we’d been before but I wanted to take my parents. There’s usually a queue – so be prepared for that or go for breakfast/lunch rather than dinner. You have a meal and the waiters and waitresses sing big musical numbers while you eat, it’s a really fab immersive experience and great for kids.
- Brooklyn Bridge – We got the subway over to High Street, Brooklyn Bridge and walked back over the bridge towards Manhattan. It was a beautifully bright day and took about an hour. This can also get very busy so the earlier you do it the better!
- High Line – Just under 1.5 miles long this disused rail track is an elevated walkway over the West side of Manhattan. There’s lots of sculptures along the route and in summer lots of outdoor seating.
- Chelsea Market – You can drop down from the High Line and come down to Chelsea Market, an indoor food and shopping mall – which was great for a browse and spot of lunch.
- Grand Central Station – A must see tourist hot spot which we passed through one evening on our was to the Library. A beautiful building that you’ll recognise from many films.
- Public Library – Another gorgeous building that you’ll recognise from your TV screen. Free to enter, few security hurdles to get through and you can wander round a number of the rooms. If only it was my local library!!
- Macy’s – Unfortunately for my bank account we were one block away from Macy’s which is one of the largest dept. stores and what was even better was 30% off everything on the night we went in 😍 We only hit a few floors as it was gigantic but the Christmas floor at the top was lovely and Faye found a giant floor piano down in the basement as well.
- Central Park – Another must for anyone visiting. Faye loved recognising different parts from different movies; Friends, Ghostbusters, Stuart Little, Enchanted and the list goes on. We paid about $140 for a 1 hour horse and carriage ride around the whole park. It was very chilly but pretty magical and our guide was really knowledgeable!
- Magnolia Bakery – I queued 45 minutes in Penn Station to get our Magnolia Bakery cupcakes 🧁- they’re divine! Dairy Queen ice cream cakes, The Cheesecake Factory and Magnolia Bakery are part of the reason I keep returning to the USA!
- Rockettes at Radio City – We finished our trip by heading to Radio City and watching the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular – venue amazing – show amazing. Couldn’t recommend it more! The Rockettes are a precision dance troop that have been performing at Radio City Music Hall in the 1930’s.
My parents took Faye to visit the Empire State, Rockefella Center, and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum whilst I had to work. She really got a lot out of the 9/11 Museum and couldn’t wait to tell her teacher about everything she’d learnt there.
Getting Around;
We walked a LOT. To the point we were all soaking our feet in the bath tub one evening as we were in agony! But as we were over the road from Penn Station we used it to get around the city. Although, the first time we went down there it was a bit of a minefield as it’s huge, it’s like a whole other world under there. I didn’t find it hugely easy to navigate but after you’ve asked a few people where to go you soon get the hang of it! We purchased the $1 Metrocard and just loaded money onto it, we shared a card between the 4 of us and just handed it back when you went through the turnstiles. Apparently they can stop working quite easily so we were advised to not load too much money onto it and sharing them is okay rather than buying one each. Faye was just about on the cusp for a child’s fare (done on height, not age) and just had to climb underneath the barrier. We hailed down taxi’s a few times but found the drivers quite rude and by the time you’ve sat in the traffic it’s usually quicker to walk!
The beginning of November is not exactly a peak time to visit, Halloween has wrapped up, Thanksgiving is a few weeks away and the Christmas decorations aren’t quite out in full force yet BUT it was pretty quiet and probably a bit cheaper. We loved New York just as much second time round and still feel there’s lots more we’d like to see! Back to knuckling down to save up for the next one!
OUR TRAVEL DIARY 