New York City - 2016

NYC 2016: First time in NYC - Tourist Trip 

My husband Phil surprised me with this trip for my Birthday which is in May since I had never been to NYC. We went in July for the 4th. 

Train: Round Trip Lynchburg VA - NYC $600 Booked 3 mo. in advance

Hotel: Hilton Garden InnTimes Square - $

Dates: July 2nd - July 5th

Day 1. July 2nd - First time in NYC the very first thing we did was simply walk around Time's Square, it was only a block from the hotel. Staying in Time's Square might be expensive, but the convenience is worth it. Not to mention the view from this hotel is great, and there is a window that opens to the street!

- Then we grabbed a slice of Pizza, honestly they are everywhere.

- Then it was cannoli at Carlos Bakery. 

< - Then we went to the bar at Rockefeller Center! Delicious frozen Lemonade!

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- Then we saw our first attraction, Top of the Rock! This is really cool at night and is a great view of the city. I recommend doing either Empire State or Top of the Rock at night and do the other during the day. That way you get both views. Top of the Rock is about $40 per person and you can book your date and time in advanced. This is something I always do because it helps me organize other activities around the ones that are already scheduled. 

Day 2. July 3rd - Breakfast at Roast Kitchen. Great little spot right by the hotel. 

- Then we swung by Fox & Friends to wave to mom and dad! 

- You have to walk by St. Patrick's Cathedral too!

- Then it was on to the iconic Central Park! It was great to just walk around and take in the site, but what I really loved and thought was worth it was riding boats around! I got to paddle us around the lake in Central Park and it was great! 

- One of my favorite meals found on just about every street corner, Gyro/Lamb over Rice!! Street food is the best because it's pretty cheap and you can walk around with it. 

- We are big fans of How I Met Your Mother so McGee's Pub was on our list. They have pictures of the cast and show inspired drinks on the menu. 

- Then we saw Aladdin on Broadway! It was incredible! 

- Then since we were dressed up we decided to go to a fancy restaurant. We went to The Lamb's Club, Geoffrey Zakarian's restaurant. For an appetizer we had the gnocchi. I had the crab spaghetti with a lemon butter sauce and Phil had wild boar and mushroom. All of which was some of the best food I've ever had. Then for dessert we had white asparagus ice cream. Which was surprisingly good minus the beat that was on the top. 

- Then we did something I don't recommend, but it was an experience. We took free comedy tickets from someone walking on the street earlier in the day that told us to report to a location at a certain time. To be fair the worked for a company it wasn't a random stranger. There was supposed to be a 2 drink minimum with the free tickets but we were lucky to get 1 drink in the time we were there. It started around 11am and about every 5 minutes they would bring in a new comedian. By 2am we had had enough. The only highlight of that experience was Ayanna Dookie! She's hilarious!

Day 3. 4th of July - I was working for an ABC affiliate in Lynchburg at the time so we got VIP passes to GMA! Then we went over to be in the outdoor crowd at the Today Show. 

- Then we decided to walk the Highline which I HIGHly recommend! Great views and cool green space in the middle of a big city. Unfortunately we didn't take a lot of pictures here.

- Then we went to what would become my favorite place for a drink. McSorley's Old Alehouse. It still has sawdust on the floor from when it was built, it's cheap, you can only order light or dark, and you get two at a time. You also must have CASH!

- Then we did some more sightseeing. We went to the 9/11 memorial which was very sobering. We also went to Wall street and saw the bull. Stopped by Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty too. 

- Then it was time for our 4th of July party at Brooklyn Grange. This was a pricey event but we planned far enough in advanced it was worth it. I think it was about $150 per person, but it was all you could eat and drink and you could see both sets of fireworks in the city. They only sold about 100 tickets so it was a pretty intimate party. There was also a live band!

Day 4. July 5th - It was Empire State building day! We lucked out because it was a little overcast, which meant is was foggy at the top. Because of this no one was there and we got discounted tickets. Judge for yourself, but I was happy with the experience. 

- Then it was time for one last meal and of course it was pizza! We really liked this place called Ray's!

One thing we didn't do this trip that we should have was take the Subway more, it makes getting from place to place a lot faster. Other than that we walked a lot which was good because we were able to stop in places. I recommend saving about $1,500 - $2,000 in spending money as well. That way it makes the trip a lot more relaxing because you aren't worried about money.