NYC // pt 1

I am finally getting around to sharing some of my favorite photos from last month's trip to NYC with my sisters and Greg. We had an awesome time exploring the Big Apple while also planning for time to soak it all in at various parks. Greg and I had been in NYC before, but this was our first trip together (other than visiting each other's cities). It was my sisters' first trip to NYC, so it was really fun planning seeing their reactions to so many of the awe-inspiring views of the city. 

Here are the photos from the first evening (which we spent in Weehawken, New Jersey, where we were staying in an Airbnb rental) and the first full day in Manhattan. Greg came a few days later, so he's missing from these photos. We loved our Airbnb railroad-style apartment. And it was super close to Manhattan! We hopped on a private bus two blocks from the apartment, payed the $3 fee, and within 15-30min (depending on the Lincoln Tunnel traffic), we were in Time Square! We never had to wait for a bus because there was always one there for us to hop onto whether in NJ or NYC. 

 We walked for fifteen minutes to get to the Weehawken Waterfront Park where we saw this beautiful skyline of Manhattan. We were so pumped to explore the next day!

 We used Big Bus Tours and bought two-day passes for the hop on-hop off tourist buses. I had used the bus in London during my two visits and was impressed with it, so decided to use it for NYC. We decided to explore Upper Manhattan and Harlem the first day and saved Midtown and Lower Manhattan for the second day. The following photos are from the Upper Manhattan, starting in Time Square and heading east before north.

 

We bumped into and probably photobombed more selfies than we could count at Grand Central Station and admired the intricate details of the architecture of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

We explored The New York Public Library, but sadly, the famous Reading Room (with the artwork on the ceilings) was under construction. We enjoyed a photography exhibit and the gift shop, though.

We soon got hungry and our feet needed respite from walking, so we grabbed sandwiches from Pret-A-Manger (my favorite place to grab lunch on-the-go in London). We found an empty spot at Bryant Park just in time before the lunch crowds appeared. We loved Bryant Park and returned two or three other times during the week. 

We eventually got back on the bus and headed toward Central Park. We explored just a bit of the western middle of the gigantic part. It was a hot day and we knew we would see more of it within a few days by bike, so we just wanted to soak it all in that day. 

 We loved the fairytale feeling of the Shakespeare Garden and the Belvedere Castle as well as the calming views of Turtle Pond from atop the castle's viewing areas.

We ended up riding in the bus for about an hour as we heard the tour guide talk about Harlem's sites as well as the the east part of Central Park (the swanky fifth avenue) and back to Time Square. We were beat by the time we got back and called it a night pretty early since we knew we'd have a lot to see the next day.