I had grown up in Philadelphia, a short 2-hour train ride to New York City. Because of this, I was able to visit that area quite often while I was growing up. I had continued to visit New York from time to time after moving away from Philly but it has been several years since I was able to return here. The constant energy and activity occurring makes New York among my favorite cities to visit within the United. Wandering through the massive buildings while sampling incredible food from around the world is something I can’t imagine getting tired of. This latest trip here was a short one out of necessity, so we planned on cramming as much activities as we could into a few days, primarily spent in Manhattan. We took the train from Trenton to Grand Central Station and headed towards our hotel. We stayed at the Millenium Hilton near UN plaza; I highly recommend this hotel for anyone that plans on visiting New York City. It's a convenient location that is within a 15-minute walk of most attractions such as Times Square and Broadway. The views offered from the hotel rooms were among the best views we had seen on our trip. The Freedom Tower, Empire State, and Chrysler Buildings were amazing to see right in front of our window all night, especially once their lights came on after dark.
After settling into the hotel and spending time to admire the sprawling skyline outside of our window, we headed towards mid-city to begin exploring. Our first stop on our adventure was Times Square, an iconic part of the city and for good reason. The square is filled with sights to see, energy, and attractions in every corner. Neon lights, LED billboards, massive skyscrapers, seas of people, and random concerts were occurring throughout the entire square regardless of what time we wandered back here. Whether its getting a quick bite to eat at one of the many food trucks along the side streets or taking in a show at nearby Broadway; it would be difficult to not find something to do while wandering this part of the city. For more affordable activities to do in this, Midtown section of the city; simply wandering the streets to observe the abundance of historic buildings within the city can be an all-day event. In fact, during our visit we did spend an entire afternoon simply wandering from site to iconic site. We had an amazing time playing tourist by stopping by as many of these locations as we could. Because many of these landmarks are within walkable distance of one another; it only took us a few hours to see time square, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, Macy's, the Chrysler building, Trump Plaza, and many other renowned sites that have been featured in countless movies and TV shows. There's no place quite like New York with nonstop energy and activity that last all night, something happening at every hour of the day, and something fun to see on every block.
The next day, we wanted to see New York from a different perspective so we chartered a yacht for a tour around Manhattan Island. This was the first time in several years I was able to do this and thrilled to get the opportunity again. Seeing the city and surrounding Burroughs from the water allows you to see a completely different side of New York City and showcases both the interconnectedness between the different sections of the area as well being able to see just how large the city truly is. This yacht trip not only allowed for great views of the iconic sites of New York such as the Midtown skyline and Statue of Liberty, but it also showed the historic, developing, and still wild parts of the island such as the Northern edge of the island which still retains the original forest native to the island. For anyone visiting New York, this is an experience I would highly recommend.
After our tour on the water, it was time to get back into the thick of the city and begin exploring several more of the historic neighborhoods and cultural centers that had developed within New York through generations of immigration. Our first stop was in Chinatown to try out imported fruits, Peking duck, and different baked goods. We were able to try a variety of exotic fruit that is normally difficult to find at more mainstream grocery stores with the rambutan being among my favorites. Another unique treat that stood out to me was the matcha cream puffs. The buildings and streets signs were all in Chinese, adding to the cultural immersion within this small section of the city. Neighborhoods like this that can retain their unique cultures and cuisine are among the qualities that make New York City so fun to explore. Right next to Chinatown, is a second historic neighborhood within the city known as Little Italy. This is an incredible neighborhood that is a large reason for why this city has garnered such a high reputation for quality Italian food. Wandering through the neighborhood still looks like many of classic movies that take place in New York during the early part of the 1900s. The streets are lined with restaurants with covered outdoor sitting booths that reminded me of my travels through the smaller towns in Italy. No trip to New York would be complete without enjoying some of the area’s renowned Italian cuisine so we were sure to try everything from pasta to the cannoli’s, all of which proved that New York’s reputation for Italian food is well warranted. We had lunch at a small restaurant in Little Italy known as Benito One where we had an incredible pizza and pasta lunch. Both the atmosphere and the service were exceptional, and the food was the best Italian meal I've had outside of Italy. We started with a Margherita Pizza before enjoying platters of spaghetti and meatballs and stuffed shell pasta. It marked a great way to finish of our short adventure through New York before it was time to board the train and head back towards our next destination.
Exploring cities while traveling is a fun way to really immerse in a different culture and way of life through their art, food, and events. New York offers plenty of all three for anyone able to travel through the area. I look forward to seeing more and more cities in my travels in order to keep expanding my outlook by immersing myself in the plethora of different cultures that can be found on this amazing planet. But that is a story for another day…
Comments