NYC Day 1: Total Culture Shock




Let me start with saying "woah". Before going to New York we've been pretty new to the travel game. We typically drive everywhere, even if it's to Colorado... And this was our second flight. Awesome! From the biggest cities we've been to previously being Denver, Atlanta, Nashville, and the cities in our home state of Florida, New York City made everything else feel so incredibly small. It's hard to grasp that you're in a place that's larger than life.

Words of advice: 
Go to the Empire State Building. There might be lines, it might be expensive (we paid $32 for the 86th floor observatory deck) but you must go. And go late at night. The building is open until 2am so after about 10pm the crowds die down a bunch and you can walk around the deck (that circles the building) and you'll see the city lights go on forever in every which way. It really leaves you speechless being the highest thing in the sky. It's oddly quiet too, except for the people around you, you don't hear much up there. 

More advice: 
Central Park has very minimal directional signs (we got lost for a few hours). We've also determined that all of the walking directions with iPhone when you use the built-in gps has a very hard time working with the big buildings and in parts of Central Park, so try to either download a map before going that you can use offline, buy a map when you get there, or use your gps for the street signs and kinda navigate yourself. I can't tell you how many times We've already got lost from our gps not updating which direction we were walking in. 

Things to expect: 
•Everything costs more. I mean, we figured it would but it REALLLLLY costs more. I'm talkin $6 for a side of bacon or added chicken to a Caesar salad. 
•Midtown Manhattan smells like petroleum and trash. From living on the beach with the smell of saltwater and sunscreen, it was a bit of a let down to transition from that to being afraid to take a deep breath in fear you're inhaling a years worth of carcinogens in two minutes. 
•Uber is everywhere. I don't totally feel comfortable taking Ubers, but we did... And it worked pretty well in comparison to cabs and you could view how much your ride was gonna cost (approximately) before you book it. Also, the subway was terrifying. Super confusing, and crowded but I mean.... If it's your first time in NYC, you gotta take it at least once! 
•Bring some dress clothes. I'm not gonna lie, In Florida we don't dress up too fancy for many places, but here in NY, dress codes are all over the place! It's a bit aggravating because I'm not too much about that scene, but if you're expecting to go to a rooftop bar or something, dress accordingly. 

Our Day One Agenda: 
After checking into our hotel (Cambria-Times Square, which I would totally recommend), we walked to Times Square, Central Park, and Rokefeller Center. We then got our "fancy clothes" on went to dinner at a Brazillian restaurant nearby, and headed off the the Empire State Building. Doesn't sound like much, but you could spend all day in Central Park (especially if you're directionally challenged like we are). 

Anyway, here are some photos!  Thanks for joining us! 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bee hotels are not fun...

Image
So this weekend we decided to get up and go somewhere local-ish. We discovered a little preserve, Emerson Point, right off the manatee river in Palmetto, Fl that had so much to offer... Like a tree knot that looked like a hippo face, shown in one of the photos below! We packed up our things (and by that I mean our cameras and dog) and hit the road just in time to catch a good view of the Bay Area and some local birds doin their bird thing. We also ran into a bee hotel... Which was not by any means relaxing. This place was great and incredibly dog friendly with allowing our little furry child to play in the private beach areas, run along nice trails, and catch a break under some beautiful banyon trees (with a leash attached). There's a lookout tower to enjoy some views of the area as well as many opportunities to see amazing wildlife including some playful Dolphins (they were just not into being photographed by us). Take a look for yourself though, it's definitely deserving of m...
Read more

The Tallulah Falls Gorge State Park Workout

Image
This weekend getaway took us from our home in Apollo Beach to a breathtaking gorge in North Georgia, and arriving at our ultimate destination in the Smoky Mountains just outside of Pigeon Forge. I really enjoy road trips most of the time just because of the actual destination part, but all the in-betweens really just feel like wasted time so we generally try to drive overnights and get where we’re going in the early to mid-morning hours. This time we left at midnight and traversed the highways up to Tallulah Gorge State Park, Ga. Of course, I get motion sickness really easily and drove most of the way, tried to sleep the rest, which resulted in a never ending nausea and some fun moments scrambling for a trash bag near Atlanta… all part of the fun, right? Anyways, Tallulah Falls Gorge is amazing. While we are in the Smokies and surrounding areas, there are currently some pretty major forest fires that have been burning for a week or so by now and it has left much of the neighbo...
Read more

Mining for Quartz in LaGrange,GA

Image
Hogg Mine This trip had all of a few days of planning from the time we were invited to the night we left. My dad actually asked us randomly early in the week if we wanted to go to Georgia with him to mine for rose quartz. I'm going to be honest and admit I had never thought of mining and/or rose quartz but I am not the kind of person to say no to a trip! So we tagged along.  The drive was about seven hours from Tampa FL and we left sunny and 75 to go to overcast and 30. We were unaware of the temperature change due to our zero planning so we had to buy some warm clothes to keep from freezing in the mine all day. We slept in the car for the night and was off to the dig site! We mined for rose quartz, smokey quartz, tourmaline, and aquamarine from 9am-5pm for only $35 a person and a 5 gallon bucket limit! We found our fill in gems and crystals and were on our way back home with sore body parts and a few minor injuries due to a pick-axe to the hand. But if you're ever...
Read more