Sweet 16 in NYC

I’ve been feeling really inspired lately and I’m not really sure where it’s coming from but I hope it stays.

One of the things that’s been on my mind is how I’ve traveled quite extensively, but a lot of it was before this blog came to be. I used to only write about recent trips but then I thought, “what the heck I have an okay memory, might as well give it a shot.”

SO, a few weeks before my 16^th birthday I was diagnosed with Lupus. And because I had just spent so much time in the hospital I think my family felt really bad for me, which is why I got an early birthday present: a trip to NYC!

My uncle had a business venture in the city and offered to fly me, my friend Sam, my mom and her friend Lisa with him on his private plane (thanks uncle Ronnie).

We were only going to be traveling for 3 days but man did we pack a lot into that amount of time!

The first thing I remember is that our driver got lost going from the airport to our hotel and we ended up crossing the toll bridge into New Jersey about 3 times! If I ever go back to NJ and have time to spare, I’d love to hit up Carlo’s Bakery (Cake Boss fans anyone?).

Break a Leg

When we did finally make it to our hotel, the Millennium Broadway close to Times Square, we were exhausted but still up for adventure. We walked through Times Square and waited in line at the famous TKTS Booth. We were able to snag a pair to the Broadway showing of “Bring it on: the musical”. Gosh, I remember how much I loved that performance.

• 

• 

Shop ‘till ya Drop

The next morning I was woken up by load cars and people, something I wasn’t used to living in the country. Still, I enjoyed people watching outside my widow and thrusting the curtains open like I was the main character in some rom-com movie.

This day we walked around Times Square more and shopped, both inside stores and on the streets. Our lunch was via street cart and I felt like a real New Yorker.

For an early dinner we found the subway and navigated away from the Times Square area to a restaurant my mom had heard good things about. It was a Halloween/costume themed restaurant… now that I think about it, I’m not sure if the restaurant was always like that or if it was just because we went close to Halloween. Either way, it was an experience.

Colder up top

We ended our first full day in New York City by making it to the top of the Empire State Building. We were able to take pictures, get a breath of ~truly~ fresh air and take in the city that never sleeps (at a time when my hometown would’ve been asleep).

**Passes start at $37/adult

Lady Liberty

Our last full day began on a boat, well the Staten Island Ferry to be exact. We took this to see the Statue of Liberty. We were able to get good views from the ferry and we also went on liberty island (where I had bomb ice cream but that’s beside the point).

Unfortunately, during our time there Lady Liberty was under construction so we weren’t able to go up top.

When we made it back to the main land, we made our way to the 911 memorial sites. Whether you’re an American or not, I recommend taking time out of your day to see these break-taking and humbling tributes.

Showtime

After spending the morning tourist-ing around, we made lunch at one of Guy Fieri’s restaurants. I can’t remember the name but I do remember that my friend, whose already a picky eater, wasn’t a fan.

The sun went down quicker than we hoped on our last night in the city, but we stayed out under the lights and danced for the Time Square jumbo-tron.

The next morning we woke up earlier than usual because we wanted to catch Good Morning America before our flight left. And since I was 16 I’ve been able to say that my sweatshirt sleeve was on TV so that’s pretty cool.

∞ Have you been to New York? 

Things I would still like to see are ….

• Central Park
• Grand Central Station
• Coney Island

Like this post? Pin it!