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Travel Bloggers

Ali
Katie

New York, New York Day 1

New York City, Day 1 (Followed by New York City, Day 2 and New York City, Day 3)

One great thing about the northeastern part of the US is that you can drive for an hour and be not only in a different state, but also in a completely different state of mind! Up to this point in our travels, we have visited New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. We’ve driven through national parks, wandered around sleepy towns, and admired the simple life that many New England residents enjoy. We’ve visited covered bridges, poet’s gravesites, and roadside fruit stands. And, all in all, we’ve done a lot of relaxing and taking in the countryside.

Our trip took a radical turn when we crossed the border of Connecticut and entered our country’s most famous, busy, crowded, and cultured city… New York City.

We were welcomed in to New York by a congested toll road, which we paid $2.50 to cross. Immediately, I realized we weren’t in the laid-back country any longer. The posted speed limits, turn lane signs, and even the road markings themselves seemed to be mere suggestions to this new breed of drivers we were encountering. It was like everyone had a rental car and had paid the full coverage so they could ding, dent, and scratch up their vehicles without a second thought! We, on the other hand, had opted out of that insurance, so we were holding our breaths at every intersection, and hoping we wouldn’t get sideswiped by some invincible taxi or giant bus.

For about fifteen minutes I was a normal, conscientious driver, obeying all the laws, and even letting most people merge into my lane if they were so inclined. AFTER the initial fifteen minutes, I caught the New York City driving bug, and for some reason started using my horn. For your information, I hate using my horn, I think it’s rude and obnoxious and even when I have to use it for safety reasons, I try to wave at the driver in apology as I pass by them. During my first drive through New York I think I used my horn about fourteen times…some of which may have been accompanied by yelling four letter illustrations of my feelings.

This was Katie’s first time to New York, and also her first time seeing me as an aggressive driver. I actually think it was the first time I’ve BEEN an aggressive driver! Something in New York just brings it out of you I guess. To make a very long story a little shorter, we did our initial drive through of the city, Katie with white knuckles, me with gritted teeth, and both of us with a strong desire to get the hell out of this place!

After we found our way out of the city, thank you iPhone maps, we visited some of the surrounding burrows to try to find a place to stay that was affordable and near a train station so we could easily get into the city without having to drive again. We found just this combination in Bayside. This area came recommended to us by a friend who is a local. She also said that Queens and Estoria were fine to stay in if you’re wanting to stay out of the city, but still close enough to go in every day. We opted for the Ramada in on Northern Avenue. During September, their rooms run $175 per night. Yes, this is steep, but no, you wont find anything cheaper…unless you go into a less desirable neighborhood. I’ll warn you that the walls are very thin, so bring earplugs, but other than that, the hotel is just fine. The Bayside train station is 8 blocks away, which takes you directly to Penn Station, near Madison Square Garden, for $10.50 (off-peak), and we felt safe walking around at night in the vicinity.

After settling in (we actually got to stay for 3 nights, so no repacking every day!!), we immediately headed for Manhattan to spend the rest of the evening there and figure out how we wanted to tackle the sites. There’s so much to see that you really need a plan to get it all done, especially if you’re on a time schedule. Here is a BIG HINT on how to get everything done economically and conveniently: Buy a 48 hour pass through the Red double decker tourist bus company called Grey Line. The value is unbeatable. We spent $68 and received the “Essential New York” tour: a 48 hour pass on the bus that is hop-on, hop-off (basically free transportation around town) including the Brooklyn Tour, The Downtown Tour, The Night Tour, and The Uptown Tour; a pass to the Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock observation deck; and a pass to The Water Taxi, which takes you around the statue of liberty, under the Brooklyn Bridge and all along the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Jersey coast lines. This package not only saved us money, but also took all of the guesswork and navigation out of finding the tourist sites ourselves. You are free to visit the Top of The Rock and The Water Taxi at any time during the 48 hours too, so you’re free to make your own schedule.

Since time was running low for the first day, we decided to take the Downtown Tour, which we boarded at The Empire State Building stop. Honestly, this was the best way to get introduced to the lay of the land and the locations of all the things you want to go back and visit later. Our tour guide was named Chris and he did a great job filling us in on what we were looking at while educating us with obscure facts about the sites and the city. Some things I learned were: you can easily pay over $3000 per month to live in a 1- or 2-bedroom apartment in certain neighborhoods, and, every actor in New York has at least one appearance as an extra on Law and Order! We were given all of the really important facts on the tour too, like who lives where, what scenes from movies were shot in which buildings, and what scandals took place where as well! To see a complete route map of the downtown tour click here.

Our tour ended in Times Square, which I can only describe as “London meets Las Vegas.” As we left the bus we asked Chris where the best pizza in town was because, by that time, we had gone about 7 hours without food! He answered without hesitation and pointed us towards John’s Pizza on 44^th street (within 3 blocks of the bus stop, and right in Times Square). We headed straight there and we were seated right away, which we thought was fantastic for a Friday night. We decided to go classic, and ordered a garden salad to share and a small cheese pizza (which in my opinion is at least a medium! 6 big slices!). The food was as great as Chris said it would be, and we forced ourselves to reserve 2 slices for our breakfast the next morning!

With full bellies, we decided to cruise around Times Square as we meandered back to Penn Station and to our train that would take us home. We marveled at the sheer number of people on the streets, and wondered how many of them were tourists. We took the obvious pictures with the bright lights (of course you have to!!), and tried not to get hit by taxis as we unknowingly wandered into the street because we were looking up instead of ahead!

Since we had driven to New York, found a hotel, and then taken the train in, all in the same day, it was quickly getting late, and we had to catch one of the last trains to Bayside (the line stops running just before midnight, so we had to leave before then). We actually welcomed our early return after the jam packed schedule, and spent a few minutes planning for the next day before shutting things down and turning in. We set our alarms for 8:00am and fell asleep despite being excited for New York City Day 2!

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