Tom and I were excited to be heading back to New York City three years since our honeymoon.
Last time we were here, we were greeted with a cool 2 degrees Celsius, icy winds and snow! This trip we made sure it was during the summer and the weather did not disappoint.
We stayed in an AirBNB apartment in midtown Manhattan above an Italian restaurant. Conveniently, it was only one block from 5th Ave and a short walk to Time Square and Central Park.
Hungry and sleep deprived, we grabbed a bite to eat before we all wandered up to Time Square at sunset.
Day 2 we enjoyed a bagel and coffee breakfast before a wander through Central Park. Last time Tom and I visited, it was covered in snow so we didn’t see much, so walking along the tree lined paths was a first for us and Liam and Kath.
Soaking in the atmosphere of street vendors and entertainers, we made our way through the zoo and towards the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain overlooking The Lake.
In true tourist fashion, we hired a couple of row boats for a romantic morning on the lake, an experience shared with the 100s of other boats and tourists!
We rewarded our rowing efforts with a drink at the The Loeb Boathouse and continued up to Belvedere Castle – a great vantage point to overlook Central Park.
That afternoon we made our way to Central Station, before booking tickets to The Comedy Cellar – a classic New York underground comedy club.
The next day we were a little worse for wear but up early for a free walking tour starting at Wall Street.
Our guide was a walking encyclopaedia! He pointed out buildings, monuments, gravestones in the churchyard, and streets that had so much significance to New York’s history we never would have known.
The tour took us from Wall Street to Ground Zero (9/11 memorial), China Town, Little Italy and Soho. He also took us to the park which was once the centre of the Five Points neighbourhood (made famous by Martin Scorcese’s Gangs of New York).
After our tour we made our way back to Little Italy for lunch before returning to Ground Zero to visit the 9/11 museum. Last time we visited NY (2014) the museum was still under construction.
We walked in not knowing what to expect but our guide from earlier warned us it was a “mood changer.” He wasn’t wrong.
The museum was confronting, sad, fascinating, raw and devastating.
Listening to the voice messages left by passengers and crew aboard the doomed flights to their loved ones will break your heart, so will the stories of the bravery and sacrifice by emergency service personnel who lost their lives. One display that stood out was the fire truck Ladder 3. Every member died when the Twin Towers collapsed but their acts of bravery saved hundreds.
Walking out of the museum and looking over the 9/11 memorial with the names of each victim, you can’t help but feel a heavy heart.
We lightened the mood that night with a Mexican feast and some passion fruit Margaritas. It hit the spot.
The next day Tom and I enjoyed a stroll through Central Park and up to the Natural History Museum. The museum had some pretty interesting exhibits, from the first ever full skeleton fossil of a T-Rex – pretty cool – to some weird and wonderful displays of reptiles, birds, African animals, and even skeleton comparisons of gorillas and humans.
By the time we left, a summer storm had rolled in so we took the metro back to mid-town where Tom was keen to explore a couple of guitar stores.
After lunch we met back up with the Silmans. 5th Ave was calling so Katherine and I left the boys with the babysitter (bartender) and instructions to book a Broadway show, while we made the most of a husband-free afternoon.
With the boys a little rosy and our bags full of H&M and MAC Makeup, it was back to Times Square for the hit Broadway musical Chicago – one of the longest running musicals on Broadway.
After the show, Tom and I looked up the Irish bar which was the inspiration for McLaren’s in ‘How I Met Your Mother.’ McGee’s Bar was located at the end of Broadway in the nightclub district and the walls had signed photos of the famous HIMYM cast. We enjoyed a few pints (and fireball shots) with a couple of Aussie travellers, Andre and Joey, who also happened to be big HIMYM fans.
Just like my new T-shirt, the night was Legen…. Wait for it… Dary! We literally closed down McLaren’s with our new friends with last call at 4am.
The next day was a slow start for us as you can imagine, but we made it to China Town for lunch with the Silmans before taking the Staten Island ferry for a cruise past the Statue of Liberty.
That afternoon we took the Metro to Williamsburg, Brooklyn for a few pints of local brew and sunset views of the New York City skyline. We then ventured on to the Brooklyn Bridge for a night time walk across the famous historic landmark.
For our last day in New York we grabbed a couple of six packs, some hot subs and hopped on to some city bikes for a picnic and ride around Central Park.
Another summer storm dampened our afternoon plans for a rooftop bar, but luckily we found one with an indoor area looking out over the Empire State Building for some cocktails.
It was the perfect end to an exciting week in The Big Apple.
