24 Hours in NYC
First stop, we grabbed a train to visit the new neighborhood Shelby and fam would be moving into the week after we left. Just down the street from their new apartment; this place was cute, tasty, and came with classic NYC vibes. I think I will be spending a lot more time here on future trips.
From uptown we took the train back down south towards Central Park. It started to sprinkle and the sky was grey, but this area is amazing on a warm sunny day with some epic city views.
A short walk to the east side of Central Park took us to The Met. You could easily spend an entire day here. This museum is one of my faves! Considering we had two blonde haired bowling balls of energy in the ACTUAL Met, we explored for about an hour then relocated their energy back to the outdoors.
Blake is ultra obsessed with Home Alone this season (can't blame him because it's def my top five movies of all time). So it was only fitting that I took him to see "where Kevin stayed." I have never stayed here but this place is a NYC icon and I promised the kids a stay here in the future. From here, cousin Baker went back with Shelby to rest and so she could continue packing. Blake and I took off on foot to explore more of the city!
Make sure you go inside! Just mind your noise if mass is in service.
We caught a glimpse of the famous Rockefellar tree which was due to be removed the following day. Blake recognized it of course as the tree in Home Alone :D We didn't skate this time (too much on my sites to see) but I have skated here before. I will say it is pricey but worth it to do at least once especially if the tree is up.
Maybe my favorite find of the day! This place looks like a library straight out of Harry Potter. Fellow book nerds please hear me: visit this museum!! The history of these books and how well preserved they are floored me. Original copies of Mark Twain, a Gutenberg bible (they have 3...what?!), original music notes, so many classics and so well preserved. Blake gave me about 35 minutes here, but I could have spent hours. They closed at 5pm anyway and we were running out of daylight.
From Morgan Library we backtracked a few blocks north to Grand Central terminal. By this point Blake was getting pretty tired so the magnificence of this didn't really appeal to him but he let me snap some cute pics anyway. We jumped on the train to skip south to the Statin Island Ferry.
After getting off the train at Whitehall Terminal, follow the signs on a short walk to the ferry. This is a completely FREE service! Don't fall prey to scammers trying to sell you tickets. The ferry departs every 30 minutes for the most part and takes you out to St George on Staten Island before returning back to Manhattan. Round trip is about 50 minutes. This takes you by the Statue of Liberty for some pretty epic views. If you want up close and personal with lady liberty you can pay for tours that do that. This option is great if you want to save a few bucks and are okay with seeing her from a distance.
Finally getting back to the apartment well after Blake's bedtime, we fed him a quick snack and then off to bed. Shelby ordered us Presto, the freshest Mexican I've ever had. I had the chicken taco bowl (see my pic) and it was so dang good I will eat here again even after they've moved Uptown because I can't stop thinking about it
Bonus must try foodie find:
This Israeli based Mediterranean street food is possibly the best food I've ever had in NYC. I believe there are two locations, we dined at the one inside Chelsea Market. Shelby told me about this being her favorite place to eat for her birthday and she did not disappoint with the food recs this weekend!! Seating is dicy, if you're patient (or lucky) you'll grab a seat at the counter top or open bench seating is available on the floor(ish). Literally I would eat this food on a bathroom floor if I had too, so don't be scared away if there is no seating.
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