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Once of the things that I’ve loved about living in DC is how easy it is to get up to NYC. For a few dollars, I can hop on a bus and be up there in 4 hours (or 3.5 if I take the train). The ease of it has made my number of trips increase over the last few months. It’s not that I want to move to New York, in fact, I have no desire to. I just have a handful of friends up there and I love seeing shows. So knowing I could take a day trip to New York if I wanted to is kind of awesome.
Normally, my New York trips up are for 24 to 48 hours.
Sometimes even 12 hours, if I’m feeling really ambitious. I’d meet up with a friend for a meal, go see a show, get another meal, then head home. If I’m staying longer, I’ll typically try to add in some other event that I’ve heard about, squeeze in seeing another friend, or schedule some sort of blog meeting. It’s honestly not super exciting day trip to New York if you’ve never been to NYC before. I actually did a lot of the tourist stuff during trips in high school, so I’ve felt a lot less pressure to fit them in now.
But, this weekend was a fun twist.
J.Crew Factory Shirt Dress (Similar)
Urban Outfitters Flat (Similar)
Sole Society Bag (0ld), similar
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J.Crew Factory Shirt Dress (Similar)
Urban Outfitters Flat (Similar)
Sole Society Bag (0ld), similar
My parents came up to New York this weekend because my dad was doing the Bike the Boroughs ride. Since I had a fairly open weekend, I thought it would be fun to take the train up and join them. My mom had done a little digging and found a Harper’s Baazar article of 90 Things to Do in NYC, so she pulled out the things she wanted to do from that.
On Saturday, we got a quick breakfast from Baked in Tribeca (which was delicious) and then headed down to catch the ferry. My dad was told that the easiest way to pick up his rider’s packet was to take the ferry. But, I think the ride coordinator forgot to tell the ferry company that they had told 32,000 riders to do so. Needless to say, they couldn’t fit all of us on the first ferry we showed up to take and had to wait an hour for the next one.
After the packet pick up and going through the biker’s convention, we headed over to Brooklyn Flea. So I didn’t realize that the Saturday Brooklyn Flea is a lot calmer and smaller than the Sunday version. It was also inside (and partially outside) a multicomplex building center. Based on the pictures, I think this may be the more children friendly version? Next up was walking the Brooklyn Bridge! Oddly enough, this was the touristy thing I had never thought to do. It was pretty amazing though and gave us great views of New York.
After that?
A quick nap, a run to midtown so I could make some quick returns, and then back down for dinner in Little Italy. Followed by gelato, of course. Then passing out. Before 10pm on a Saturday night. I’m a crazy kid, I know.
Sunday morning, my dad headed out early so he could get to his starting place nice and early, while my mom and I slept in. She and I watched some of the bikers ride by our hotel (we had premium watching spots) and slowly got ready. We then headed over to Maman for the most delicious brunch. I think that place gets better every time I go there.
Then, we walked over to Everlane!
I’m not going to lie, I was speed walking. I couldn’t help it, I just love the store and I was excited to go back again. I could have browsed all day, but I decided to order these flats, and we headed out. Since my mom put up with my Everlane excitement, I let her pick all of the stores after that. We visited a few and then headed to the Upper East Side to meet up with my friend Whitney!
Whitney took us on the best bakery tour: the bakery where the black and white cookie was invented and the best cupcake shop. We, of course, capped it off with tea at Alice’s Tea Shop (chapter 3). Then, somehow tricked ourselves into walking 40 blocks to see the Reading Room at the New York Public Library. Whitney abandoned us, but my dad joined us, and we were off to dinner.
So here’s where I have to put in a note. When you go to a restaurant where the waiters are wearing white jackets, assume you’re going to be charged for everything. Including water. My parents and I found this our the super hard way. We asked our hotel for a recommendation for chinese food and they sent us to Mr. Chow’s around the corner. I feel like all the New Yorker’s who read this are shaking their heads at us right now. The food was good, but guys, don’t worry, I’ve learned my lesson. Next time a restaurant asks if I want still or sparking water, I’ll make sure to say free.
And that actually ends my trip to New York! After that we really just went to sleep. The next morning was quickly packing and heading for the train!
Now, when you’re planning your day trip to New York, I have a few suggestions:
- If it’s only for a day, either know exactly what you want to do, or be prepared to probably not to anything. My mom had the places she wanted to go and we managed to get to most of them because she had a plan.
- Cluster the things you want to do based on where they all are.
- Get a metrocard to save you time and money. If you decide to rideshare, do Via (use discount code dana7w6) or Uberpool.
- If you aren’t set on certain restaurants, just be open to eating where ever. It makes things a lot easier.
That’s it! Let me know if you have any tips for a day trip to New York!
Photography by Alex Good
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