TUESDAY, JULY 11, 2017
Living next to New York my whole life, you would think I’d gone into the city often and seen everything it has to offer. But my first time in New York on my own was my senior year of high school. Since then, I’ve only done sporadic day trips to the city with different companions, making each trip to the city feel like a new experience. What’s also great about New York City is that there is so much to do, you’re not likely to run out of things to do. This summer I had the pleasure of exploring New York with my friend, Ariel.
HOW TO GET THERE
From New Jersey, there’s lots of ways you can get to New York. For me, the best way is to drive 20 min to New Brunswick and catch a bus to Port Authority from the Park and Ride Lot. The bus is part of Suburban Transit and is only $21 USD round trip. The round trip ticket, you can use at anytime so you’re not tied to a timetable. Buses also run pretty frequently with one every 30 min. During rush hour, buses come every 10-15 min. If there’s no traffic, the drive can be an hour or nearly 2 hours when there’s traffic in the Lincoln tunnel. I would say on average it takes about 1.5 hours to get from the bus stop to Port Authority.
BLACK TAP
I hopped on the bus in the morning and met Ariel at Black Tap in Midtown. You’re probably wondering why I chose this place out of all the possible places to eat in New York City. Well, I had originally came for a milkshake. Their milkshakes look amazing!!! But you really have to be in the mood to enjoy something that sweet. I wish I got it but after being full from the burgers, I didn’t have it in me to drink a large milkshake with all the works. Maybe one day I’ll go back. Burgers were okay. I don’t remember it being extraordinary, other than it was huge. With the toppings and the additions advertised, it was difficult to take a bite out of it. Also, their portion of fries is ridiculous. Each burger came with a side of fries. When I say “side,” I actually mean large plate. The fries actually might have been larger than the entree itself. It’s a shame that neither Ariel or I could finish our fries.
TKTS
We for sure wanted to see a Broadway play that night, so we got in line about an hour early at the TKTS booth in Time Square. If you don’t already know, TKTS sells day of tickets at a discount price. usually around 20-50% off the original price. I’ve used this method twice. Both times we’ve gotten relatively good seats, they’re just off to the side, but still good seats. TKTS is legit and you don’t have to worry about it being some kind of scam.
BELVEDERE CASTLE
After we got our tickets, we headed uptown to drop my stuff off. We then made our way to Belvedere Castle in Central Park via subway metro. It’s a small castle inside Central Park. You’ll find it right behind Shakespeare in the Park. The castle itself is not too bad. It doesn’t quite look like it’s got a historical significance on the outside, but if you climb to the top of the tower, you get pretty views of the park. Shout out to Ariel for patiently taking my photos up on the tower.
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Last time I was in New York, I really wanted to see the reading room. Unfortunately, it was under renovations. Ariel indulged me and we went into the library and got to see the reading room. It’s a beautiful library. If I had a library like this accessible to me in college, I probably would have studied a lot more at the library. We grabbed a quick dinner at a Korean market and made our way to the theater.
BROADWAY
Ariel and I chose to see Anastasia. We were really excited to see
this show, but it wasn’t what we expected. Obviously, the story line
isn’t going to follow the Disney plot, but our overall impression of it
was it was okay. The costumes were beautiful and the songs were just as
I imagined it would be. The audience is kind of important in theater
and there were a lot of girls/ women in the audience. If you’re looking
for a Broadway show for a girls weekend, this is it. If you’re taking
girls under the age of 12, this is the show for you. If you are in your
twenties and a fan of good looking actors, this is the show for you. I
will agree that the actors were handsome, but the cheering section two
rows in front of us made me feel I was at a One Direction concert
instead of a Broadway Play. Anytime this one actor opened his mouth,
they hollered. Now, I could totally be off based and maybe they are
personal friends of the actor, there to support him in his endeavors,
loudly.
If you do go and you want to indulge on drinks and snacks, save up some money. The drinks and the candy don’t come cheap.
In the end, I still love seeing a play. If I had all the money in the world, I would go and see all the shows on Broadway. Seeing a Broadway show is still a must for me.
TIMES SQUARE
When you exit the theater, you’ll also get the chance to see Times Square at night. It’s just as bustling at 11pm. But of course, be smart and be alert. It is New York after all and you never know.
DAY 2 – WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017
BLUESTONE LANE
For brunch, we got breakfast at Bluestone Lane (Upper East Side location). It was really good breakfast for a decent price. I would absolutely come back here. The avocado toast was yummy!
THE MORGAN LIBRARY
The Morgan Library was Ariel’s suggestion and I’m so glad she did. I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s not a museum that I had heard about. It’s smaller compared to other museums in New York, but I thought it was quite interesting. For a hefty price of $20, you can tour the library that used to belong to J.P. Morgan. It took me a while to connect the dots. It wasn’t until I was walking around the exhibits and reading about J.P. Morgan, I realized we were in the library belonging to THE J.P. Morgan. This guy was seriously a force of nature. He was such a successful businessman and then I got to learn about his hobbies at the museum. Who knew he was into archeology and digging up artifacts. His library is beautiful and his study has a hidden safe that was cool. It reminded me a bit of Casa Loma in Toronto. If you have the time and the money, I recommend briefly stopping by this place. On Fridays, the museum is free from 7-9pm.
Sushi for lunch and it’s back to Jersey for me. Meeting Ariel in Toronto the next day!
Much love, Tina. x.
