This past summer, my daughter and I went to NYC. One of my bucket list items was to stay in Times Square. I wanted to see the life and vibrancy of the city and how late that lasted. We drove in to the Trenton Train Station and managed to get an earlier train, woohoo! It took about 1 1/2 hours to get to the city.
Once there, we walked about fifteen blocks or so to stay at the Crown Plaza. The hotel? AMAZING! We weren’t able to get to our room right away since we got there so early. They allow you to check your bags so you can go out and tour the city without being encumbered by your bags.
The first thing we did was hop on the subway to go to the freedom tower. Ummm, that was the first time that I traveled by subway without anyone else who knew what they were doing lol. My daughter and I got on the correct subway, but, we ended up staying on too long and ended up in the fashion district of Brooklyn. Whoops! We then talked to a very nice lady who directed us back to the correct subway. Yeah, I ended up getting us on the wrong one…. Long story short, two more subway rides and we were there!
As with most tourist places, there were companies selling their deals. I decided to go with them because I learned my lesson in Bahamas when we took a ride with a local tour guide. Decided to try that with NYC. Well, at least get the deal on tickets. I truly wish I remembered the name of the company, but, for $118, we were able to see the Freedom Tower as well as go into Madame Tussauds. The view from the Freedom Tower was amazing! We did not have to wait in line for a ticket either. We went one street over to another building to get our tickets and then were able to walk right into the Freedom Tower. Bypassing the line completely. Saving the forty-five minutes we wasted while on the wrong subways! LOL
Jacqui and Ash in the Freedom Tower
After the Tower, we decided to head back up to Times Square and have lunch. We stopped in at Dave and Busters. Since it was so late in the day, we just had appetizers. Their grilled cheese sticks and pizza pretzels were fantastic! We couldn’t take leftovers due to no refrigerator, but, it was good.
After lunch, we went to Madame Tussauds and walked around. We didn’t have to wait in that line either since we already had our receipts for paying down at the Freedom Tower.
Ash and Jenna Marbles
Jacqui and ET
Jacqui and Jimmy
Jacqui and Katniss
I had never been to Madame Tussauds. Couldn’t believe how many were there! They had the GhostBuster Exhibit as well as the Marvel Exhibit. We chose to bypass those.
After we left Madam Tussauds, it was after three and MY FEET WERE KILLING ME!!! So, we went to the hotel to see if we could check in. Plus it was raining, so, it was nice to just get in out of the rain for a little bit. We were able to get in and our room was on the 44th floor with a view of Times Square. Yes please and thank you! Even in the rain, TONS of people!
Love this view even in the rain! <3
Ash
Jacqui and Ash ~ Loved their elevators 🙂
After an hour of resting my poor ravaged feet, we went back down and walked around some more. Of course we went to M&M World. I mean, 1 – it was right there across the street from our hotel and 2 – It’s M&M’s!!!! We did a little shopping. Of course, Ash had to hit up H&M.
Ash LOVES the city 🙂
This was the first time that I hadn’t come up with friends or family. I love the city and can’t wait to go back! When we leave NYC, it’s usually around ten at night and Penn Station is PACKED. We ended up staying overnight because of my Bucket List item. Later in the evening, we had gone to Starbucks and got one of their little to go meals and that was our dinner. We walked around the area some more and just loved watching people, whether they were tourists or locals. From our hotel, we got to see views of apartments. No, we didn’t have binoculars! We were just watching the shadows of people walking around. Some of those apartments were surprisingly huge! We figured they were about $6,000 per month in rent. I looked up apartments in that area and we weren’t too far off!
We went back down to TimesSquare after midnight and some shops were still opened. Some were starting to close.
It was still fairly packed. But, people were more so just standing around and talking. Ash and I hung out, talked about what we loved about the city and of course did pictures. She hasn’t sent hers to me lol.
Here is Times Square at six in the morning:
Huge difference! Even with the number of cabs you see there, there was only two or three people walking or jogging.
We left the hotel, checked my bag and walked around a little more the next morning. But, we ended up leaving around lunch time as we had seen and done almost everything we wanted to do. One thing we didn’t do was go to the movies or see a Broadway show. That will have to be next time! But, we got on the right subway this time! Yes, we took the subway. My feet were still killing me lol. Note to self. Do not wear sandals. Even if you think they are comfortable. Stick with sneakers lol.
Have you been to the city? What is your favorite thing to do?
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Sounds like so much fun! I haven’t been to NYC since July, but I am definitley due for another trip back. I love NYC!
I love New York and actually got a chance to stay in Time Square once. I am so glad that your daughter and you got to have such a wonderful time and create awesome memories.
I love New York City I have not been there in a very long time. I am due to go back soon hopefully. It looks like you guys had a wonderful time, and you did what I want to do witches have a hotel right at time square.
I miss the City! I never thought I was a big city person until I visited NYC. I can’t wait for another chance to head up there and visit.
Looks like an amazing bonding trip. I have loved my trips to NYC city and want to take my own daughters there someday soon!
Looks like you guys had a great time. New York is one of my favorite cities in the world. I love the hustle of the city all hours of the night. I also love staying in Time Square.
I love visiting New York City. Sounds like you had a great time. The subway can definitely be confusing though.
I would love to go to NYC and take my daughter also. I know I couldn’t live there because of the chaos but would love to visit.
Looks like a great time, NYC is about a 5 hour drive for me. We have gone a few times – once with Ragu for brand stuff then with the kids when they were a lot younger. I just told the kids the other day I need to get to Manhattan NYC again sometime with them … now that they are older. Glad you enjoyed the visit.
It sounds like you had a blast in New York. We have been wanting to visit New York for a very long time and hopefully we can go soon. I would love to visit Freedom Tower and Madame Tussauds. There is so much to see and do in New York that we would so enjoy. Thanks for sharing your amazing adventure.
How fun! I would love to visit NYC at some point. It’s a 10 hour drive from where I live, and don’t drive so I’d love to hop on a train! Your pics are great, makes me want to visit asap!
I love New York! Masting the subway is part of the experience. Your hotel sounds ideal for sightseeing.
It is so important to take trips as a family. They really are some great lasting memories! I went to NYC a few years back on a business trip. I can’t wait to go again!
New York is by far my favorite city! It looks like you and Ash had a great time!
Oh wow!! It looks like you had a great time in NYC!! One of my favorite cities for sure!!!
I haven’t been to NYC and I can see you had such an amazing time there! I hope I can visit it soon.
New York City is one of my favorite places to visit. It looks like you had a really great time there – love the pictures!