What New York Does to a Girl

The concrete jungle. The city that never sleeps.

New York City.

Falling in love with this city was easy. Last May, my roommate and I explored New York for a week. It was the most eye-opening experience, and traveling somewhere you've never been brought such curiosity out of me. I was left craving more, and since last year, I have been waiting to return.

We initially planned the trip because we were going to see Taylor Swift in New Jersey, and then decided to make a whole trip out of it.

We arrived a couple of days before and explored the entirety of Manhattan. Everything was lively, and I finally understood what people meant by the city that never sleeps. We stayed in Manhattan, and next time, I wouldn't recommend that. We figured that would be the most central location, but we found ourselves going to SOHO every day.

What I loved most about the city and the people was that everyone had somewhere to be. And if they didn't, they were still wandering the city and outside because of the beautiful weather. My favorite thing about this trip (other than Taylor Swift) was the walkability. Everything was manageable, and there were no exhausting hills that took you out for the rest of the day.

My personal favorite day was when we did the typical New York Tourist thing.

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Itinerary -

8 am- Walk to get bagels (we liked Tompkins)

9 am - Sat in the park with Blank Street Coffee

And for the rest of the day, with no place to be we genuinely sauntered through the area.

Sauntering is the act of genuinely experiencing the environment undistracted and wondering without any sense of direction.

Then for lunch, we stopped for a slice of pizza and then some ice cream after.

We followed the One Bite Pizza review app, and I think our favorite was John's on Bleecker St Pizza.

We then walked back home and reconvened for dinner. That night we chose the iconic Halal Guys on every corner of the street in Manhattan. We brought it back to the hotel and ate all together. We honestly LOVED it. It was a great price for what it is.

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The Next Day...

We woke up and I wanted to try the Iconic Tribeca coffee shop, The Laughing Man. Let me just say it was revolutionary. The customer service alone was phenomenal bringing us back every day for this latte. The bagels are also amazing from here.

We then shopped our way around Soho and visited Taylor Swift's Iconic Cornelia St. home. We also saw Carrie Bradsaw's home as well, at the time I didn't even care but let me tell you, I'm obsessed with Sex in the City now.

For lunch, we went to Prince St. Pizza and it did not disappoint. It was phenomenal.

For a midday treat, we visited the iconic Morgenstern's finest ice cream. And the name is true, it is the finest ice cream I've had.

After, my family and I walked around the Upper East Side and we tried out a Thai food spot that everyone in the area seemed to be loving. It was just buzzing in there. The interior was so intricate and detailed and it felt like another world once you stepped in. I wish I could remember the name of this place but it was truly so amazing.

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Every day I want to go back to New York. Despite being there for two weeks, I still crave to go back and visit everything over again. No matter how long you spend in New York, there is something new you get to see every single day.