New York City has always been a destination I wanted to visit since I was a kid. Looking at some of this City's stunning pictures in magazines and in some books would always capture me and imagine for God to bless me see it in reality somehow. I thought then to just continue to believe that someday I'll have my feet in this City!
Though we are living in the US now, this City is still far from where we reside and visiting it is still expensive. But here comes the day! Our Ninang or second parent from the Philippines visited New York and she invited us to join her there. Since we have free days, we gave it a shot and joined her. I couldn't imagine that this really happened.
Start the Tour
- You can download the subway map and even it's app in play store.
- One way fare regardless of distance starts at $2.00
- You just have to be mindful of the changes Train schedules. It is in letters as per train code which corresponds to its destination but sometimes schedules per coding changes.
To start our City tour, we had our lunch first in this Turkish Restaurant along the bay at the beautiful place of Brooklyn. This place known to be one of New York City’s 5 boroughs, sits on the western end of Long Island.
We had a great meal at this restaurant. Food is really good! After having your meal here, you may love to have a walk outside and have fresh air while enjoying some beautiful views.
Since we have our friends on our first day who hosted us with a car living in NY, after Brooklyn, we headed straight to the City to explore the Time Square which is really beautiful at night.
The Time Square at night is truly fascinating. Tourists are populating this area for picture taking and experience these beautiful scenes. Billboards are huge, lights are dancing everywhere, shows, popular stores etc. If you only wish to have some poses for a pictorial in this place, 2 hours would probably good but you would be needing some more time to explore the whole area. It was really cold that night also so we had to cover our body with thermal clothes which you have to consider when you plan to visit at the cold season.
In exploring the Downtown area, experience Time Square, the Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, Wall Street and Battery Park. While in Uptown there are Grand Central Terminal, Central Park, Museum Mile and Upper East Side.
The next spot that we went to was the #StatueofLiberty.
The Statue of Liberty is on the Island and it is not included in the Hop-on Hop-off package, hence, you had to buy our tickets separately for this. There was a ticketing booth near the bus stop so no need for us to take another ride.
The ticket was not that bad for 2 hours Island hopping with the Cruise. It was our first time to ride a Cruise too so it was another thing of experience. 
- The Cruise ride to the Island and back
- Statue of liberty ground tour and Ellis Island tour
Here are some of our photos while we were on the Cruise. Enjoying every view we are passing by together with some tourists on board. It took us about 30 mins. going to the Island.
It was just a small Island which only took us about 15 mins. for a tour. People are taking pictures from here and there. When you finish strolling around, there is a romantic cafe where you can have some coffee break while waiting for your Cruise to arrive. The Cruise is coming on and off to unload and send back passengers every after 30 mins.
Coming back after the Liberty Statue, there's Ellis Island where you can explore if you like to. Although we missed to exploring this Island due to our limited time.
Also you will experience a beautiful scene going back to the City. You'll see its landscape view that is perfect to capture with your camera.
The Sailing schedules are subject to change so it would be better to visit their site or office to know the updated weekly schedules.
We got back to the City almost 5pm and we couldn't use our ticket in the Hop-on and Hop-off package since it ends at that time. I thought that it would be great if did not buy the city tour package if had a plan on visiting the Statue Island. Going to the island was a time consuming and additional expenses so our time for the Hop-on and off tour was consumed. What we paid for the Hop-on and off package was kinda disappointing since we were not able to use most of its time exploring some places. Nevertheless, we still enjoy the whole day tour and for other spots that we missed to visit would probably another reason for us to come back.
Tips
Here are some tips when you plan to visit NYC:
- Visit the Time Square at night, it is more beautiful to see every building with sparkling lights and huge billboards.
- Avoid booking your accommodation mids of the city. They are expensive.
- When you avail the City Tour Hop-on Hop-off package, make sure to start early morning from 8am to 5pm for you to enjoy what you paid for.
- Visit the Statue of Liberty in the afternoon to enjoy the golden hour.
- Avoid using subways at late night just for safety precaution.
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It was a beautiful experience that and I will forever treasure.
Until my next travel blog Steemians!
Thank you!
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