Day 3 in New York City before starting our road trip

It was our last day for sight seeing in New York before starting our road trip and we knew we had to make the most of it. Oh man oh man was it an interesting day.

We started off by catching the Subway to Times Square and walking to the Intrepid sea air & space museum. Make no mistake, it is not close so we stopped at the The Cake Boss cafe along the way for some coffee. It was exciting and overrated at the same time. Exciting because it’s Buddy’s shop but overrated because the baked goods are ridiculously overpriced (R100 for a pastry and R50 for a cupcake). For that kind of money I expected a mouth shattering experience but alas it tasted like any old fancy-ish cupcake to me. Maybe I am not the biggest food connoisseur that I thought I was but I really didn’t think it was the best cake ever!

Visiting the Intrepid sea air & space museum

Oh my goodness was this a life altering visit or what? Firstly I have to mention that this was one of the attractions you could visit with the New York Pass and once again you can skip the lines and hit the fast track line. Exploring the ship, the aircraft and the Hubble Exhibit was something I have always wanted to do. These things fascinate us both and we throughly enjoyed it. There was so much to see and experience that you could literally just spend hours there. My highlight was definitely the Space Shuttle Pavilion which showcases the space shuttle Enterprise, the prototype NASA orbiter that paved the way for the space shuttle program.

The aircrafts on board the Intrepid is incredible and will leave you in complete awe. From the Avenger torpedo bomber, a stalwart from Intrepid’s World War II service, to the A-12 Blackbird, the formidable spy plane from the Cold War, the collection reflects some of the greatest achievements in military aviation. If I had more time I would literally detail our entire visit, step by step, it was that exciting!

As we left the Intrepid it began snowing. Very light snow started falling but it was still snow. I secretly hoped it would increase. My fingers were crossed throughout the rest of the day!

Next stop, The American Museum of Natural History

Our next stop was The American Museum of Natural History which is also included in the New York Pass. But before we got there we created some history for ourselves.

We were catching the Subway to the museum and Jacques made it onto the train just before the doors closed and I missed it. I wasn’t too fussed and I indicated to him that I would catch the next one and meet him there. So, I caught the next one only to discover that the subway line we were waiting for was going in the completely wrong direction. And off course my phone has no signal at this point. So basically after three subway rides and finally getting some signal, we found each other.

So, let’s get back to the museum. Because we only had 2 hours to spend there, we had to race through. There are 4 floors and each floor has about 10 sections of things to see. It really was one of the most greatest things to experience. I enjoyed the fossils and the meteorites the most! The museum is packed with so many artifacts and apparently only 2% of what they own is on display. If you’re a big fan of the movie Night in the Museum, you will fall in love with this place.

Central Park

Exiting the museum was another highlight of my day. It was snowing! I could uncross my fingers at this stage! We took a long walk through Central Park to get to 5th Avenue. The park was completely covered in snow. It was beyond beautiful and I simply could not contain myself.

iLove Apple

The next stop was the famous Apple Store. The store is actually underground with a huge glass building with the Apple logo above the ground. We didnt purchase anything (much to my despair) but walked around for ages and just took it all in. Walking into the New York Apple store as an avid Apple fan is like heaven!

We then caught the Subway back to Parc Hotel where we were staying and physically and mentally prepared for the long journey that awaited us. New York is amazing. I just cannot get enough of it. I felt that way about Thailand a few years ago but this city just provides another kind of high all together. iLove NYC!

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What does New York City have to offer?

The last two days in New York City have been so amazing. This city is just full of life, lights and beauty. I have fallen completely in love. Some of the countries I have travelled to before have been “enough” for me. I was satisfied and knew I may not return. But New York has left the opposite effect on me, I have taken a bite out of this apple and I crave so much more!

Let’s start with day one. We met our New York Pass sponsors in Manhattan and collected our cards. Our first stop was Madame Tussauds. The lifelike wax sculptors completely blew my mind. From Kim Kardashian to Albert Einstein (not that you can put them on the same level), Madame Tussauds had it all.

Second stop on day 2 was the Discovery Avengers exhibit. Marvel’s AVENGERS S.T.A.T.I.O.N. The Exhibition (Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network) is a completely immersive experience that brings visitors into the world of The AVENGERS. Visitors are granted S.H.I.E.L.D. access to the official S.T.A.T.I.O.N. headquarters and taken deep into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Here visitors will have open access to a vast array of intelligence files, classified studies and experiments that explores the history and scientific origins of Marvel’s The Avengers. Visitors will also be given unprecedented access to some of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most highly guarded artifacts such as Captain America’s Birth Pod, the Tesseract Portal Device, Loki’s Scepter, a hermetically sealed Chitauri and more, recovered after the Battle of New York. Need I say anymore?

Third stop was Rockefeller Center. We did so much here including the Top of the Rock observation deck.

All of these activities were made possible with the New York Pass. The pass grants you access to over 80 New York attractions and their fast track services allows you skip the long lines and head straight to the VIP line. We were so lucky to be seeing New York through this pass. If you ever visit New York City then you will be doing yourself the biggest favour by getting a New York Pass. It will literally save you thousands of $$$!

The Rockefeller centre is also home to NBC studios. This means all our favourite talk shows take place here. We were incredibly lucky to get tickets to Late Night with Seth Meyers and was part of the live studio audience. The guest stars at the show was Rosario Dawson, Eugenio Derbez and Sturgill Simpson. It was surreal! I still cannot believe that it happened. Make sure you watch the full episode here.

We did so much in-between as well. In a nutshell
– shopped at H & M
– visited Nintendo World
– had dinner at Bubba Gump
– walked around Times Square

New York is buzzing with Christmas spirit and Festive Cheer. Everyone is so friendly and they really know how to take customer service to another level. The remainder of the evening was spent outside the big tree watching the music show at Saks Fifth Avenue. The beauty of this city is visible everywhere; in its architecture, the food, the people and in the air.

Stayed tuned for more details on Day 2 in the Big Apple.

Do you prefer Upper East Side or Brooklyn?

Anything I know about New York I probably learnt from watching Gossip Girl and Sex and the City. When deciding on visiting New York I instantly thought we would stay somewhere in Manhattan close to Times Square and Central Park. I mean who wouldn’t want to live the Serena Van Der Woodsen life in Upper East Side.

After doing some research I realized that living the Dan Humphrey lonely boy life in Brooklyn wouldn’t be that bad either. A few miles from Manhattan, just over the bridge, is an amazing part of New York City. There is so much culture and the neighborhoods look great.

Have you visited New York? Are you more of an Upper East Side person or do you prefer Brooklyn? Let us know what your favourite places, restaurants and attractions are and we will be sure to visit them.