One of the biggest cities in the world…

A city of endless possibilities, high energy, and great diversity, New York City has always been on the top of our bucket list. It was a place we knew we always had to visit, and that we would absolutely love NYC before even seeing it for our own eyes (thanks to all the TV shows and movies out there).

People from all walks of life call New York City their home. One section in particular, Manhattan, served as one of our locations for our trip to the Big Apple.

New York City is fast paced. People are always on the move. And if you’re prepared to walk, you’ll explore so much more than you would taking a bus, train, or taxi even.

If you’re a foodie, there’s restaurants of all sorts everywhere you look. A Starbucks for those coffee lovers at almost every corner. Fashion, architecture, history, theatres.

There’s so much to be discovered.

Day 1:

Our trip to New York City started in Lower Manhatten. The drive from Buffalo NY, to New York City itself took 8 1/2 – 9 hours, but the scenery along the way could not be beat. Especially once we hit New Jersey and saw all of the sky scrapers from a distance, we were ready to get settled into our hotel and explore.

What made us more excited was the temperature. Buffalo was expecting a huge winter storm. About 2-3 feet at least…

New Jersey and New York City had temperatures ranging from 40-45°. So, although it’s still cold. That first day was Nothing like Buffalo.

The Atloft Hotel was conveniently located in the heart of Lower Manhattan and is just a 1 to 15 minute walk from EVERYTHING. After checking in to our hotel, we had the entire afternoon and evening to start experiencing all of the great things NYC has to offer.

Our first day we spent walking around the One World Trade, The Oculus, The New Jersey Skyline, and we visited an Italian restaurant called Harry’s Italian.

The Alfredo was indescribably delicious.

The only downside: it rained – A LOT!!!

The rain started very slowly, but began to pick up speed pretty quickly. It was still warm – ish. But, by the time we returned back to the hotel, Zack and I were soaked.

The bed was so cozy however. We were sleeping within minutes.

Day 2:

Our first day spent in the big city we were focused on solely one part of Lower Manhattan. Our second day was just that – in the opposite direction.

We wanted to truly take in every beautiful, breathtaking part of what New York City had to offer.

So, our second day we saw the iconic charging bull statue.

Visited the financial district where we saw another very iconic statue – the fearless girl.

We then proceeded our walk to Sea Port and Pier 11.

There was so much beautiful water to overlook. Fairies coming and going every which way. Restaurants with loud music that really gave the dock a “summer feel”, even though it was VERY cold! 10° or less plus wind chill.

We were absolutely freezing.

But the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, plus the New York City skyline took our breathe away.

It’s so beautiful!

It made being so cold so worth it.

Once we were finished, we continued our adventures to the Brooklyn bridge itself.

SO MANY PEOPLE, but the experience was unlike none we’ve ever had before.

My husband Zack, is a passionate photographer. So with that being said, this trip – a lot of pictures were taken.

Once we crossed the Brooklyn bridge, Zack found the perfect sunset destination to start shooting away.

The sun starts to set around 4:50 – 5:00 pm typically in the winter time.

Once 5:30 came around the corner, I was FROZEN!!! I couldn’t feel my legs, my toes, my face…

It was dark, and we had a very long walk ahead of us.

Zack wanted to capture every phase of the sun setting over the city and of the Statue of Liberty, so I knew we weren’t going anywhere, anytime soon. But, after an entire day spent in dangerously cold temperatures, and now night fall, I just wanted our hotel.

We decided to catch a fairy back (thank goodness), and we warmed up in Starbucks until it was close enough time for our fairy to arrive.

Only a minute away from our hotel, we decided to make a quick stop at Rosella’s pizza.

The customer service was very rude, and the music was very loud… Playing inappropriate music at that that didn’t give me a “family feel” at all. Plus, it was FREEZING inside of that place.

The one and only great thing I can say about that particular New York City pizza experience – the pizza itself was fresh. Very overpriced, fair size, but so so delicious.

Day 3:

Our last full day and night in the city, we packed our bags at the Atloft Hotel and traveled 20 minutes towards Midtown Manhattan.

There, a second hotel – yotel – was awaiting our arrival.

Before we checked in, we passed through Time Square, and headed towards Central Park.

Another very cold day, but the sun was shining. We parked our car and started walking.

Central Park is HUGE! We’ve been told by countless people it’s impossible to explore all in one day. But, we did manage to see a pretty large portion of it. Central Park is one of New York City’s most breathtaking attractions and a must-see for anyone visiting. This 843-acre green (or white) space (depending on when you visit) includes meadows, lakes, forests, monuments and great architecture!

Our first stop in the park started at a very famous little pond. We came across a very rare, stunning duck – The Mandarin Duck. Also sometimes referred to as “the bot duck”.

This beautiful creature is originally spotted in East Asia, not typically found in the United States, and yet, he’s mysteriously here.

People are fascinated, and it’s so easy to see why. He’s been on late night talk shows, magazine covers, and all over social media.

This little duck looks happy as can be!

We also met a tour guide who was off for the day, but still was so eager and excited to take us around the park to see some of her favorite spots.

We learned that Central Park was entirely man made… Every tree was planted, all of the ponds and lakes within the park run from pumps underneath the city.

Understanding those facts makes you appreciate the beauty of the park and all of it’s wonders so much more.

After hours spent in the park, we took a look at the Columbus Circle Globe Sculpture. This sparkling sculpture is at least 30 feet wide and is held above the ground by one big, chrome column.

The rest of our last night was devoted to relaxation. We checked into our beautiful, spacious hotel room. Settled in, and got dinner downstairs in the hotels restaurant.

After a delicious dinner, we watched The Lion King in our very cozy bed, and just relaxed, until a last minute decision was made to go see Time Square.

Day 4:

Checkout day and time to go home. Our morning started with a delicious breakfast buffet at the same little restaurant we grabbed dinner at just the night before. Packed our things and headed straight to the road.

New York City was such an amazing experience. And we’re so grateful we got to be a part of something so breathtaking. And being “baby free” happens only so often. So, it was really romantic and special.

But, we’re so excited to see our baby Gracie. Seeing her face light up and getting lots of hugs and kisses is something we’re really looking forward too. Snuggles in mommy and daddy’s bed with a movie is on the list for tonight’s events

If you would like to check out our New York City Vlog: simply go to YouTube and search: Our Precious Travels 🤗 and don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there 😇

Until next time…

XOXOXO

Jessica