I have dreamt of walking the streets of New York City my entire life.
This electric city is the backdrop to so many of my favorite films. So, of course the only things I knew about New York were from the movies – hailing cabs, eating street food, strolling through Central Park, grabbing coffee for your boss before work – you know the ones.
On October 3, 2019, my husband Joel and I will celebrate five years of marriage. I knew I wanted to celebrate our anniversary in a special way, so I began researching a New York City vacation. The probably-too-good-to-be-true trip became more and more real as all the details began falling into place.
I read many helpful blogs and articles when planning our trip, so I decided to share the details of our little 4-day getaway. This is a day-by-day guide followed by pizza ratings and a list of helpful tips!
Dates: July 23 - 27
Where we stayed: Brooklyn, NY (with a friend, thanks Delia!)
Prep before the trip: I did a lot of research beforehand and made a list of the things we were interested in seeing and doing. This helped tremendously when it came time to plan our days.
How we got around: We each purchased a week-long metro pass for $33 which gives you unlimited rides for seven days. With the subway being our main method of transportation, it would have been more expensive to pay per ride. I highly recommend downloading the CityMapper app when you arrive. It was helpful when looking for the quickest routes by train. We used Apple Maps for directions walking from place to place.
DAY ONE
After dealing with a cancelled and rescheduled flight, we landed at JFK around 11am. We took a Lyft to Delia’s apartment in Brooklyn and, after getting settled, were eager to see the city.
Her apartment was a short walk to a subway station and about a 40-minute ride to Manhattan (time on a train passes so quickly). Delia helped us get our Metro cards at the station and told us which train to get on – of course we walked right down the stairs and took the wrong one! It was a great mistake, though, as we got off at a stop near Washington Square Park.
I fell in love with the city immediately. The perfect blend of buildings and trees. The colorful people. The hustle and bustle. It was absolutely stunning.
We saw the Washington Square Arch on our way to eat pizza at John’s of Bleecker Street. (Before I continue, you must know that Joel’s goal was to try as many slices of pizza as he could – and of course I didn’t mind.) We devoured an entire pie and it was delicious. It only took one bite to finally understand why New York is known for their pizza. It’s the best. It just is.
We stopped at a little bakery called Milk & Cookies and ate the most perfect chocolate chip cookie on our way to the Friends Apartment, which is located in Greenwich Village. The walk from there to the Flatiron Building was surreal. Gorgeous homes. Cute coffeehouses. Great window shopping. And, casually passing the Empire State Building on our way – no big deal. We sat on a bench in Madison Square Park, Flatiron Building in plain view, and just took it all in.
I could honestly sit on a park bench in New York for hours. There are so many people doing so many things. Reading. Strolling their children. Running. Talking on the phone. Ordering street food. Walking their dog. Meeting up with friends. Listening to music. Drawing. Sleeping. Playing games. It was fascinating.
From there, we hopped on a train (the right one this time) to Williamsburg to meet Delia. We walked around an area called Domino, saw the Williamsburg Bridge and ate dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant called Patrizia’s near the water in Williamsburg – I recommend the spaghetti & meatballs.
I went to bed both exhausted and eager to explore some more the next day.
