We finally returned back to NY after COVID and stayed a night in Koreatown for friends’ birthday celebration. I got to visit the Harry Potter store, and skipped the VR experience. Lots of eats that include ramen, pizza, KBBQ, and dessert. I’ll be posting pictures soon!

To celebrate my Master’s graduation, I planned a mini vacation to PA, NY and NJ. We ended up not spending the night in NY as it was too expensive and decided to stay in Ocean City, NJ, for the night. So, we drove up Friday morning as I had reserved free timed tickets to visit the new Vessel structure, a public landmark, at Hudson Yards. It recently opened and I made sure to get tickets a week before so we did not have to wait in line or try to walk-in on open slots.

Check out the other sights to visit at Hudson Yards, I believe the “Edge” is opening March 2020 so that would be a visit in the future.

As soon we got in, we went through a brief security check and started our ascend to the top. There were 154 flights of stairs that interconnects and each floor, it got symmetrically higher and wider as you approach the top level. It is 16-story high and luckily it was a nice sunny day with a little breeze. There’s a video clip of the Vessel at the top of this page, if you didn’t check it out yet.

We took pictures and made our way out of the vessel (I keep wanting to call it a hive!).

We have never been to this part of the city, so we took a walk down the old converted train tracks that are on top of the city streets (High Line) all the way to the Chelsea Market. Even though I was hungry, I didn’t want to wait in long line for tacos there (that looked super delicious).

We walked with the crowd back to the Vessel and hopped in our car to pick up some baked goods in Chinatown before crossing into Brooklyn to meet friends at Prospect Park. There were soccer games in the area so it was very hard to find street parking, but finally got a spot and we took a walk around the park with my friends. She showed us how to fly fish and tried a hand with little pumpkinseed fish in the lake. They were quite vicious on a light rod.

We saw so many folks out and about on the grass. Even saw a wedding ceremony set up at the Boathouse near the waters, gorgeous! It is like in a TV show or movie!

We stopped by the newly opened Japan Village (shops and restaurants). We shared a bowl of soba noodle soup and walked through the converted warehouses of retail shops and art sculptures in the courtyards.

I had enough of paying for parking in the city so we head out of the city via the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (that had a little traffic) after grabbing some NY pizza and garlic knots!

We finally made it to Ocean City in Jersey before sunset! We took a walk on the boardwalk, it doesn’t have the high-rise hotels like OC MD and it wasn’t as trashy!

Tips: 

• Recommend looking into airbnb rentals and if the rentals may have their own websites, it may be cheaper since you don’t have to pay the airbnb service fee. You can also compare prices to nearby hotel/motels as it depends if you want breakfast included and other amenities during your trip.
• Pack clothing according to the weather forecast and always anticipate wind/colder by the waters.

It was our anniversary date to see Jason Mraz perform in a Broadway musical, The Waitress (last show was as of Jan 2020), also played by Keri Russell in a film back in 2007. Sara Bareilles wrote new songs for the musical and she also performed with Mraz (that was announced after we went)! 

We started our day with a japanese lunch at Mitsuwa food court and grabbed a box of assorted Carlo’s bakery’s lobster tails (original, chocolate hazelnut, cookies & cream) to munch on in the car. I didn’t care for the salted caramel flavor, but that’s the 4th flavor. I would say the original is still good and the flakes are crunchy, you have to eat it that day off or it gets a little stale.

After parking, we did a pit stop to visit the Charging Bull on Wall Street, he was quite shiny from all the rubbing over the decades. I also stood next to the fearless girl in front of him, that was installed earlier this year. Apparently, she’s been moved to a new location nearby later in 2018 because the artist was threatened by her statue invading his statue. 

We took the train up to Broadway for the show at 2p! It was pretty steep seating and we were high up, but we could see and hear clearly the actors on the stage. I thoroughly enjoyed the creativity one does to use stage space and the singing were all on point. There was a brief intermission, they even sold pie as refreshments! We were pretty excited to see Jason Mraz play the main actor part, as we have attended several of his shows when he’s in town.

It was dark by the time we got out, we hurried over to the nearest halal guys cart and had a nice hot meal before swinging by Uniqlo. We were super excited to hear when Halal Guys was opening a store near us but it took almost a year to complete!

We also got stuck at an intersection where the Christmas light display was on a building so no one was moving but we finally made it through. We also saw more lit trees on the way to meet our friends in Chinatown for freshly made noodle soup dish to share for dinner (Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles).

Tips:

• Check out a Broadway show if you have never, it was a great experience. I’m always impressed how talented folks are!
• Have an idea (agenda) of places to visit and food to eat before you go!
• Be flexible, and prepared for lots of walking, perhaps some waiting and carry some cash in case places do not take cards.

I heard about the new One World Observatory building so I decided to celebrate my birthday in NY by purchasing tickets ahead of time and enjoy some good food throughout NY. Otherwise, you have to stand in line outside to “buy” tickets and then wait for your “timed” slot. 

We ate some authentic phillipino food in Jersey on the way into the city. We skipped the link, went straight through security and rode the super fast elevator up to the top (102nd floor) in 47 secs!! There were nice elevator walls that shows a virtual background of the scenery from ground up (watch this short clip of the elevator ride!)

At the top, we watched a brief video about the building history and took our time to look around 360 degrees of the city view. Since it was a little cloudy that day, we couldn’t see as far as on a sunny day but it was still a very unique experience. I wasn’t too thrilled about the “sky portal”, it was just only a 14-foot circular glass disc that shows real-time images of the grounds below. I thought it was real glass at first but that would be very scary and probably not so safe. We wrapped up and “flew” back down to the ground in no time.

We visited the area nearby: the two center sites pool memorial and a popular Oculus mall.

I did my research prior to the trip and made sure I knew which subway line to take and which station to get off to visit the infamous Sex in the City stairs, which apparently is someone’s actual residential building. It was chained off and I respected their boundary. I also wanted to visit the infamous “FRIENDS” apartment they always use as a transition video before starting the show in the apartment scene. I didn’t need to purchase a TV show tour, I saw what I wanted to see on my own time!

After that, we had a birthday drink at a local bar and ended up going down the wrong subway entrance! It is important to be sober and know which entrance to take to get to the next destination, that was my mistake.

We made our way to Beard Papa’s cream puff store but it wasn’t as good as the first time we smelled it down the street in LA. Then, we went to visit the Belvedere Castle in Central Park, it was a different scenery and lots of people were around. 

I was excited to attend our first NBC tour at 30 rock building that afternoon! We got to see some empty studios (including Jimmy Fallon), asked the tour pages a bunch of questions, and conducted our own TV show – we “played” the instruments. We also heard we could submit our emails to a lottery to attend a filming of SNL show, but I never heard about it for 2017-18 so maybe I should submit it again (it’s only in August for the following year) – try your luck!

I bought a FRIENDS shirt afterwards, then we ate some halal guys by the HOPE sign. I also grabbed pumpkin oolong milk tea and baked goods in Chinatown before we head home for the night. Below are all the “food” pictures in a collage.

Tips:

• If you know the places, date and approximate times you want to visit, please book online and save some time!
• Do you research and make sure you know the subway lines and prices if you want to travel. Give yourself time to reach your destinations.
• It is helpful to let your credit card company know when you are traveling so you are not blocked as it has happened a few times for us.

Even though I’ve seen the Statue of Liberty as a kid, I always wanted to go to the crown so I booked The Crown tickets 3 months in advance, they open booking up to 6 months. Although, no one can predict the weather, be prepared with a back-up plan if the weather gets bad. We drove up on Halloween morning to catch the ferry from Liberty State Park (NJ), which I presume less crowded than Battery Park, NY (parking is limited) to Ellis Island. 

It was cloudy that afternoon and a bit chilly/windy on the ferry. We toured the Ellis Island Immigration Museum before catching the next ferry to Liberty Island to make the climb up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty (all 354 steps). From the ground, there was a huge crowd, but as we made our way up the 192 steps to the pedestal, it was less crowded. We then ventured up the 354 spiral steps to the top of the crown for a private moment with the staff that is stationed in the crown. I’m not sure what’s more scary, going up or down, but my adrenaline was running. 

We toured the little pedestal display after we climbed back down and took a few more pictures before hopping back on the ferry to NJ.

We had dinner at Hoboken at Pita Grill (now named Pure Pita) and some dessert from Carlo’s Bake Shop (yes, we love the TV show so we had to stop by the original location). Our favorite was the Lobster Tail (original flavor)! We were supposed to take a train into NY to watch the Halloween parade later at night but we got tired from all the pastry tasting and stayed in. I was satisfied with seeing some costumes on the streets of Hoboken.

The next morning, we checked out of the hotel after waiting 15-30 minutes to get our car from valet 🙁 We drove over to enjoy some substantial crepes (Crepe guru) in Hoboken. Then, we decided against going to the 9/11 Memorial Museum since the steady rain and city driving is no bueno, we drove straight north to Flushing to stay a night. We took the train back down to Times Square to visit the usual suspects (Toys R Us, M&M store, Radio City, Rockerfeller, St. Patricks’ Cathedral, NBC store, Empire State building and Grand Central station), and some new ones: Cake Boss Cafe, Lego store, Uniqlo, and the Halal Guys. 

We went to the New World Mall’s food court for dinner. It reminded me of Taiwan stores and stalls, we promptly tried some beef noodle soup, shrimp wonton noodle soup and salt/pepper chicken bites.

It was super moist out (not optimal walking conditions in the dark) but we only had one night to visit the Rise of the Jack O Lanterns on Long Island, which was another 25 minute north of Flushing, so we braved the weather and made it through the 5,000 hand-craved jack-o-lantern displays. I enjoyed the amazing talents and efforts people put into craving and setting up the site. Although my pictures don’t show justice, you would have to see it for yourself if you are ever in the area and into the Halloween spirits.

Feeling cold and hungry when we returned to Flushing, we had some late night soup dumplings at Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao dumpling restaurant (right by the hotel), that was satisfactory before bed!

After checking out of the hotel and retrieving our car from a nearby parking lot, we enjoyed dim sum at Jade Asian restaurant (which looks like it has closed per Yelp). We also stopped by the Japanese grocery store/food court (Mitsuwa in NJ) on the way down to Carlo’s Bake Shop in Hoboken to bring home lobster tails to share with family. It was our first and most likely last night of staying in NY – the hotels were pricey and I hate paying for parking in the city! And I forgot that there’s a bunch of tolls to get there so I recommend purchasing an EZ-pass!

Tips:

• Book early if you know you want to see certain sites, otherwise, you may have to be flexible and book on the day of. Review refund or cancellation policies before purchasing tickets.
• Know the schedule and locations for ferry, tours, etc. Give yourself time and get there early!
• A lot of NY parking (garage or hotel) are typically valet, have available cash to tip and account for the wait time. Also, don’t leave valuables in the car when you drop it off and do a quick check your car once you get in.
• Review your state’s policies and fees before purchasing an EZ-pass to save time traveling into and out of the city.

• Wear proper walking shoes to protect your feet and back!
• Be prepared to wait in line for popular food places
• Know which routes to take on the subway or bus, it can be overwhelming with the colors, letters and numbers
• A lot of chain foodies and stores have spread down the East Coast (Shake Shack, Halal Guys, Uniqlo, etc.), so find out what is unique to NY. Try out their signature foods (e.g. NY pizza slice, soup dumplings and other Chinese food)!

I rode one of the chinese bus line up to NY by myself and met up with my friend for a night. She studied art in NY and was working for Trump so we tried his vodka at a bar. We should have asked for it be chilled, as we had to chase it with some cranberry juice (it was disgusting)! She took me to Coney Island, which was a very long train ride to get there and it looked like Ocean City! Also, because I went to visit in the middle of the summer, I broke out in a body rash from sweating so much walking around the whole city. It was very unpleasant and itchy the whole time 🙁

The following day, we went to the Met and looked at some exhibits. My favorite one was from Jeff Koons of his balloon dogs, which I still see around NY recently.

There was also a superhero exhibit during that time, I can’t remember exactly when I went to see it but I did attend it and here are some pictures below.

We stopped by Serendipity (as seen on the movie) but there was a 45-min wait. We didn’t have time as I didn’t plan for the wait time, but it was time to head home. I had to fight my way onto the bus when it arrived, I almost didn’t make it on and get a seat! By the way, that body rash finally went away after a week and popping lots of Benadryl to bring the inflammation down.

Tips: 

• Check out special exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, apparently one of the 3rd most visited museum in the world!! For non-NY residents, make sure you buy tickets ahead of time and for NY residents/students, you pay what you can afford onsite after showing valid ID.
• Listen to your body, make sure to stay hydrated and get plenty of rest during your NY travels.
• Get to the bus stop early to fight your way for a seat when the Chinese bus comes, they do not care if they sold more tickets than seats.

This time we took the Vamoose Bus with my best friend for a weekend at her sister’s place. We got there by noon, and ate lunch at S’mac (whole skillet full of mac/cheese makes me happy). We stopped by the NY transit museum at Grand Central, holiday decor makes me happy too! 

Even though it was cold outside and super crowded everywhere, we walked a lot and ate yummy/hot food when we got hungry. Lord & Taylor’s had holiday window displays and inside was just as much decorated. Trees were decked out, ice rinks were set up everywhere! We also saw lots of holiday decorations on houses in Queens. 

There were outdoor pop-up shops where we ended up buying expensive matching kitty-ear knit hats. We stopped by the Toys R Us store (more holiday decors!!) and Lego displays (I think they are amazing!). 

There was even a pop-up bathroom stall set up in Times Square from Charmin, as a holiday gift, so you aren’t running into shops to use their bathrooms without paying for something first.

An electronic billboard of M&M characters on Times Square screen! 

We checked out the M&M store again and bought some candy.

The next day, we visited a building in Queens that had a mural of graffiti and really, all over the city, you will see displays of them everywhere. Very talented folks, I just love the creativity that one comes up with using spray paint.

We stopped an old Nabisco factory, grabbed some soup dumplings in Chinatown (I think this was my first time!) and visited the Manhattan bridge. We continued to shop around at little toy stores and saw Macy’s display of Snoopy’s and monkeys!!

We visited FAO Schwarz again and saw a few more Lego displays since my Sept trip! There was more eating and then we headed home on the bus. What a magical time to visit the city, if you have never been, check it out one day!

Personal Note: I don’t have any desire to attend the New Year’s Eve celebration, especially hearing that folks would wait all day and night in front of Times Square for the ball to drop. But that might be your bucket list, I suggest you plan early and can endure the long standing/cold hours!

Tips:

• If you can, let friends who know their way around lead you through the city. Tell them what you want to do and see. Otherwise, you will have to do your own research online and plan your itinerary ahead of time.
• Purchase and carry a power bank when you are out and about.
• Save on data and battery by being on airplane mode until you need the GPS to get to the next destinations.

The earliest NY trip that I can remember was when I took a day trip via UMBC student bus service with a friend! Back then, I thought 7a was early but nowadays, I wake up at 5a to get to work by 7a! It was a fine fall day to walk all over Times Square.

We visited and saw a lot of the touristy spots: Hersey’s, Bubba Gump shrimp co. (love Forrest Gump), the Chrysler and Empire State buildings (from afar), NY library, Grand Central station, 5th avenue stores, Rockerfeller center & NBC studio (love 30 rock show too!),…

Trump building, Disney and Apple stores, FAO Schwarz (gawked at all the toys they sell and on display),…

saw a glimpse of central park, ran through M&M store and ended our trip going through Toys R Us store before heading home. 

Funny – I don’t recall eating but we might have gotten some sweets to eat before heading back to campus in the afternoon. My mind was way too simulated during this trip from ads all over the city, tons of people on the streets and extravagant stores!

Tips: 

• Arrange for transportation to/from NY, when and how long you will spend there
• Plan where you want to go and how much you want to spend in NY
• Make sure you watch the time and get back on the bus before you get left behind!

As a kid, I remember a few trips up to NY with my family. What stands out was visiting the Statue of Liberty and the original World Trade Center “Twin Towers”. Unfortunately, I don’t recall any other memories or food we ate.