Oh, New York. There is something magical about that city, the life, the lights, the History, the food and the shopping. It was one amazing first-time experience for my husband and boys. I had gone previously twice and I loved it, but it’s really different going as a parent with your children. It’s really something else to see the excitement in their eyes when they see a two-story McDonald’s, and the lights in Time Square, in Jude’s case.
The Hotel
We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel 57 in Midtown, and we loved it! It was close to central park, times square and all the good shopping! The hotel itself was great! The staff was really friendly and the doorman was the best, always did his job at making Jude laugh!
Our room was comfortable and after a rough red eye flight, we were so happy to be able to check in early and take a power nap!
The room was cozy, not really as spacious as I would have liked but the beds were comfortable and the bathroom was great! I loved the mirror!
Over-all the hotel was great, we loved the location the center of midtown, the staff was friendly!
Day 1
After our much-needed power nap, we got dressed and explored central park! This was our coldest day there, so we made sure to layer and purchased some gloves and went on our way!
Our first stop was the Central Park Zoo, This zoo beats any that I have been to, Not because of the animals, but because of all its natural beauty located in the center of the city.
This little guy was adorable and stood still for some of our shots!
There were two sections to the park, one regular that offered your normal viewing of animal habitats and the second was a kids Zoo, which included adorable fun picture props and more interactive areas where kids can play.
I couldn’t get enough of these beautiful animals!
Eli Enjoyed being bundled up and strolling the zoo, we continued through the park once we finished with the zoo. We caved and ate hot dogs from a food cart in the park, this was one of our many tastes of NYC food trucks haha.
Once we finished with lunch we walked across the park to Strawberry fields, We are huge Beatles fans! We have always wanted to visit the Dakota building, Famous for Rosemary’s Baby and the site where John Lennon was killed. It was such a beautiful building and knowing the history behind it made it that much more interesting!
The details on this building were beautiful, I loved the gothic, stone detailing it really was amazing!
Day 2
Sunday Morning we explored the city our first stop was Rockafeller Center, although Jude kept looking for a Christmas tree! He was happy to find a Lego store nearby, It seems like any city we travel to he buys a souvenir at the Lego store.
After Rockafella Center we grabbed a much-needed coffee and made our way towards Time Square. We also passed the Radio City Music Hall!
I, unfortunately, didn’t get to capture a photo of Time Square, we were so bummed to find out the big Toys R Us was closed down! We visited Madam Tussauds Wax Museum and got to capture some really neat photos of wax figures. Jude was a little freaked out with some of these but his favorite was the Ghostbusters and Marvel 4-D show!
Later that day we visited St. Patricks Cathedral, This church is breathtaking and so peaceful, these images don’t do it any justice!
Overall this day was great, I’m surprised how well the kids did out and about all day. Before heading back to the hotel we stopped at the Sprinkles cupcake ATM and for a pizza which we enjoyed in the hotel room and Netflix! It was the perfect way to wrap up our busy Sunday!
Day 3
On our last day in NYC we headed to lower Manhatten, we had a boat tour planned and some site seeing to be had! The weather was great on Monday but out in the ocean, I thought I was going to freeze to death haha. We managed to get some great photos of our tour, and when I say ‘we’ I mean Israel mainly, I was too busy being cold and carrying the baby haha.
This is Central Railroad Of New Jersey Terminal
The French-inspired architecture at Ellis Island was beautiful!
This was so amazing to see in person, She is beautiful!
I would definitely recommend you take a boat tour, it’s a totally different way to experience the city and all its natural history.
Before heading to the airport we strolled the financial district and visited the 9/11 memorial. It was so sad to see all the names of those who passed in that horrible tragedy. We had to do our best to explain to Jude what happened without mentioning how; We didn’t want to cause any fear of being on a plane.
We decided to make our way to the Tribeca area for a little exploring before catching a taxi to JFK. I really couldn’t believe all of what we experienced and were able to accomplish in 3 days! We all had an amazing time and the trip was worth the red-eye flights and little sleep!
I hope you enjoyed checking out our trip to NYC, writing this and looking back on all our photos really makes me miss it! Until next time NYC!
Mija this was an awesome read. We will be in New York for 3 days next month.
Thanks so much Tia! It’s such a fun city! I hope you guys have fun, you’ll have to tell me all about it!