Three and a half years ago, in April 2017, I took a trip to New York to visit my aunt, Noe. It was the first time I've been there, or to the east coast for that matter. New York, mainly Long Island, easily became one of the top three places I've ever been!!
I got there on the 7th, and one of the first things we did was go see the ocean - my happy place. It was FREEZING, but that didn't stop us from walking along the sand and feeling the water.
On the 8th we made our way closer to the city, and I got my very first taste of New York pizza! It was soooo good, I still think about that pizza to this day. After we ate we went to Long Beach and walked along the boardwalk and along the sand. There was actually quite a few people there, which surprised me, because it wasn't exactly beach weather outside.
My aunt is a real estate agent, so on the 9th she took me to see some incredible houses for sale in the Hamptons. They honestly blew my mind. They were not only huge, but the architecture was something I had never seen before, and the views from the homes were beautiful. Looking at the houses was one of my favorite things to do. I kept imagining myself living there one day.
Our first trip to the city was on the 10th! I remember thinking how weird it was that we weren't driving all the way - we took the train - but I quickly realized why. I don't know why anyone would attempt to drive in NYC. We walked around Manhattan finding some insanely cool buildings. We went into shops, rode around in ubers, and went to a really nice outside area where we could see the Statue of Liberty. The sunset that night was beautiful. After the sunset we went to the place you have to go when you're in New York - Times Square. Now, I'm from Las Vegas, so I'm used to the night life, bright lights and tourism, but it doesn't compare to Times Square. It was the busiest, brightest, most packed, most exciting place I've been. There wasn't an empty space on the sidewalk.
Since we had a late night in the city, we spent the next day exploring more of Long Island. I honestly loved seeing all the small towns and learning about their history. We went to this restaurant called the Tiger Lily Cafe for lunch - so good! I definitely recommend it. It was in the cutest town with the cutest shops around it. We of course went back to the beach to sit in the sand and watch the waves again - one of my favorite things to do.
My last couple days in New York consisted of going to Central Park and back to times square! I thought the park was gorgeous, and I didn't realize just how big it is. I don't think we even covered half of it. After a morning of relaxing in the park we went to Times Square for last minute gift shopping and eating.
The minute I left New York, I wanted to go back. It's a place where I can definitely see myself living one day. This trip was one of my favorites.
While I was writing this post, I couldn't stop singing the song "Empire State of Mind." by the amazing Alicia Keys! Everyone knows it, but this time I actually listened to the lyrics and thought about how true it is:
"In New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York"
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