Earlier this summer Zach and I had the chance to visit Manhattan, NY. And it was a DREAM!

As a Canadian, I feel like NYC has always been hyped up to be the BEST place—which I’m sure some Americans feel that way too. But being able to visit a place that is referenced in SO many TV shows and movies, I really wanted to visit!

Zach and I had planned to visit family for 10 days on the Easy Coast, and we figured we could slip away for a few days and go up to NYC. We had some friends living up there too, who we knew could give us the authentic Manhattan tour.

Arriving into Manhattan

Zach and I drove up from Pennsylvania to New Jersey where we were staying. The plan was to take a ferry across the river and meet our friends.

Zach was really adamant about not driving into NYC because of the notorious traffic we’d heard about, and that it was a holiday weekend.

We made it through the toll station only to take the wrong turn and found ourselves on a bridge to Station Island… we panicked only slightly, paid another toll, and then were able to turn around and head back to New Jersey and find our hotel.

We got to the hotel and Ubered to the ferry terminal which we had researched well in advance. Boarding the ferry on a lovely 95* day, we set toward Manhattan.

It was so surreal to see the famous skyline, I was already forgetting the heat, and our little mishap of taking the bridge.

Walking Around Manhattan

We told our friends about the famous places we wanted to see, and they made a plan for our two-day excursion.

We met up for brunch at The Blue Dog. Zach got the crab benedict and I had the chicken and waffles. All of it was DELICIOUS!

Then we headed on our way to walk off brunch and explore Manhattan! We stopped to see Times Square, St. Peter’s church, Rockafeller Centre, then off to Central Park.

Friends, it was SO hot and humid that day, we basically sweat our way around NYC.

Food Stops in NYC

As we approached dinner time, we set out to Greenwich Village for Pizza. Our friends took us to John’s of Bleecker Street and WOW! It was truly the best pizza we had. There was a wait, but SO worth it!

We ended the night with drinks—non-alcoholic for me—at a little pub up the way. Then made our way back to the ferry and our hotel.

Manhattan Day 2 Adventures

We made it back to the city for breakfast at Best Bagel and Coffee and walked up to Bryant Park to enjoy them. Then we walked to Grand Central Station to take the subway over to the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was so cool being able to walk along the Brooklyn Bridge and see a different side of NYC.

We walked through Central Park again on our way to the Museum of Natural History.

While Zach and I were planning our trip, we debated about wanting to see a Broadway show, but since we weren’t in the city for long, we decided it was best to explore and have more fun sightseeing.

This was another HOT day, and we had already walked over 9 miles the day before. We didn’t know it, but we were running on low steam.

We explored one floor of the Museum and then made our way to a restaurant for dinner.

**Peep Baby Hoffman making an appearance 🙂

Not How We Planned To End The Trip

Zach and I had planned to go to a Jazz club for drinks and dessert. But we had to change plans when we made it to the restaurant for dinner.

Zach ended up getting sick with dehydration and we had to make a three-hour pit stop at the Emergency Department. Our friends stayed with us at the hospital until he was discharged. Thankfully Zach got some fluids and we went back to our hotel to sleep and recover.

We walked a total of 16 miles in 95* weather and just didn’t replenish ourselves as best as we should. I was tired, but thankfully Baby Hoffman and I were good.

While it was definitely not how we planned to end our trip in NYC, we had SO MUCH FUN! The city was loud and busy, but being able to walk around and see the sights that I’ve grown up watching on TV was really great!

Zach and I would go back in a heartbeat, and make sure to bring LOTS of water, drink electrolytes, and not go when it was BLAZIN HOT.

Things to Bring to NYC

I got a little cross-body bag from Lululemon (I got the Everywhere bag, but it looks to be out of stock now). to use as my purse and I got an extra strong carabineer to attach my Hydroflask on. In hindsight, Zach should have carried his own water too.

We wore running shoes to walk around NYC. The ground was gross in some places, and also with all the walking, we did not want sore feet. Zach wore Hey Dudes, and I had on Addidas Cloud Foam shoes.

For traveling with the Subways, we made sure our Apple Pay was on our phones so we could easily pay for our Subway tickets.

Make sure if you head to NYC you have water, hand sanitizer, and comfy shoes!

Where Should We Visit Next?

Zach and I love to travel and we hope to cross off all 50 states one day (currently we’re at 16/50 in 2022). Where do you think we should hit up next?!