New York City Part I

So many things to be excited about! This past week my mom, youngest brother and I went to New York City. This was both my mom and brothers first time, and my second time; however, my first time there was only two days and I didn't get to fully explore the city. This time around we were there for 6 days and were really able to fully immerse in the New York experience. We explored all neighborhoods, understood the subway, walked...A LOT, took in the extraordinary views and ate some of the most delicious food. Photos from the first half of our trip!

The first half of the first day was spent touring around on a topless tour bus. (yes, we totally did that!) Okay, so touristy but honestly you get really good views of the city and get to explore different parts of the different neighborhoods that you may not be able to see by foot. Also, it's very informative because the tour guide gives you little fun facts about the city and/or whereabouts you may not be familiar with. The last stop of the tour was Times Square and it's just a crazy pocket of tourists and advertisements. Really, that's it!

The second half of our first day was spent at the Top of the Rock. Okay, really, if you're only going to go to one place in New York City it should be here. The landscape views are the absolute most epic aesthetically pleasing I have seen. It is a 360 degree view of the city from Downtown to Uptown with views of the Freedom Tower, Empire State Building and the vast Central Park. Seriously, I could have stayed up there for hours just ogling the breathtaking views.

Our third day there we decided to wander around the neighborhood we were staying in, the East Village and check out the street art. We then made our way via Subway to see Lady Liberty herself, well, actually you have to take a ferry to see her but we took the subway to the port. Explored there a bit and then made it back to Manhattan to pay our respects at the 9/11 Memorial; absolutely breathtaking. We finished off with delicious grub at Shake Shack and ended doing a night tour to get some serious gorgeous views of the city lit up at night.

The street art here is a plenty. So vibrant and sometimes really thought provoking. There is a lot to be said through street art.

I didn't take very many photos at the memorial, I kept reflecting on the day of 9/11 and was very humbled to be there and see the beautiful outcome to commemorate what the city of New York went through.

I like to think this is the In-n-Out to the East Coast. But let's be real, nothing compares to In-n-Out, with that said, Shake Shack does make killer burgers, fries and shakes.

hashtag nom

And finally, finished off the day with a night trip around the city, to quote Kanye see "All of the Lights".