A day out in the Big Apple!

In November 2018, I was in the USA on a short work trip. My husband was working as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Delaware at that time. After my meeting I decided to spend four days with him before I returned to India. Delaware is a small state, about 2.5 hour drive away from the New York city. We were really short of time but it made total sense to spend a day in the New York city before I boarded my return flight from Newark.

Morning stroll around the University of Delaware enjoying hot coffee and the autumn colours!

We took a Greyhound bus from Delaware to NYC. This was my second visit to the New York city after nearly 14 years and it was so refreshing to be here again! This was a last minute plan but we managed to reserve a 1-night stay at City Rooms NYC, Chelsea (here). This was a budget stay, costing about $100/night for just accommodation with shared bathrooms, clean and well maintained. We opted for this accommodation for it's location as it was at a walkable distance to the nearest subway station. After dumping our luggage in the hotel room, we were all set to explore the city! We first opted to go on a 60-minute sightseeing cruise starting in Manhattan, which was at a discounted price on Groupon (here). Make sure you check Groupon deals for other tours/fun activities in the city. It was a pleasant experience to cruise around Manhattan, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn bridge etc. I highly recommend this boat tour as it leaves an everlasting impression of the New York City skyline!

Cruising around Manhattan, New York.

After the boat tour, we spent the afternoon walking around Brooklyn and randomly stopped at a nice restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we walked to the Brooklyn bridge, the first steel-wire suspension bridge and also the longest when it was completed in 1883. We took a short stroll on the bridge for a while and it was time for us to visit the One World Observatory. We purchased the entrance tickets online (here) which costed about $70 for the two of us. It may seem expensive but the whole experience is definitely worth it! After going through multiple security checks, we got into the elevator where you can see the elevation as we go up! The observatory stands at 1247 feet above the sea level offering a 360-degree view of the New York City! I highly recommend this experience! I suggest you reserve the evening slot while booking your tickets so you can catch the sunset. If you have some last-minute shopping to do, you can spend some time at the Westfield World Trade Center mall, next to the observatory.

Walking in the streets of NYC

Brooklyn Bridge, NYC

One World Observatory offers stunning views of the New York City.

Westfield World Trade Center Mall, NYC

Later in the evening we headed back to our hotel to get some rest. Then we decided to take a night tour of the city on one of those touristy double-decker buses. Again, we found a great deal on the bus tour on Groupon! I must say I really enjoyed the drive through some of the historical buildings in NYC, the iconic Times square, 5th Avenue, Soho area, China Town etc. We even get to see the NYC skyline at night on this tour. I highly recommend this tour if you are short of time and need a glimpse of the city at night! NYC is really the city that never sleeps! As the tour ended, we got off at Times Square, had dinner at one of the restaurants and spent the next hour walking in Times Square and enjoying the vibrant atmosphere. Fun fact: Did you know that the power used to lit up Times Square is enough to power 161,000 average homes in the USA!! This is pretty much everything you can do if you have one day left to explore the New York City!

The intoxicating Times Square, NYC

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