[Travel] Things to do in New York City

Our trip to New York city was mid-April of this year (2021)! Still in the midst of Covid, but we got our vaccines so were able to go to New York for a small trip. These were some of the activities that we did.

Brooklyn Bridge 
- We walked all the way from our hotel in midtown Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge. We decided to try walking and visit some stores in between (Everlane) and also ate at Oh-K Dog on our way there. The walk was pretty long but we didn’t feel too tired until we reached the end of the bridge. It was really interesting to see the change in the environment from Manhattan to Brooklyn. I’m not sure how to describe it, but there was definitely a different vibe I felt between the two areas.

 

DUMBO

- DUMBO is neighborhood also known as Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. There is a tourist spot where you can take a photo with the Manhattan Bridge! It's a good spot to take photos after you cross the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn.

Pebble Beach
- Pebble Beach is a small beach in Brooklyn where you can see both the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge. It was small, but there were areas to sit on and rest at. An acquaintance of mine even proposed in this area recently. After our walk to Brooklyn, we grabbed a Lyft back to the hotel instead of walking back again. (We were super tired after our walk)

Times Square 
- We went through Times Square and went to some of the stores below on 5th avenue. There wasn’t much to see at Times Square during our time unfortunately. 

5th avenue shopping
- We went to the Line Friends Shop, the Disney Store, M&M store, Nintendo, LEGO was closed, and Club Monaco (where Min bought a bunch of clothes!)

Rockefeller Center – Top of the Rock
- The ice rink at Rockefeller Center was unfortunately closed and was under construction, but we went to the Top of the Rock which is the Observation Deck on top of the Rockefeller Center Building. We got tickets beforehand online and were going to go up during the sunset times, however, we had other plans that evening so we went up earlier in the day. The day we went was kind of cloudy, but we could still see the city view with the Empire State Building and Central Park. 

- When you first go into the building, they escort you to a mini museum about the center and the history of the Rockefeller family and about the building. Then they take a photo of you on a skyscraper like the photograph of the men in “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper”. Afterwards, you are taken to an elevator which goes up more than 60 flights to the area you can see your photograph and is also the lower deck of the observatory! It was nice for us because we went at a time when there weren’t a lot of people visiting, so it was pretty empty. You go up again on an escalator to the top of the deck and the view is even better and very pretty. 

- I definitely think the night view or the sunset view would have been really pretty to see that high up in New York. We kind of regret not being able to see that view, but nonetheless, we enjoyed the view and our time.

MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)

- We also went to MoMA on one of our days. We aren't huge art fans, however, the museum was really interesting and fun to look around! There was a variety of different exhibitions and collections. Some of them being really unique while others, I didn't really understand why or how this was art.. (again, not a huge art fan nor know much about art). We also bought these tickets online, but there are some discounts and free tickets for students, so I would look around before buying a ticket at the museum. Next time, I think I would like to go to the Met or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Central Park
- Again, we walked from our hotel to Central Park. The weather was nicer than the other days we were in New York, so we were happy it wasn’t raining. We went through Times Square while walking towards the park and when we got to the park, I rested at an area called Sheep Meadow. It is a large fenced grass area for people to play frisbee, run, have a picnic, exercise, or just lay down and rest! The one thing I really liked was that you didn’t have to worry about any dog or geese poop (I’m not sure if it just Michigan, but we have a lot of geese in the area, so there is always a lot of geese poop in the parks where we live). I think there is a separate dog park somewhere else for those with their pets! Min walked more into the park and went to the garden in the park and also saw Belvedere Castle.

Maison de Mi Salon
- We usually get our hair done in Korea, however, because we were unable to visit this past year with Covid, we decided to get our hair done at Maison de Mi Salon which is a Korean salon. I got a cut with root volume perm and digital curl perm (>$500) and Min got a cut with a men’s short hair perm as well. It took a little over 3 hours for my hair (which is pretty normal for this hair style) and Min was under 2 hours. The price was unfortunately much more expensive than what I was expecting AND we had to pay in cash or else there was an extra credit card fee. I am very happy and satisfied with my hair, however, I don’t think I will be going back if I have to get my hair done again in New York due to the price. I think I'll just stick with going to Korea and getting my hair done there.

You can see more of our New York Trip here! 

https://youtu.be/4ONVJ9A-2n8 (part 1)

http://https://youtu.be/CccR2lfQlV4 (part 2)