We decided to celebrate our first anniversary in the Big Apple, because if you’re going to celebrate a winter wedding then there’s no better place to freeze your butt off than New York City.
Y’all know by now that we love Hyatt properties. On this trip we used our points to get a room at the Grand Hyatt New York, which is conveniently located in midtown Manhattan at Grand Central Station.
We bought a City Pass, which covers admission into several museums and attractions. First, we stopped by the American Museum of Natural History
Then made our way to the bustling tourist trap that is Times Square.
By this point, we had stopped for New York-style pizza and bagels but a trip to NYC wouldn’t be complete without a giant deli sandwich. This is the Woody Allen sandwich at Carnegie Deli on 7th Avenue at 55th Street. At $25 it’s not a cheap snack but totally worth it. I mean, look at all that corned beef and pastrami!
The next day, we used our City Pass to board a 3-hour Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise. In my opinion, this is the most efficient way to view the Manhattan skyline and Statue of Liberty. I would definitely recommend it to first time visitors. Once on board, there are plenty of seats available in the climate-controlled cabin, or you can walk around and take pictures. Refreshments can be purchased at the snack bar and there are bathrooms on the lower deck.
Next up was Rockefeller Plaza. Separate from our City Pass, we reserved tickets for the NBC Studio tour. We got to go behind the scenes in several studios including Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live. No pictures allowed, unfortunately, so you’ll have to take my word for it.
And since we were already in the area, we used our City Pass for a ride to Top of the Rock.
Later that evening we met up with our buddy, Kevin Levy. It was also the same night as the Oscars so we watched part of the star-studded event from a quaint Irish pub.
Then, after a few adult beverages, we decided to use our City Pass at the Empire State Building. Did you know it’s open until 2 a.m.?! Needless to say, in the wee hours of a February morning we didn’t have to wait in any lines. Actually, we were the only ones on the elevator, which made for some hilarious selfies.
The next day was our actual anniversary and we had plenty on our to-do list. First, we popped in the Museum of Modern Art courtesy of our City Pass. It is the craziest, most eccentric art museum ever – and we loved it. If we had realized how interesting MoMA was we would definitely have planned more time there, but we were on a tight schedule because Drew got us seats at a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman!
We had dinner reservations that night at Gramercy Tavern located in the Flatiron District at 42 East 20th Street. It was phenomenal.
We got in some more sightseeing before our return flight the following afternoon. We stopped by the 9/11 Memorial, Wall Street/financial district, Battery Park and grabbed lunch in Chinatown.
There’s so much to do, see and eat in NYC. We look forward to our next visit when we can spend more time exploring the neighborhoods and boroughs. Hope to see you soon, New York.