New York, New York!
Fast-forward a couple of hours and I have also booked myself a trip to NYC, a surprise for my husband who I have a welling up of gratitude and love for after this whole episode. We would go at the end of May, and to heck with the people who say that it’s absolutely not a place for young children.
At the end of May, we are stood at an emptying luggage belt at JFK, our pram and buggy board nowhere in sight staring down the barrel of four nights in the city with two kids and no wheels. There had also been some tears as we transited in Dublin (mine), one favoured sandal somehow snapped clean in half (also mine). But we were there, we had MADE IT – the Big Apple was ours to discover.
This was our first time to NYC, and so I was keen for us to be right in it. Unless you’ve been to Times Square, it’s very hard to get a steer on exactly how insane ‘right in it’ is but if you can picture a lady in nothing but a thong, pumping Nigerian nightclubs (in the day), spinning selfie wheels and throngs of people spilling onto pavements surrounded by huge flashing billboards, you can get a rough idea.
NYC is five hours behind, so landing mid-afternoon was actually nearly bedtime for the kids. We had managed to score a random pram from baggage reclaim but the chorus of ‘my legs hurt’ from Lois was wearing a tad thin. With both kids dead on their feet, we ended up in the bright lights of a 99-cent pizza slice shop and then plodded back to the relative calm of our hotel, The Michelangelo, to crack open a box of wine from our suitcase (husband goals) and enjoy the smug peace of two slumbering children. As 2am rolled round, the inevitable happened, and both kids woke, presuming it to be morning. With much cajoling and a full bed, we all managed to get some sleep, waking up at a time we would have been delighted with at home, but somehow in NYC was actually only 6am. This turned out to be one of the very best(?) things about going to New York with kids. It was early starts making the most of the full day, but equally early to bed, and a bit of downtime for us.
A side note here on The Michelangelo, which is perfect for families. We had a suite with a living room and a separate bedroom. By New York standards it was ginormous, plus every room has a huge marble bathtub too. It’s a real slice of old school Italian glamour in a great location, somehow managing to be both on the doorstep of everything, but also homely, safe and peaceful.
Day two, we started with a proper American breakfast at an old-school diner called Johny’s Luncheonette. We all sat in a row at the counter watching them make our pancakes and eggs over easy. Johny's is one of the most popular, and had a pretty big queue outside constantly. But you'll find plenty more great diners dotted across the city. We’d gone to NYC with our eyes open knowing prices are really high now, so our plan was a humungous breakfast and then a light lunch and dinner so we weren’t going too mad. That being said, we still managed to average £500 a day in spends! And I will never eat another tater tot again…
That afternoon, we’d booked tickets for the baseball. This was one of our absolute favourite parts of our trip - the atmosphere in the Yankees Stadium was incredible. We had no idea of the rules, and it was $17 for a beer, but I would recommend as an absolute must do if you are in NYC during the season. You can easily hop on the subway from Midtown to the Bronx, and tickets to the game were about $35 each.
Day three we activated our NYC Pass. This is one of my biggest wins – The Pass includes access to loads of attractions, some need pre-booking, others you just scan on the door. Each day you buy it for, the average price becomes cheaper, so it’s worth doing it for at least three days in my opinion.
We managed to squeeze quite a few things in but could have done more. The Empire State was fabulous. It was the whole history of the place which blew me away. They have an area where the windows are screens, playing King Kong scrambling up and peering in at you. Billy was absolutely beside himself screeching “MONKEY!” for the remainder of our trip. New York does viewing platforms brilliantly and we climbed the Edge, Rockefeller and One World during our trip, but I’d say Empire State pips them all to the post.
We also did a day’s pass on an open-top bus tour which was very, very welcomed by day four when my ankles felt as though they would buckle if I dared take another step. This was a great way to tick off Wall Street and Lower Manhattan but, in honesty, I could have happily spent another full day exploring here. It makes sense to do One World, the 9/11 Memorial and Statue of Liberty while you’re in this part of the city. While we didn’t make it to everything, we did hit One World at sunset with helicopters at virtual eye level, which the kids loved!
Four nights taught me that to experience it properly, you’d be so much better with longer. We barely brushed on Central Park. I’d have loved to have made it to the old school fairground at Coney Island. I was desperate to have a wander around Chelsea and Greenwich although we did make a stretch of the High Line, a disused railway route that’s been refashioned as a green oasis in the city making a great walk with artworks and events. The kids were too young to go to a show, but it would have been on our list. We did squeeze in Ellen’s Stardust Diner, an old school 50s joint where the waiters and waitresses suddenly start blasting out fabulous Broadway-worthy music performances. Rainbow bagel with lox and cream cheese, a huge Bloody Mary and glitter confetti raining down on you is so the best start to a day.
So, New York, in summary, in your face, epic, flipping expensive and, quite honestly a bit lifechanging. Even though (for my own holidays) I’m very much take it as it comes, it’s definitely a place that requires a bit of an itinerary. But it’s also amazing to just walk round, looking up and soaking up somewhere you’ve seen thousands of times in movies and TV. We had a truly incredible few days and would return in a heartbeat, kids or no kids.