New York City: Day 1

Oh New York, where do I begin? We just got home on Monday night from our trip to the city and I'm already missing it. It was my first time there, and I had no idea how much I would fall in love with the place. Yes, it was crowded. Yes, the subway was grimy. But there were a whole lot of other things that I loved about this city and I can totally understand why people give their life to it. The hustle and bustle, the opportunity, the history, the tall buildings, the parks! I loved it all.

Our first day we arrived at our friends' place in Queens. They were so nice to let us stay with them for a couple nights! Their house is only a fifteen minute train ride into the heart of Manhattan, which was quite convenient. First thing, we, along with our friends and their adorable little girl, took the subway straight to Times Square and walked through the craziness of it all. Just being there, standing in between those tall buildings, is not something you can capture on film. It's a feeling you get when you're there that I just can't describe. We walked down Broadway mesmerized by all that there was to see. We stopped in the Flatiron District at Madison Square Park and stood in line for thirty minutes to get burgers at the infamous Shake Shack. It was well worth the wait! Delicious burgers and fries, and ice cream too!

From there, we walked through Eataly, which was a treat in itself (I wish we got to eat there!), and then we parted ways with our friends and headed off on our own towards The High Line. What a neat idea for a park, that walks you right through the city, but not on a street! We really liked it, and we walked the whole length of it. Then we walked through Greenwich Village all the way down to the new World Trade Center and the 9/11 Memorial. It was amazing and sad to see how big the foundations of those buildings are, and to imagine the giant skyscrapers that are no longer existent, as well as the people all those names represented.

For dinner, we ate at Sevilla in West Village, a recommendation from Michael's cousin. It was a quaint little Spanish restaurant that had a small town feel even though we were in the middle of Manhattan. That's one thing we noticed about the city - even though it's big, its neighborhoods form their own little communities and can actually feel really small. That's something I never would have expected.

After dinner, we walked back up to Times Square to see it all lit up at night, and then headed home on the train. I think we probably walked over 10 miles that day! Our feet and legs were seriously aching, but we loved being able to tour the city by foot. It's really the best way to do it.

Stay tuned for days two, three, and four! If you want to see a few sneak peeks, follow me on Instagram.