New York & Boston: Where To Eat and Explore

 
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New York & Boston: Where To Eat And Explore

Exploring New York City & Boston with American Airlines

Liam and I keep saying this to each other, but we truly are so pleased that we decided to travel through the US on the way to Europe this year. It’s a great way to break up the travel (up to 35 hours of travel from NZ to the UK!) with only 12 hours from Auckland to the West Coast, around 6 hours from West to the East coast, and then about 6.5 hours from East Coast cities to London. 

We flew this journey with American Airlines who are truly the most helpful, reliable and comfortable US based airline and we always enjoy flying with them! American Airlines have hundreds of flights going through the US per day and 20 of them fly into London, so they’re perfect to book with if you’re wanting to explore the states en route to Europe! 

I said this in my LA Vlog back in January where we flew with American Airlines from Auckland to LAX, and I will say it again, I usually can’t eat plane food but American Airlines truly has the BEST food. I’m a super fussy eater so it’s great to know there will always be something I can eat when we fly with American!  

Another thing we have noticed about American Airlines after flying with different airlines in the past, is their great selection of films and TV. The huge selection includes Game Of Thrones, Friends (a must watch on the way to NY!), Modern Family and all the big new release films (I watched Bohemian Rhapsody and LOVED it). There’s nothing worse than hopping on a plane to find a small selection of entertainment, so we also love that we can rely on American Airlines to keep us entertained throughout our flights. They also have Wifi on their flights which is super handy if you need to get some work done or want to research some restaurant recommendations! 

48 Hours In New York City

The thing about New York is that you just don’t understand the magic of it, until you go. It’s one of those places you hear about your entire life, but you can’t even imagine how fantastic it is until you finally get to experience it. If I’m being completely honest, when we first arrived in the evening I wasn’t sold, it’s crazy loud and people can be pushy on the streets, but once you settle in the constant tooting becomes white noise and your eyes adjust to the bright lights. I finally got to understand why this city is so loved, and fell in love with it myself! 

My favourite areas of the city

-       Soho (get off at Spring St or Prince St subway stations)

All the best shopping is here! Glossier, Everlane, & Other Stories, Reformation, Brandy Melville are my faves. Go to Milk Bar for the Cereal Milk soft serve and spend time wandering the streets full of funky artwork, boutiques and classic NY buildings. A great spot for people watching! 

-       Central Park (get off at Columbus circle, 5thAve or 72 street subway station)

An obvious one but a must do, it’s a bit of fresh air from the city and so gorgeous to wander through with a morning or afternoon coffee

-       Chelsea Markets (get off at 14thstreet station subway)

Literally the most amazing food market I have ever been in my life! It’s all permanent beautiful indoor stores and there’s literally something for everyone, go with an empty stomach

-       Brooklyn Bridge (get off at Brooklyn Bridge City Hall subway station)

I know you’re on holiday and most people don’t care about getting ‘that gram’ BUT going to the bridge at 6.30 AM when the sun is still rising and nobody is there apart from the odd jogger is one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced, apart from the gross creepy old man I caught filming me.. be aware of those guys in New York, apparently it’s pretty common. Gross

-       Williamsburg, Brooklyn (get off at Bedford Ave subway station)

Where all the cool kids hang, Wburg is the nicest area in Brooklyn and is the perfect spot to escape Manhattan for a morning or afternoon. The perfect place to get lost with a coffee or spend an evening with a cocktail on a rooftop. It’s such a quick subway ride and SO worth checking out! Lots of funky street art too. I absolutely loved it

 

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Where to eat

(I’ve included a few recommendations from you guys that I didn’t manage to visit)

-       Joe’s Pizza is the best for pizza by the slice! There are a few around the city 

-       Partner’s Coffee, Williamsburg

-       La Colombe Coffee Roasters there are a few but they’re mainly in Soho, Chelsea, Tribeca and there’s one in Mid Town too. Iced Mocha’s are GREAT

-       Prince Street Pizza, Soho 

-       Magnolia Bakery (there’s a few around town)

-       Jack’s Wife Freida, Soho

-       Ruby’s, Soho

-       Eat By Chloe (vegan), Soho

-       Chelsea Market

-       The Bagel Store, Williamsburg

-       Eatily, Flat Iron District

-       Roberta’s, Williamsburg

-       Rubirosa, Soho

-       Sweet Chick, Williamsburg & East Village

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What to do

-      FlyNyon open door helicopter flights over NYC. You’re completely harnessed in and you get to dangle your feet over the city, truly a breathtaking experience. An expensive activity but wow it’s worth EVERY penny! Take their free shuttle out to their flight location (we didn’t know about it and wasted our money on ubers)

-      We didn’t do it because of the flight but go up the Rockefeller centre for views of the Empire State Building

-      Visit the 9/11 memorial

-      Just wander and explore! My favourite thing to do when we travel is to aimlessly explore, people watch, stumble onto cute streets, see where the locals live, try and take a bit of magic that’s away from the typical tourist itinerary.

  How to get around

-      NYC is the one city where Uber’s are crazy expensive. Once you arrive, check whether an uber into Manhattan is going to cost you more than the set rate of the yellow cab’s (normally around 50 USD). If it’s over, take the cab, if it’s under, take the uber. It all depends on traffic! 

-      Use the Google Maps app on your phone to download the NYC map so you can use it without wifi and then use it to figure out the subway. You literally just pop where you want to go in and press the train/public transport button and it tells you the exact subway stations and lines to get on and off, it’s SO helpful

  Other things to know about New York

-      It’s expensive. If you want to have nice brunches & dinners, make sure you allow for it in your budget! My tip is to look up restaurant menu’s online before you decide to go anywhere to make sure it’s not too overpriced 

-      It can be a bit smelly, but that’s part of the furniture. You’ve gotta embrace the city for what it is! 

-      The locals are really helpful. The people of New York can be brash, but they will always try to help you out

-      Be careful of pickpockets on the subway and keep your wits about you in the dark

-      There are no public toilets, a kind local told us to use the toilets in libraries or wander into hotel lobbys and pretend like you’re staying there to use a loo! Or buy a cheap soft drink at a fast food chain and use their toilet, you usually need a code that you’ll get on a receipt. 

Discovering Boston, Massachusetts

Next up we took a short 1 hour 20 minute flight with American Airlines to a city that we had always wanted to visit, Boston! Liam has family living there, so it was the perfect excuse to pop in for a couple of days to explore somewhere different to the usual touristy cities in the USA.

Boston completely took us by surprise, we were incredibly lucky to get the local’s tour from Liam’s family members so we really got to experience the true charm of such a rich in history city. I absolutely love learning about the New England Pilgrim Era (think the Salem Witch Trials!) as well as learning about the huge Italian influence on the city so I was very excited to put my tourist hat on!

What to do & Where to eat

-      Walk the Freedom Trail around town that passes through 16 historical locations. There is so much American history to learn about in Boston, and it’s free! Just follow the trail!

- Wander through the Boston Common, one of the most beautiful parks

- Hop on the subway and spend the afternoon exploring the Harvard University Campus. Make sure you check out the Harvard second hand book store!

- Watch a Red Sox game at Fenway Park

- Get the best Iced Mocha at Tatte Bakery (super chic REALLY good coffee place!)

- Go for a cocktail at Yvonne’s, a super cool, old school swanky bar that will make you feel like the Italian Mafia is about to walk in and sit in the corner with a whiskey & a cigar.

- There’s a huge Italian influence in Boston so make sure you go for dinner at Assaggio

- We also went to the most incredible Italian dessert place called Modern Pastry, I highly recommend it!

- Just explore! The North End of Boston is full of the most beautiful New England buildings from the Pilgrim area with fantastic bars and restaurants on every corner.

 
travelAsh Owens