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NEW YORK CITY + TRAVEL GUIDE

My husband and I (along with our pup, Leon) recently had the opportunity to go to New Jersey for a work trip and we had ONE DAY to visit NYC while we were there.

By: Chelsea Brinkley + Save to a List

Now, one day is definitely not enough time to fully explore the city so I turned to my friend Gennean who loves NYC and also wrote two excellent blog posts on what to eat and what to do there (make sure you check this out because she’s phenomenal). We knocked a lot of stuff off the list but will definitely have to go back to explore some more and hit up more of Gennean’s favorite spots.

So here’s the deal, I so badly wanted to love NYC and thought I was going to come back conflicted wanting to move there, but I just didn’t. I was actually shocked myself and it feels blasphemous as a traveler not loving NYC, but hey just telling y’all the truth. Now, I really liked it and enjoyed exploring the city, but it just wasn’t love for me and I had no problem coming back to the Colorado mountains. I will say there’s something special about it though, I mean it’s THE New York City. However, for me it felt like this… stimulation overload, breathing in smog/exhaust and wondering what my body was inhaling, extremely crowded and touristy (yes, I recognize I was one of them), smelled bad in general but especially in the subways – it felt dirty, and was constantly loud. It just wasn’t for me. I will be going back though to explore more of what’s on the Google Map below – it’s just that I think it’s a place I can only do for 2 or 3 days max.

I love using Google maps when I travel, so I put all the places Gennean suggested in her two blog posts on here. You should still go check out her posts because she mentions some fun tips, tells you what you need to try at each location, and explains how to get to some secret locations.

The places we conquered in our one day: Times Square, Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, the mall in Central Park, Top of The Rock at Rockefeller, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Grand Central Station, Flatiron Building, and Madison Square Park.

We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

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