We did it! We made it to NYC!
Since always my girlfriends Vukica, Sanja, Tijana and I have been trying to manage going on vacation together. As we all work for different companies and live in different cities and countries we have been struggling with that for a while. To make this trip happen we had to plan our vacation a lot in advance. We didn’t even know the destination at first but we wanted to make sure that all of us can go at the same time. And October seemed like a perfect month when all four of us could be possibly free.
We spontaneously decided to go there, as Vukica got a free plane ticket in her company and suggested going to New York. And we accepted it, of course. This trip just wasn’t all about visiting new destination, it was more about us spending time together and catching up. We were lucky enough to have it all – doing what we love – traveling, while hanging out together. Perfect combination.
Well, planning this whole trip wasn’t as smooth as we expected but in the end the most important thing is that this girls trip actually happened.
As I mentioned earlier, we don’t live in the same cities, but 3 of us managed to reunited the night before the flight, and to travel together.
We had a direct flight from Belgrade to JFK. The flight was very pleasant and the AirSerbia crew was great.
The flight lasted for about 9 hours, but I had a great company, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. When we landed and met with Sanja, we couldn’t even believe that we made it. That we are actually together in New York.
We took a cab (yellow, of course) to take us to our accommodation. We decided that the best option will be renting a whole apartment located in Manhattan. So we did it few weeks before trip via airbnb. We were not looking for anything very fancy, because we were aware that we will be there only for spending night.
We fell in love instantly with this brick wall interior. And the rest of the details in the apartment are super cool, too.
It was already an afternoon when we arrived, so we have just dropped our luggage there and decided to go and meet this city a little bit. We bought MetroCard with 7-day unlimited pass for 32$ (the SingleRide ticket costs 3$, so this purchase definetely paid off, because we used it a looot) and took the subway to Grand Central Terminal first.
When you exit the subway at this station, and you go up the stairs, this is the first thing you see. It is a famous landmark located on 42nd Street and Park Avenue.
It is also one of the busiest train stations in the world.
And of course, even though we were tired after a long flight, we took several pictures with the iconic clock that stands in the middle, seen in many movies and TV series.
After this, we continued walking to Times Square which was only few blocks away. As we were passing Bryant Park we couldn’t continue without taking a look.
Bryant Park is a great spot to sit, relax, grab a quick bite to eat, watch people or simply enjoy the scenery.
Even if you are not good at orientation, don’t worry, you simply cannot miss the Times Square. With all the lights, billboards, street entertainers, street food trucks, cabs, overcrowded streets it’s a lively place with a special vibe. Before coming there I was like ‘I don’t get why everybody makes a big fuss about Times Sq?’ and then, I totally fell in love with it. There are so many different people roaming all the time. It is such a vibrant place and I like it.
We sat for a little bit on a famous red stairs, and just observed a diverse range of people for a while (I love doing that at the airports, too – it’s so interesting). The energy is what impressed me the most there. I love that constant motion.
Everybody says that you wouldn’t be truly experiencing New York if you didn’t try street food and buy a hot dog from a hot dog truck on the street. So, on our way home we grabbed one.
After eating we went back to appartment. It was a long and fun day. We woke up in Belgrade, flew for 9 hours across the half world, reunited at JFK and visited Times Sq all in one day. We loved that fact, but we needed to catch up some sleep.
More about this amazing vacation coming soon. So, stay tuned..
Wow! I also went to the area you went before! My favorite place is most definitely Bryant Park! I actually went to NYC a couple of times, because I live in NJ. It is certainly a great city.