NYC Travel Guide: Top of the Rock

Sylvia — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 02:32:22 +0000

Growing up in New York City, it’s easy to become jaded by the tourist sites. I know people who have spent their whole lives in the city, but have never visited the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building because those are places that tourists go. All these places are filled with tourists, but they are also full of history and really cool to experience, at least once. Last weeks, Alex and I took a trip to the Top of the Rock. It was the first time that Alex had visited an observatory in NYC and the Top of the Rock holds a special place in my heart because it is where Tommy asked me to be his girlfriend, what seems like a million years ago.

I prefer the Top of the Rock over the Empire State Building because both building are in Midtown and give you a very similar view, but the lines at the Top of the Rock are much shorter and they sell tickets for an assigned time, which helps with crowd control. The Top of the Rock also gives you a killer view of the Empire State Building.

The Top of the Rock has three levels of observation decks, which give you the perfect 360 view of the whole city. The first two levels are behind glass, but the top level has just a small fence, making for some great pictures. Alex really liked using the binoculars to try to look for our house. Pro Tip: there is a change machine in the gift shop at the top, if you happen to visit without quarters for the binoculars.

The weather was perfect on the day that we visited, with clear skies that let us see for miles. If you’re planning on visiting, I recommend checking the weather and choosing a clear day. On days with low clouds, the whole view could be obstructed.

Days like these make me so grateful for living in New York and being able to give Alex these types of experiences!

Have you ever visited New York City? Did you get to stop at the Top of the Rock?

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NYC for Kids – Brooklyn Bridge Park

Sylvia — Mon, 18 Jul 2016 18:07:35 +0000

When people think of vacations for children, NYC is not a place that usually comes to mind. NYC might be loud, crowded and sometimes dirty, but there are tons of great places to visit with kids that are usually off the beaten path. One of my favorite places in the whole city is Brooklyn Bridge Park. It is a huge park along the Brooklyn waterfront with amazing city views and so many free or low cost activities for children and adults.

Last week, Alex and I took a trip to Brooklyn Bridge Park with roller skating in mind, but ended up spending almost the whole day there. The roller skating rink in located at Pier 2 of the park and has amazing views of the city.

For just $5, you can skate to your heart’s content for as long as you would like between the hours of 10AM and 2:30PM or you can go after 3PM for FREE! Rental skates are an extra $6, but you are able to bring your own. If you’re not an experienced skater, you can rent a skate mate to help keep you on your feet. Helmets are not provided, so bring your own! You can also rent a decent sized locker for just 25 cents to store your belongings while you skate.

We got there at about 11:30 AM and practically had the whole rink to ourselves with the exception of a handful of skaters. It was so much fun!

We skated and took in the views for over an hour.

After we were all skated out, we headed over to Jane’s Carousel.

The carousel is a beautiful hand-carved carousel built in 1922. Rides are just $2 a pop and give you a beautiful panorama of the city skyline.

Even though it is a simple ride, Alex wanted to ride it over and over. There’s something really great about the simplicity of it, and just enjoying the view.

Before we headed home, we stopped at the YO/OY Sculpture that is on display through the end of August 2016.

It is such a cool piece of artwork!

Brooklyn Bridge Park also offers a lot of different free events throughout the summer, such as fitness classes, a pop-up pool and movies with a view. Check out the schedule here!

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