CHRISTY: Vancouver Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion, Beauty, Business, & Food Blogger ❀

In 2022, I went on a 3-day business celebration trip to New York City for the first time. My team and I wanted to celebrate a big milestone and was deciding where to go for that – we picked New York City to have a fancy meal at Per Se (more on this on a later blog post)! I also visited Toronto afterwards for the first time as it was very close to NYC.

I was curious to know what makes people move to NYC and I was also excited to visit the city that I see so much of in TV shows and movies! When I arrived, it was amazing to see the skyscrapers and big colourful billboards.

Some things to bring: sunscreen, wifi, comfortable shoes – lots of walking!

Tip: If you want to eat at some famous restuarants, be sure to see if you need to make reservations beforehand!

Here’s a brief summary of my itinerary:

🗓 DAY 1 (Upper Manhattan) – Times Square, Rockefeller Center, & Central Park

We stayed around Times Square which was super convenient and close to the subway stations! We arrived in the afternoon so the itinerary starts then.

• Afternoon
  • Lunch: Joe’s Pizza (they’re featured on New York Magazine and was showcased in Spiderman)
    • One of the first stops had to be somewhere famous! The pizza slices were huge and there were many different toppings.

• Times Square Daytime View: Second iconic stop had to be Times Square. I was so glad to finally be there and I’ve always wanted to also experience the New Year countdown there too! There were so many big billboards and shops in the area. Take lots of photos!
• Giant M&M Store: I haven’t had M&Ms for a while now but the store had so much variety and also you can to mix and match your own bag of M&Ms.
• Rockefeller Center & Lady M: We visited the Rockefeller Center (where you can also go to the observation deck). We didn’t have time to go up but if you’re interested, check it out!
  • We had Lady M for a snack (I got the Jasmine Tea Mille Crepe!), also got to see the skating rink that I saw in several Marvel movies!
• Central Park: Take a stroll in the iconic Central Park. It was so nice to see so many different people doing different things – some reading, some chatting, some running. It was also interesting to see the skyscrapers in the background of a peaceful park. Apparently there’s also a Zoo there!

• Evening
  • Dinner @ Per Se: For a celebration, I had a fancy dinner at the 3 Michelin Stars restaurant! The service was amazing and the dishes were so delicious. There was a lot of creativity to each dish. My favourite of course were the desserts! I’ll write another blog post on Per Se later. If you want to eat at some Michelin star restaurants it is recommended that you make reservations in advance. If you didn’t, you can see if you can eat at some steakhouses!

• Times Square Evening View: Checking out Times Square in the evening is a must. The billboards light up and the street is full of energy. So many people were sitting and chatting and there were even some street performers.

🗓 DAY 2 (Lower Manhattan) – Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown, World Trade Center, The High Line, Chelsea Market

• Morning
  • Brooklyn Bridge: Time to walk the famous bridge and also take lots of photos! We took an Uber there as it was a bit inconvenient by subway.

• Chinatown: We took another Uber to Chinatown where there were lots of delicious food. I didn’t get to try the famous places but we had some flavourful baos at BAO TEA House!

• Afternoon
  • Washington Square Park: We walked over to the park area and it was so lively. People playing sports, reading, having a picnic. I like that about NYC! You can also take a photo at the Washington Square Park Arch.
  • Levain Bakery (NYC’s Most Famous Cookies): Must get these cookies! Freshly baked and soft with lots of flavours to choose from. I got some souvenirs for my relatives in Toronto and they loved the cookies.

• World Trade Center: The structures and interior design of this building was amazing. It felt so open and bright. We walked around to shop a bit and I loved the feeling of being in that mall.

• 9/11 Memorial & Museum: We cannot forget the terrible tragedy that happened on September 11, 2001. Being at the memorial brought feelings of sadness and fear, and it also reminded me to appreciate friends and family. The museum helped fill me in on a lot of events that happened, from heroes to victims and the damage that was done. May the victims Rest In Peace.
  • If this is something you want to learn more about, then do visit the museum.

• Evening (Visit Chelsea)
  • The High Line: I’ve been seeing updates a while back on The High Line and I have an obsession with elevated walkways and gardens. This was so nice to walk through and see the streets from above. It connects Gansevoort Street to 34th Street in Chelsea.
  • Chelsea Market: One of my favourite places was visiting the Chelsea Market. So many cute shops and restaurants! I also like that it was near the river so the view was amazing.
    • Dinner/ Snack Places: Mokbar (Korean Food), seafood stalls

• Dinner: We wanted to try some steak on the way back to Times Square and ate at Wolfgang Steakhouse (multiple locations).
• Drinks: Sky bars were definitely places to go in NYC for some amazing city views (we went to Ninth Avenue)

🗓 DAY 3 – Midtown West (Before Flying To Toronto)

Since this was the day we flew to Toronto (as it was nearby), the schedule was quite rushed.

• Morning
  • The Vessel: A popular honeycomb-shaped landmark to take photos at
  • Hudson Yards: Lots of shops in this business center

That’s pretty much it for the short trip to New York! The food I had were all really tasty and there are so many more places I want to try but until next time. I do list a couple other great spots to visit if you have more time!

Other Places To Go:

• Broadway Shows
• Wall Street
• Grand Central Terminal
• Washington Street in Dumbo – Popular photo spot with Brooklyn Bridge in the background
• 5th Avenue – Fashionable streets with lots of places to shop

Other Links:

• 🍴 Check out my foodie account @christyenjoys for more!
• If you’re also travelling to Hong Kong or Osaka nearby, check out my blogs!
• Stay tuned for my upcoming Bangkok and Hiroshima/ Miyajima blog post!
• See the full suy mmary of my Asia trip