
We made it to New York City! We stayed the whole month of October in a cozy Airbnb in the Upper West Side. The location was perfect for exploring the city during our semi sabbatical. And we definitely took advantage of it!
Central Park, Manhattan

Our Airbnb was right off of Central Park West, so we walked into Central Park every single day during our stay. The park is massive, and a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city. My favorite part about the park was watching the leaves change color over the month! Fall is such a great time in New York City.

You can really get lost in the park and forget you’re in NYC. Enjoy a picnic in the Great Lawn, take a stroll around the Reservoir, or go on a long run around the whole park. It’s a must see when visiting NYC! We really enjoyed going during the week, when it wasn’t as crowed. The benefits of being on a semi sabbatical!
Riverside Park, Manhattan

Riverside Park is, in my opinion, the most underrated park in Manhattan. It follows the length of the west side of Manhattan along the Hudson River. This park is so special to me, because this is where I found my love for running during PT school. Going to school up in Washington Heights, running down to Riverside Park and running up and down the greenway was such a great escape from the stresses of my program.

It’s still so wild to me that New Jersey is just on the other side of this river! You can get to New Jersey from Manhattan over the George Washington bridge (pictured above), or through the underground tunnels either via car or subway. For Manhattan being an island, there is no shortage of ways to get access in and out of the city!
One World Observatory, One World Trade Center

We went to the One World Observatory at night, where we got 360 degree views of the city! You take an elevator ride up to the top, where they dramatically reveal the views from the top. You can walk around and see Manhattan, New Jersey, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. The Statue of Liberty even looks tiny from this view!
Broadway – Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

We couldn’t come to NYC and not see a show! We love musicals, but we decided to opt for something different. As Harry Potter fans, we really enjoyed this play! This play is about Harry and Ginny’s son, Albus, and the adventure he goes on with his unexpected best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. Definitely worth watching if you love Harry Potter!
It was also great because we were able to score discount same day tickets through TKTS. We caught a midweek show, which was nice because it wasn’t that crowded and we were able to score some great tickets close up for a discounted price!
All. The. Food!
New York City has a pleuthra of amazing food to choose from. So don’t mind the excessive amount of food pics here 🙂

We did the Ultimate Chinatown Food Tour, and we were not disappointed! In 2.5 hours, we tried 5 different restaurants, all within a short walking distance of each other. We tried peanut noodles, soup dumplings, fried dumplings, har gow, and ube sponge cake!

We had the biggest platter of spaghetti I’ve ever laid my eyes on at Carmine’s. The portion sizes are enormous, so this platter fed us again for lunch the next day!

It wouldn’t be a trip to NYC without dim sum! We decided to try Jing Fong on the Upper West Side. We got the shu mai, har gow, steamed pork buns, and fried dumplings – delicious!
And we obviously had the NYC classics – pizza slices, bagels, halal food, etc. We are leaving NYC with full bellies, and full hearts!

For me, the best part about visiting NYC was seeing all of our friends from PT school. The hubby and I met in NYC while we went to PT school. Since graduating over 6 years ago, while some of us have moved to other parts of the country, we still have friends that have stayed in the city. Being able to spend so much time with them this month was so amazing. This confirmed why we decided to take this semi sabbatical – to help us reconnect with our loved ones across the globe!
We’ve got a bunch of travels coming up in November for month 8 of our semi sabbatical. We’re looking forward to exploring the Northeast!
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