Recapping Our Mother-Daughter Trip to New York City

Packed with an eclectic mix of people and culture, beeping cars stuck in traffic, sky high buildings towering over busy streets, and an endless list of must see attractions, restaurants, and coffee shops, New York City is a dot on the map that every traveler should visit at least once. The city has a magical, electric, fast-paced energy that is unmatched by any other city in the United States.

In 2017, my family and I took our first trip to New York City. Visiting the city for the first time, we were overwhelmed by the number of things to see and do. We were small town first timers lost in the bright lights and buzz of big city life. Throughout our trip, we enjoyed the classic first time New York experience and loved every minute of it. We stayed in a hotel right off Time’s Square, used the hop on hop off bus as our primary transportation around the city, and took advantage of the New York Pass to visit the some of New York City’s top recommended tourist spots — Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Ground Zero, and the 911 Museum, among other things.

A few weeks ago, my mom and I visited New York City for the second time as a part of our first ever Mother-Daughter trip. I’ve traveled many places with my mom, but this trip was special: it was the first time we traveled together, just the two of us. We walked over 40 miles, climbed up and down 200 flights of stairs, took lots of pictures, and made so many memories together. We had so much fun navigating the city, mastering the subway system, taking in views of the iconic Manhattan skyline, checking things off our bucket lists, and sharing laughs every minute along the way. We covered a lot of ground as busy travelers in the city that never sleeps, but every mile was a memory, that’s for sure.

After arriving in New York City, Mom and I wasted no time. We checked into our hotel, dropped off our bags, and hopped back on the subway for a quick ride to Time’s Square. We got there at the perfect time: through the bright lights of Time’s Square, we caught the sun setting behind the billboards. As we walked around Time’s Square, we watched daylight fade into night.

Leaving Time’s Square, we stumbled upon the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday windows. As we admired the window displays, the lights on the building started flashing as music chimed through the speakers. We had no idea we walked by just in time to catch a light display. The light display revealed a beautiful Frozen-themed castle that changed colors throughout the entire performance. It was a highly impressive display — so glad we got to see it!

After the Saks’ light display, we stopped to get a look at the famous ice skating rink in front of Rockefeller Center. The Christmas tree lighting ceremony was still a few days away and there weren’t any people ice skating at the time (unless you count the Zamboni), but it was fun to see nonetheless.

Our last stop of the night was Radio City Music Hall. The glowing neon lights reflecting against the dark sky always makes Radio City one of my favorite New York City night stops. I wish we would have had the chance to see the Rockettes, but maybe next time!

Although we were exhausted and back at the hotel by 10PM, we had a fun first night in New York City. From Time’s Square to Rockefeller Center, we shared laughs while catching up with one another, snapped a bunch of Mother-Daughter photos, and enjoyed the bright lights of Midtown Manhattan.

Day two of our Mother-Daughter trip started off with a classic New York City breakfast: bagels! I googled the best bagel shops near the hotel and found an excellent place called Bagel & Cafe. I got a good hearty everything bagel with egg and cheese and Mom got a cinnamon raison bagel with plain cream cheese. We took our coffee to go and headed south to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Though a usually crowded experience, walking the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn is one of my top three favorite things to do in New York City. A walk across the Brooklyn Bridge is a fun, free way to get some fresh air and see the beautiful Manhattan skyline.

Mom and I had so much fun walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. In my opinion, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most picturesque places in all of New York City. We took a lot of pictures for ourselves and got asked to take a lot of pictures for other people as well. Mom grabbed my arm as we walked and wouldn’t let me get too close to the edge. There were a lot of people doing crazy things to get memorable pictures; Mom wouldn’t let me be one of those people.

When we got to the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge, we headed over to DUMBO, Brooklyn (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). This was our first time in DUMBO and I’m glad we stopped because the views of Manhattan were amazing from this area! Here was our view of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline from Main Street Park in DUMBO.

Walking our way around DUMBO, we also visited the famous spot on Washington Street where the Empire State Building perfectly centers itself under the Manhattan Bridge. If you look closely, you can see it in the photo below.

Our last stop in Brooklyn was for pizza! Our pizza craving led us to a top rated place called Juliana’s Pizza. The waiting line was out the door, but let me tell you, it was worth every minute of the wait (which was only 20-30 minutes). They even had heaters outside the restaurant which made the wait easier.

Once we were seated in the restaurant, we enjoyed a cold beer, homemade meatballs, and the most amazing Brooklyn-style pizza. Let me tell you, if you find yourself searching for pizza in New York, I highly recommend you try this place. It was so good and we ate it all!

After stopping at the hotel for a quick nap, Mom and I were back at it again for Saturday night activities. Looking for a sweet treat, we visited The Donut Pub in the West Village. Mom stuck with the boring plain donut, while I enjoyed a maple bacon donut and a nice hot cappuccino. I don’t know how we only ate one donut each — there were so many delicious choices!

After our sweet treat, we jumped on the subway and headed to Central Park. Mom always talked about taking a horse carriage ride through Central Park, so we found ourselves a nice little carriage and set off to cross an item off her bucket list!

We had a fun ride and a super nice tour guide, but Central Park itself was a little disappointing at night. I thought the park would be more decorated with Christmas lights, but Mom and I were a little bummed to find out that wasn’t the case. I think the ride would have been more fun during the day, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

The carriage ride through Central Park wrapped up another fun day in New York City for Mom and me. It was a day filled with good company, good views, and good food. Feeling tired from a long day of walking, talking, and laughing, we hopped on the subway and made our way back to the hotel to get some well-deserved shut eye.

Day three was all about one thing and one thing only: watching the Green Bay Packers play the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. The weather was cold, snowy, sleety, and rainy, but we threw on some extra layers, grabbed our ponchos, and headed to Penn Station to catch a train to New Jersey. The train was filled with more Packers’ fans than Giants’ fans, which made the “Go Pack Go!” chants even louder.

When we got off the train, we walked a lap around the stadium and took a few photos while we waited for the gates to open.

Once inside the stadium, I grabbed a $12 beer and Mom grabbed a hot chocolate and a blanket — priorities, right? We found our seats and waited for the game to start. Lucky for us, our seats were just under the overhang of the upper deck level, so we were completely covered from the wrath of Mother Nature and all her snow, sleet, and rain!

Even though we both felt like icicles by the time the game was over, we had so much fun watching the teams duel it out in the snowy, cold weather. There was so much green and gold throughout the entire stadium; when the Packers beat the Giants, Packers’ fans celebrated the victory with high fives, big smiles, and more “Go Pack Go!” chants.

After the game, the snow and sleet turned to cold, pouring rain. We threw on our ponchos, waited in line for the train, and had a wet ride with rowdy friends back to New York City.

We were freezing cold and soaking wet from head to toe by the time we got back to the hotel. We settled on a hot shower, Chipotle carry out, and a cozy night in. Day three must have kicked Mom’s butt — she was in bed and snoring by 8PM!

Day four was much slower paced than our previous days. I convinced my mom to stop for tea before breakfast so I could try a matcha latte for the first time. I enjoyed my latte, but Mom didn’t enjoy her green tea — she said it tasted like fish (it kind of did).

After tea time, we walked a half mile down the road to a cute little place called Penelope. Here we enjoyed a good, hearty breakfast — I chose Nutella french toast and Mom chose scrambled eggs. The atmosphere of the restaurant was nice, it was quaint and cozy inside, and the food and coffee were both amazingly delicious. Mom and I really enjoyed Penelope.

After breakfast, we walked through the wet snow to Chelsea, Manhattan. We were attempting to visit the High Line, but the weather conditions were snowy, gloomy, foggy, and slippery, so weren’t able go very far before the city closed the access points to the park. It was a bummer — I was looking forward to walking the High Line.

Taking a break from the cold, wet snow falling outside, Mom and I stopped by Blue Bottle Coffee for a nice warm latte. I bought a copy of The New York Times earlier in the day and let me just say it here: Mom was right, I wouldn’t read it, but it made a nice photo prop anyways.

After coffee, Mom and I jumped on the subway and went up to Central Park to see the snow. At this point, our feet were cold and wet from walking through the slushy sidewalks, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Two of my favorite pictures came from our time in snowy Central Park. I love how the camera captured the fading fall colors contrasting with the white snowy landscape.

After our walk through Central Park, Mom and I stopped back at the hotel to freshen up and exchange our wet shoes for dry ones. We walked a few blocks to Churchill Tavern for a quick dinner and a beer (or two), then we set off to the subway to catch a train to Broadway!

Mom and I finished day four attending our first ever Broadway show. We purchased tickets for Aladdin and ended up being happy with our Broadway show selection. The New Amsterdam Theater was beautifully constructed inside, the cast was amazing (especially Genie!), and the story incorporated both classic and modern day humor, which I appreciated.

For those of you who know my mom, I’m pleased to announce she only fell asleep one time throughout the whole show — not bad! After the show ended, we both agreed that attending Aladdin on Broadway was our favorite activity we got to do during our trip to New York City.

To start our last day, Mom and I stopped for another bagel breakfast, this time from a highly recommended spot: Ess-a-Bagel. I read reviews that Ess-a-Bagel was the quintessential New York City bagel stop, so I knew we had to give it a try during our visit. Reviews also said waiting times could be long (30-40 minutes) during peak times (breakfast and lunch), but I was pleased to find an easy, no wait experience during our Tuesday mid-morning stop. I ordered an everything bagel with egg and cheese and it ended up being my favorite bagel I had during our whole trip.

After breakfast, we walked a half mile to the Roosevelt Island Tramway station for a quick ride over the East River to Roosevelt Island. I read about the bright red gondola cars on Pinterest and thought it might be a fun, new way to see New York City. The ride over to Roosevelt Island was the price of a regular Metro Card swipe, so it was basically free with the weeklong pass we bought at the start of our trip.

Here’s the thing: if you don’t like heights, you won’t love the tram ride. But here’s the silver lining: the ride from one side to the other is about five minutes, so you don’t have to suffer long. I enjoyed the ride — the views of Manhattan from the aerial tram were so good. As for my travel companion, she didn’t love it. But hey, I got her to fake a smile long enough to get at least one good picture of the two of us.

When we arrived at Roosevelt Island, we hopped off the tram and walked down to the sidewalk that runs along the East River. It was cold and windy down by the water, but we toughed it out and walked about ten more minutes to the southern part of Roosevelt Island. My mom is a registered nurse, so I thought it would be cool to take her to Renwick Ruin. At one time in the late 1800s, Renwick Ruin was a Smallpox Hospital built as a place to treat and quarantine smallpox patients. Closed a century after it opened and abandoned ever since, the unstable remains sit eerily within a locked gate on Roosevelt Island.

After visiting the abandoned hospital, we walked back to the tram station to catch a ride back to Manhattan. We missed out on a few cool spots at Roosevelt Island, so I’ll have to remember them for my next visit. The most notable was Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park at the southernmost point of Roosevelt Island (right behind the Renwick Ruin actually); I didn’t know it was there!

As we rode back to mainland Manhattan, I realized that the tram passed by the windows of several apartment complexes. Funny enough, I glanced over at one of the windows and saw someone getting dressed — wasn’t expecting that sort of unpleasant surprise (haha!). We got off the tram and set out to find a cute coffee shop to warm up in. Our coffee shop of choice after Roosevelt Island was Remi Flower & Coffee. The interior of the coffee shop was filled with the brightest assortment of flowers — it was so cute!

I ordered a latte and Mom ordered a regular cup of coffee. We sat inside for 20 minutes drinking our warm beverages, watching people gossip while sipping coffee at the table next to ours.

A classic New York City experience is never complete without a view from the top. Mom and I stopped by the Top of the Rock ticket office at Rockefeller Center to purchase tickets for the skyline observatory — our last big activity of our Mother-Daughter trip. We had an hour to kill before our designated viewing time, so we went to find some New York-style cheesecake to satisfy Mom’s cheesecake craving. We walked through sunny Time’s Square to a popular and highly recommended spot —Junior’s.

Junior’s had all kinds of flavors of cheesecake to choose from. We picked a big blueberry piece to share and let me tell you, it was so tasty. Definitely a worthwhile stop if you like cheesecake.

After finishing our delicious cheesecake, we walked back to Rockefeller Center and got to see the NBC crews setting up gates and cameras for the tree lighting ceremony that would be take place the next day. Once inside the Rockefeller Center, we made our way to the entrance for Top of the Rock. A quick elevator ride later and there we were: back in the cold with spectacular views of the city.

Aside from the stunning city views, the best part about Top of the Rock is that there are so many tourists up there to help you capture the silliest moments. We had already taken a few nice pictures, so we turned our efforts toward taking turns “touching” the top of the Empire State Building. After our silly solo pictures, another tourist saw us trying (and failing miserably) to take a picture of ourselves doing the same thing together and offered to help us take the picture. It turned out pretty good given the laughing spell that ensued during the process!

Hungry and ready for our last New York City dinner, Mom and I exited Top of the Rock and made our way to Ellen’s Stardust Diner for a Broadway-themed dining experience. Ellen’s Stardust Diner considers itself the home of the world famous singing waitstaff — a restaurant stacked with Broadway hopefuls who take your food orders and sing you a song or two while you eat. Conceptually, the idea behind the restaurant is great.

This place didn’t hit the mark for us. It really felt like waitstaff didn’t care to put customers in comfortable seats — we got assigned seats at the end of a small, shared table next that was up against a pole. There was not enough room for two people and when we asked to move, the server seemed really annoyed and said there were no open seats. A few minutes later, they moved us anyways. The food wasn’t great, the service was awful (even though 20% gratuity was automatically added to every bill), and the bathrooms were probably the worst I had seen in the city. I enjoyed the singing, but that was about it, unfortunately…

After dinner, we stopped at a little gift shop so I could buy a I Heart New York t-shirt (I always buy t-shirts when I travel places). We said a final goodbye-for-now to Time’s Square before jumping on the subway for our final ride of the trip. Knowing that we had an early wake up call the next morning, we went back to the hotel to pack our bags and get some sleep. It was a fun-filled last day for sure.

And that’s a wrap — five Mother-Daughter days in New York City! It was the most exciting, exhausting, and much needed getaway for Mom and me. We had so much fun exploring new places and old favorites within New York City. This trip was a reminder that the best things in life aren’t things, they’re making memories with people you love. I will remember this trip forever and that makes me smile!

“Welcome to New York.
It’s been waiting for you.”

Thanks for reading. I hope you feel inspired to grab someone you love and make your own memories!

JB