Hi world! Chris here. While my post last week explained how and why I ended up in New York City for my spring break this year, it turns out that studying The Great Gatsby wasn’t the only thing I did there. As a first time visitor, I wanted to be one of the thousands of people that play tourist every day. With the help of my big sister, I got to do just that.

Perhaps the biggest tourist trap that I know of from New York is none other than Times Square. It’s got the jumbo screens, it’s got the Broadway billboards, it’s got the Disney store, and it’s got the New Year’s Eve ball. It’s got literally everything a small town girl could dream of seeing in the big city.

Of course, even though those dreams are aware that it’s also got a lot of people, they don’t always include them. But in real life, they were all there.

To be completely honest, the crowds weren’t that bad. They weren’t pleasant, but it wasn’t all that annoying to deal with them. I kind of enjoyed the fast pace at which they flew along their lives and I tried to let it sweep me up beside them as best I could. Of course that was hard to do without outpacing my sister and my mother who both felt no need to adapt to the rush around them.

I had always heard that wasn’t something you could do in New York City. Everyone told me you had to move fast and keep up with what was around you. But my sister and my mother turned out just fine going at their own pace. The same destinations were waiting when we got there behind everyone else.

Amidst the symphony of car horns and conversations, some really great music can be found as well. Ellen’s Stardust Diner is just by Times Square and technically still on Broadway. It’s the main thing I would recommend to anyone on their trip to New York because it might just be my favorite part of mine.

Come for the singing and stay for the food. It’s the only place to hear potential Broadway stars before they find their way into the spotlight. And let me tell you, they sound AMAZING. You might even get showered in straws and confetti if you go on your birthday like I did. Even if there’s a line outside, I promise it’s worth the wait.

Speaking of places to eat, no trip to New York could actually count without a piece of pizza in the city. We did our best to find a real hole in the wall spot and test out the mythical legend that is New York City pizza.

While I agree that it was good pizza, I have to admit I don’t get the hype. There was nothing life altering in the way this pizza tasted compared to the way Papa John’s does. Maybe it’s a northerner thing. Kind of like the (I think this is what it was called, but I could be wrong so don’t quote me on this) egg cream milkshake we tried.

Once again, there was nothing Earth shattering about this drink. It was like a chocolate milkshake mixed with soda; not bad, but not amazing. The best part about it was the fact that my sister spilled it all over the table on accident just after a kid had spilled his drink at the table beside us. It was a real bonding moment for the two of them.

I didn’t bond with anything until I had my first macaron from Ladurée. That was as close as any food has come to changing my life. It really made me think I’d make a great upper class lady to be able to eat those on the regular.

To balance out my new dessert experience, I also had to try another New York City staple. That means I got a warm salted pretzel and it was amazing. Highly recommend.

I think that finishes the food portion of the post. Sorry to get sidetracked like that, but eating is always an important part of any trip so it deserved some serious consideration. Just like getting outside and around something that at least resembles nature does. That’s why we had to check out the different parks of New York City, starting with Washington Square Park.

While I liked Washing Square Park, some part of me feels like it was more crowded there than at Times Square. It was still cool to see the different performers singing or painting or writing poems for people with cash. It was a hive of activity more so than anywhere else we went. However, it wasn’t my favorite park. That title has to belong to Central Park.

What Central Park lacked in performers, it made up for in its looks. It was too early in the season for flowers to be blooming, but the architectural beauty was still standing strong. It felt old like other parts of the city didn’t, as if it had been waiting this whole time to just to welcome in new visitors.

There was a peace in Central Park that I couldn’t find anywhere else in New York City. It made it feel a bit like the eye of a hurricane. This place of calm in between the clamorous buildings and the lives they held.

If Central Park was the eye of the hurricane, the High Line is a gentler storm in general. A walking path above the ground, it’s spotted with small gardens as it winds through the city like a soft wind bringing in rain when the world needs it. Simple and lovely, it’s another attraction that every tourist needs to take note of.

I know I’ve mentioned how much I enjoy being outside hiking before, so maybe I’m biased, but these little moments surrounded by city and scenery really made the trip. They brought home to New York; something I didn’t know I wanted until I found it there.

It goes without saying that there’s a lot more to New York City than any of this. So much more that I had to break this topic up into three posts. This was just the second, but the final post will be coming next week in place of another Redhead Review.

Until then, stay safe out there and continue to social distance yourself!