Four days in New York for a teenager and a tween is enough. I just wanted to introduce my daughters to a city that I myself loved as a teenager.
Each had established its priorities. For the mother, make at least two major tourist visits. For Laure, it’s impossible to miss the Madame Tussauds wax museum. And for Mathilde, buy clothes on 5th Avenue. Well! everyone was delighted.
After a somewhat difficult night of travel by coach, we arrive at 8 am in New York. We take advantage of the morning to go to diner from the corner “as seen on TV” and walk two hours in Times Square.
For Laure, we go through the M & M’s store. The number of unaffordable bébelles is impressive. The girls are excited, but we come out without buying anything. The watchword of the trip is “no waste!” They are warned. In the afternoon, walk and locate on 5th Avenue. Laure is excited by the Disney Store. They were three floors of pure delight. We also go through the FAO Schwarz store, but the girls do not hang too much, except for the haute couture Barbies and the luxury candy counter. We return to the hotel early to go and relax in the swimming pool which offers a splendid view of the illuminated skyscrapers.
The next day, in order to keep my promise, we walk to Mme Tussauds (42nd Street, near Broadway). It was five floors of excitement and joy for the girls. Laure chooses an Oscar signed Madame Tussauds, perfect for her star imitations. We then walk to 34th Street to climb to the top of the Empire State Building. Mathilde, who had everything planned, makes me discover the underside (!) Of the Victoria’s Secret store, located next door.
At the Empire State Building, we try to get past everyone by holding up our New York Passes. It works moderately. You have to stand in line anyway for security, a good half hour. And it is obviously at this moment that the children absolutely want to go to the bathroom … Once the first step is taken, we will then avoid the very long wait for tickets and elevators. Hooray!
Phew! On the way to the 81st floor. Our eardrums get blocked. We then walk up to the 86th floor. I think I struck a big blow with the children. We spend a long time at the observatory. It’s still so impressive. Mathilde takes pictures with her cell phone. She spots Central Park and, of course, 5th Avenue. She really wants to understand where she is. Before going up there, we were treated to a fun activity: the movie New York Skyride, a discovery of the city seen from the air, with thrills as a bonus. Imagine that the armchairs are taken crazy to give even more realism. After all these emotions, Mathilde literally drags us to Abercrombie and Fitch, at the corner of 56th and 5th Avenue where we will first have to queue outside. Must do it! Once in the store, which looks like a four-story disco, Mathilde truly lives a dream. Finally, with stewed feet, we land at a Thai’s, next to the hotel.
Statue of Liberty
We are not in New York to sleep even though we feel a bit stiff after our 10 hour walk the night before. We miss the 11am cruise at Pier 83, but we catch the next one. For this crossing to the Statue of Liberty with the Circle Line Sightseeing, we had to wait long minutes under a strong sun. And it is the activity that the children appreciated the least: 75 minutes on board – with commentaries in English only – for two and a quarter minutes of statue, it is not much … This half-success will be compensated by a visit that I was making for the very first time and worth a visit: the Central Park Zoo. We thought we were in the cartoon Madagascar, minus the lion. The highlight of my day was undoubtedly seeing a sloth moving up close (I mean moving at good speed). In comparison, in eight visits, the sloth at the Biodôme has remained invisible to me! In the evening, in the hotel room, we stuff ourselves with good things bought in a Food Emporium.
Last morning. I had promised Laure to buy her a little something more. Because apart from her Mickey in pajamas discovered at the Disney Store (!) And her Oscar, she had not been entitled to much. We will only have an hour and a half to run once again to 5th Avenue to literally launch ourselves at American Girl Place, a famous store for girls, with a section reserved for the dressing and the make-up of the dolls. “A store like that just for girls, are you kidding me? !!”, said Mathilde with her usual eloquence.
Live New York!
A tight budget
I chose to buy New York Passes, which give access to more than 40 attractions. And the savings are significant. In addition, in most cases, you can avoid queuing.
We wanted to stay in Manhattan so that we could do everything on foot. As the hotel bill is steep, I decided to save on transportation.
And while traveling by bus, you might as well do it at night to save time.
Favorites
Mom: The Sloth at the Central Park Zoo and the Empire State Building.
Mathilde: the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and shopping.
Laure: The Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, the Disney Store and the Meals on Wheels with big pretzels drawn on them.
Observation: young people are able to walk 9 or 10 hours a day without complaining.
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