We weren’t supposed to be in New York.
We were supposed to be in Rio de Janeiro. But it’s as if we weren’t meant to go (and in hindsight maybe we weren’t). We were flying Montreal-New York-Rio but Montreal got hit with a snowstorm the day of our departure. I called Continental Airlines and was told that our flight was on schedule. We went to the airport where we were immediately told that our flight to New York was cancelled. Of course. It was a Friday night and we just wanted to get away and start our vacation.
We had a plan. We went downtown to the train station and found out that there was a train early the next morning to New York. We booked two tickets. We then called Continental and changed our New York-Rio flight from Saturday to Sunday.
Related: Top Places to Visit in the USA
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The next morning we rolled out of Montreal’s Central Station and had a pleasant 8-hour trip (including 2 hours at the border) on Amtrak. We arrived in New York in mid-afternoon. It is Lissette’s hometown so we were actually kind of excited that we would have a chance to spend a day here.
Top 10 Things to See and Do in New York
- Explore Central Park
- See the 9/11 Memorial and Museum
- Go up the Empire State Building
- Walk around Times Square
- Visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty
- Go up to the Top of the Rock Observatory at Rockefeller Center
- Visit Brooklyn Bridge Park
- Visit the Museum of Modern Art
- See the Chrysler building
A great tour worth taking: visiting New York at night for incredible views.
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We spent that afternoon and most of the next day visiting some of New York’s sites: the Empire State building, Times square, Central park, Ground zero, Battery park. We stopped for coffee in Soho and used the bathrooms in Trump Tower. Being early March it wasn’t the greatest time to explore and we had packed for the tropics. We got a bit cold. But I was still a bit surprised by the large temperature difference between Montreal and New York – you could never wander outdoors wearing a rain jacket this time of year in Montreal.
Sunday evening we headed to the airport and took off for Rio. We had never planned to have 24 hours in New York but the whole trip ended up being an adventure. And sometimes its those kinds of unexpected things that make for the most exciting memories.
Accommodation: We stayed at the Hyatt Place New York City close to Times Square. Very nice and excellent value, we were lucky to be able to book on such short notice.
Ever had a totally unplanned stay somewhere that ended up as being a memorable adventure?
Related: Why we didn’t like Rio de Janeiro
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New York is love. I mean, for me, nothing can compare with New York. I just love it there from the great weather to the cool places and parks plus the fancy and elegant hotels and restaurants. I just can’t wait to be back there soon with my family and experience great happiness in that place. Thanks for sharing this, I was inspired to come back to this place again. And yeah, I love the first photo. It really showed everything about New York.