First day of NYC was jam-packed and fabulous. We brushed off that jet-lag and got out ready to explore. 

First up, breakfast. The Tick Tock Diner was in our hotel, so perfectly located and it was a great first American breakfast. 

We wanted to get our bearings of the city first, so we decided to do the Hop on Hop off bus as soon as we could. We headed straight to the nearest stop, which was close to Times Square. It was really easy to get to, and we got seated on the upper deck of the bus equipped with our earphones ready to listen to the commentary. 

Had our first sight of the Empire State and The Flat Iron building as we cruised round on the Red Line. The entry for our bus ticket was part of our Sightseeing Pass that we had purchased prior to arriving and was $179 for 6 attractions. 

Once we’d rode the loop, and braved the wind and rain as much as possible we arrived back at Times Square where we hopped off and headed to Starbucks to get a hot drink and warm up. We took our coffees over to Times Square to have a look. It’s worth allowing yourself a few minutes to just soak it all up, take in the street performers, the shops and screens.

Next up, Central Park. We walked from Times Square to the park and headed round a part of the park on the hunt for Gossip Girl spots. The park was in all its autumnal glow and the first hotdog stall hot dog was secured. 

We headed to The Met to sit in the another famous Gossip Girl spot – sadly, it was very wet so we didn’t have a seat. We loved it all the same! 

From here, we hopped on the metro to go and see if we could squeezeeeee in a visit to Summit One. It was shut, so we headed over to Grand Central instead. This was a big moment, if you’re a Gossip Girl fan you’ll know why, but it features in so many films and tv shows, it is just SO iconic. It’s smaller than I expected but we got a pic of the stairs where Serena stood, so I felt like a cool cat. 

Joe’s pizza was up for dins. We were so ready to get stuck into a slice of pepperoni and it was incredible. We were going regardless of reviews, as it was iconic from Spiderman 2. Luckily, it was amazing so we filled up and enjoyed a huge slice. 

We were absolutely shattered after our first day, so we had an early night, ready to get back out the next day. 

I’ve posted the rest of our day itineraries as well as a summary of information, which will hopefully be helpful if you’re planning a trip!

lots of love,

Han x

P.S. I’ve added a link to my Day One tiktok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@hannahshildrake/video/7160322831581072645