Welcome to New York

This past week my Mom and I traveled to New York City, New York for an extended Mother's Day weekend. I've been wanting to see NYC for some time and was finally able to cross many things off of my bucket list there. Not going to lie, I've been playing T. Swift's "Welcome to New York" on repeat for a while too. There is so much to do and see, I'm not sure how anyone could ever become bored. I'm going to be sharing our trip and some advice the next couple of days, if you are planning on traveling there in the future. 
First, transportation. If you do not want to be paying for cabs everywhere you go, I would suggest getting an unlimited Metra pass for $31.00 at designated machines or Hudson News stands within the airport. It will pay for itself with just a couple rides. It was a little confusing at first, but I got the hang of it. But believe me, you will still do A LOT of walking. And if you are coming from Laguardia, there is a free shuttle bus (M60) to the subway (N or Q) you need to get to Manhattan. However, if you take any buses you MUST go to one of the little blue machines at the stops and get a receipt (even if you have the unlimited) because if not, the police will come onto the bus periodically to check. If you do not have a receipt, its a $100.00 ticket!
From there, we took the 6 down to our hotel and were lucky enough that Grand Central Terminal was a frequent stop for many of our destinations. It was massive and absolutely stunning. 

Its really interesting that this beautiful station is connected to the dirty subway though. But, I was able to snap my very own Serena Van der Woodsen moment. lol.

From Grand Central, we went to Times Square (take the 6 train to the 7) and whoa is all I have to say! The screens are gigantic and light up the entire area. Even when its dark, you feel like its daytime. 

I think that everyone needs to experience Times Square once, but it is very crowded and that crowd can be quite.... well... interesting. I felt like I was in Vegas at times with the hecklers in costumes (or lack there of) trying to take pictures with you for tips. It is great for people watching because people come from all walks of life.  There were so many stores and one of the great things we discovered is that most of them are international chain stores, so there isn't any tax on purchases up to $110.00-$150.00.  My cousin met us there the last night too.

More tomorrow from our trip!