New York
72 hours in NYC
When your best friends from high school and college, the one and only, “A”, asks if you want to meet them in New York for 72 hours, you say yes. No overthinking, no hesitation.
Just kidding. There was a lot of overthinking, plenty of hesitation and then in one random moment, you finally say yes.
Day 1
Landed at JFK with zero sleep and lots of caffeine. First challenge? Getting from JFK to Grand Central like a local. Spoiler: failed. But somehow—by sheer luck, the ghost of a jaded commuter or the kind man that made a YouTube tutorial on how to get from JFK to Grand Central—I made it like a confused tourist clinging to that 2018 YouTube tutorial for dear life.
All that to say…
Grand Central was stunning. Christmas time in New York = magical, like no place on earth.
Times Square? Disneyland, but with even more lights, more pigeons and tragically fewer churros. A thousand times cooler in person.
That night, we had incredible food, strong cocktails and tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Which I only saw half. I started nodding off mid-spell and left early like a true grandma.
New York, I was already in love—and limping. And according to my cab driver, very clearly not from here.
Day 2
Started the day with coffee and a stroll. Took the subway the wrong way and then the right way to:
Wandered Central Park like I lived there—just kidding, like a tourist who gasped at every corner, convinced I’d seen that rock in a movie. What movie? No idea.
Hit the Brooklyn Bridge, took a photo of Lady Liberty, charged our souls (and phones) at Apple and visited the 9/11 Memorial (tear).
Saw a Christmas market and escaped a Christmas market. Then hit the Empire State Building and ended the night with ridiculously good food in a cozy little spot.
Thankfully, A (best friend) was with me through it all and very patient, kind, pretty good at navigating the subway and 100% over hearing about my feet.
Day 3
Got emotional and teary saying goodbye to my friend—who lives an hour from me back home. And then sucked it up and kicked off the rest of the day with a pilgrimage to the largest Barnes & Noble in the world in Union Square—by request of my niece.
Wandered a calmer Christmas market, found some street art, heard live music and took an unnecessary—but deeply meaningful—amount of pigeon photos.
Made it there solo via subway and felt like a local for a solid 5 minutes… until my body gently whispered, “It’s time, Tina”
Packed up. Headed to JFK. Heart full. Feet wrecked. Pigeons: thriving—well, most of them.
Final Thoughts
New York didn’t slow down for me, but somehow, it made space for me anyway. Somewhere between the amazing towering buildings, skyline views, the bagels, the chaos and the quiet, I got lost, got found and finally understood why people say the city doesn’t just exist—it rises.
There’s something electric in the air. Like anything can happen, and everything already is. Magical.