Trinity Church Cemetery

Alexandra not only gave us a list of place to eat, she also gave solid recommendations on places to visit. I loved reading her blog, so I knew whatever she suggested would be worth the stop. The Trinity Church Cemetery can be found in lower Manhattan and is home to 17th century tomb stones. The idea of tomb stones that old is really what sold it for me, but famous notables like Alexander Hamilton are also buried there. I didn't realize this until afterwards, but I also learned that there are different parts to this cemetery.

The headstone above is the oldest one in the cemetery. It belongs to 5 year old Richard Churcher, son of William Churcher, and dates back to 1681! Unfortunately, a quick Google search did not bring up much about who William Churcher was. It so fascinating all that this little cemetery has endured over the last 300ish years.

Whether or not you like cemeteries, Trinity Churchyard is definitely a quiet refuge in the middle of bustling Manhattan. It's a quick little walk, and definitely worth your time. It's free to enter, and you're probably likely to be near it at some point on your New York Trip.

 

New York City | Day 2

I want to apologize in advance for the crappy quality of the photos. It's been a while since I used this blog and I got a new computer which led to a whole new Lightroom. I'm currently trying to figure out how to make my photos upload better. I think it might just be the website and there is nothing I can do. If you have any tips, let me know! Currently I'm uploading to Google Photos and then adding them. That seems to help a little bit.

Anyways, we packed A TON into our second day in NYC, so it's actually going to be multiple posts. We started off the morning at the Pearl Diner thanks to a recommendation from Alexandra. She basically gave me all the food recs. After breakfast we walked to the Brooklyn Bridge because it wasn't too far away. We actually got kind of lost trying to find how to actually get to the bridge. There were a lot of people on the bridge, but the views were fantastic.

After walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, we went to R & R Coffee which is now apparently permanently closed. I can't say it was the best coffee I've ever had, but there was a reason we stopped there. Maybe to use the bathroom? Then we walked towards Trinity Cemetery. Knowing me I probably had things mapped out and how to best use our time, but I honestly can't remember and I never wrote most of it down. I have a whole different post about Trinity Cemetery. 

We then walked to the World Trade Center. I was in 7th grade at the time, and I remember September 11 like it happened yesterday. Even today, it's so strange to have lived through such an emotional event. I hadn't been to NYC before so it was shocking to see how big the buildings were and trying to imagine what it must have felt like to see the rubble when they fell. We walked around the grounds and then sat outside the entrance waiting for our time to go on the tour.

I love a good scenic view, and I don't think you can do better than the one from the top of the One World Trade Center building. Prove me wrong though.

When we were finished, we headed to Joe's Pizza and Molly's cupcakes - also recommendations from Alexandra. Both are famous NY staples, so when in Rome as they say. I think the cupcakes really messed up my stomach though because I was not feeling well after that. Sometimes sugary foods do that to me. I don't think I had food poisoning because it didn't last long.

Since it was getting towards the end of the day we had to make a big decision on where our last stop would be because we wouldn't have time to do much more. I think I said I wanted to go to Roosevelt Island. So that was our last stop. I think we were also going to try to make it to Time's Square, but we already had a jammed packed day.

On our way back to our Airbnb we stopped to pick up a few souvenirs. I really started to feel something going on with my body but I didn't think much of it because we had been busy. The next day I was feeling even worse. On the drive home my body ached so much. I think I ended up with the flu because I was down for the next day or so. That won't keep me from going back though. There is so much we didn't see!

New York City | Day 1

Way back in 2019, J and I drove to NYC on my spring break. NYC was never high on my list of places to visit until I lived in Russia. There, I fell in love with Moscow and very large cities, and I was also watching a bunch of Casey Neistat vlogs. J and I were also looking at places within driving distance and NYC was only about 8 hours away.

Our hostel was within walking distance to the ferry that took you to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The ticket actually took you to both, so it worked out really well. We started at Ellis Island and spent several hours there. We did the typical touristy photos at the Statue of Liberty, but I remember it being cold and windy. We ended up not staying long and waited in line for the next ferry to take us back to land.

After seeing the Statue of Liberty we weren't really sure what to do. We decided to walk closer to the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal because it looked really cool. I was glad we did because there were abandoned railroad tracks in front of it. The building itself had very Wes Anderson vibes which also caught my attention.

We ended the day getting Salvadoran food at Juanita's Restaurant in Union City, New Jersey. J always tries to find a Salvadoran restaurant anywhere we go and we usually seek out the highest rated ones. It's a fun little tradition. Also, fun fact, my name in Spanish class was always Juanita because my 6th grade Spanish teacher chose names for us and she gave me Juanita (because Jasilyn doesn't translate to Spanish). J convinced some of his friends, when we first met, that it was my real name. Do you have any traditions when you travel?