Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of traveling to New York City. When I heard that AMP (campus activities office) was offering a trip to the city, I was beyond excited. What made things even better was that the trip was only $25. Before the trip, I had no idea what to expect with AMP or the itinerary for the trip itself. All I knew was that I would meet everyone at 5:30 a.m. and arrive back on campus at midnight.
On the way to New York, the AMP leaders in charge of the trip were very helpful throughout the entire ride. They wanted everyone to have the best time they could and allowed us to go wherever in the city we wanted to go. They also gave us a brochure and offered tips for the trip. Having this freedom was extremely overwhelming but exciting. Once we arrived at the city, we were dropped off at Madison Square Garden and let go into the city that never sleeps. I was fortunate enough to visit six of the most well-known areas of New York.
Manhattan
The first location I went to was a cafe and spent nearly $20 on a vanilla oat milk latte and acai bowl. Although it wasn’t the best-tasting coffee or the freshest fruit, the shop’s motivating and modern decor added to the New York morning experience. It was nice seeing people coming in and out of the cafe, as they bought their morning coffee on their way to work.
Chinatown and Little Italy
We made our way to the subway hoping we wouldn’t get lost. Grabbing a subway card made me feel like a true New Yorker, especially when I managed to find my way to Chinatown and Little Italy.
Upon arrival, we were determined to find Taiyaki NYC. This Japanese ice cream shop is known to be super Instagram-worthy. It took us 30 minutes to find this instagramable ice cream place, and it also took us 30 minutes of waiting in line to get our ice cream within a crowd of people. However, this was definitely worth it.
I finally understood all the hype around this fish-shaped waffle cone ice cream. Not only that, but the scenery of Chinatown and Little Italy made waiting in line worth it. After taking endless pictures of the ice cream, and finally devouring it, I also managed to get amazing video footage of the entire trip.
SOHO
Soho is known for its coffee shops and very expensive boutiques, making shopping impossible here. However, this didn’t stop us on our journey to live the full NYC experience.
We found some beautiful graffiti walls, which we appreciated and captured in pictures. If you’re looking for some nice spots to take, this is the place to go! We managed to find three different graffiti walls that were beautifully painted on one street.
MIDTOWN MANHATTAN
After this, we decided we wanted to go shopping in Midtown Manhattan where all the popular shops are. Here we discovered all the well-known stores and decided to splurge a little. We also found some discount stores, which was good for our wallets. While in Midtown, we wanted to go to another cafe, since it was a warm beautiful spring day. We found Idea Coffee, a very modern space. This cafe also had beautiful flowers all around, which made the atmosphere very relaxing. Here I got a vanilla iced latte with coconut milk and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Manhattan while inhaling the aroma of coffee and flowers.
Times Square
Finally, we successfully reached our last destination in Times Square, also known as the most populated area of New York. Here, we enjoyed the bright lights and crowded stores, window shopping through the M&M store, the Disney store, and the four-story Forever 21 store. After walking for miles we decided to rest our feet and grab bubble tea for the road. Before heading back onto the bus, we found some amazing NY pizza at a super cute trendy place.
The AMP staff was very helpful with those who were lost and couldn’t find the bus at the end of the day. Not only that, but throughout the day they checked in with everyone to make sure that we were okay.
Having the opportunity to go to New York with AMP made me feel extremely lucky, and to know that it is a yearly trip is even better. This is a perfect opportunity for students to get off campus and go somewhere they have never gone before. Not only that but it’s the perfect getaway when you need a break from school. If you want an opportunity to travel or just need a break, I recommend taking this trip to make long-lasting memories.
