New York

Visiting the Big Apple

For more than a decade, I’d been traveling to upstate New York, passing through the state again and again without ever making it to New York City. It became one of those places that felt oddly familiar yet completely unknown. The closest I’d come was a fleeting glimpse from the air—seeing the skyline in the distance as our plane descended into Newark Airport. Close enough to tease, but not close enough to touch.

That finally changed in 2017.

We stayed at a Hilton near Grand Central Station, and from the moment we stepped outside, the city wrapped itself around us. New York doesn’t ease you in—it moves at full speed, unapologetic and electric. There were people everywhere, lights in every direction, and a constant hum of motion that made it impossible not to feel alive.

We started, as so many first-time visitors do, in Times Square, where the scale and energy of the city hit all at once. From there, the pace softened in Central Park, a green pause button tucked into the middle of Manhattan. Grand Central Station felt less like a transit hub and more like a cathedral to movement, its ceiling and crowds reminding you just how many stories pass through every day.

We wandered along Fifth Avenue, stopped to admire the elegance of the Plaza Hotel, and took a long walk toward the United Nations, watching neighborhoods shift block by block. Riding the subway became its own adventure—part transportation, part cultural immersion, and entirely New York.

By the end of the trip, I understood what people mean when they say New York is a city you don’t just visit—you experience it. After years of skirting its edges, finally stepping into the heart of the city felt long overdue. And like so many travelers before me, I left already knowing I’d be back.

See some of my favorite photos below: