Visiting My Mom & Sister in NYC: Part 1 – Airbnb & Rockefeller Center

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My mom and sister wanted to visit me for my birthday.  My mom was flying from India and my sister was visiting from Australia, so what better place to meet (for them!) than in NYC!

I always enjoy visiting New York City, and had a few work meetings, so I was thrilled that I could combine work and family time.  I was able to take in a Broadway show, try new foods, and see historic landmarks, like the Brooklyn Bridge and Rockefeller Center.

Some travelers prefer to stay away from touristy destinations like Manhattan, but I had a blast.  Perhaps because it was my first time being a tourist in NYC!  New York City is filled with an energy unique to anywhere else I’ve been.

That said, I now want to discover Queens and eat in every ethnic restaurant there! 🙂

Trip to New York City Index

Part 1 – Airbnb & Rockefeller Center

Part 2 – Review of 4 Veggie Restaurants

Part 3 – Prospect Park & Brooklyn Bridge

I met my mom and sister in New York City for a mini-family reunion.  We were very excited to see each other.  I didn’t know how much I missed them until I saw them again!

We each had our own mental checklists of what we wanted to see and do, but we first had to check-in to our Airbnb apartment.

Airbnb

For this trip, I decided to forego the fancy hotel rooms and stay at an Airbnb located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

It’s nearly impossible to find a standard hotel around the Upper East Side for under $200.  I wanted to stay with my family, and didn’t feel like using mountain of points to spring for a hotel suite.  Also, there was a kitchen in the Airbnb! 🙂

I filtered my Airbnb results to display only full apartments, so my family would have plenty of living space.

The apartment was well decorated and very clean.  It was cheaper than paying for 2 separate hotel rooms!  I could also use my Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard to pay for the part of the bill.

And fortunately for an NYC apartment, there were 2 bathrooms, so I didn’t have to wait in a long time for the bathroom.

We unpacked, and I called an Uber to begin our exploration.  We decided not to rent a car, because parking is usually expensive (if not impossible!) around New York City.

Chelsea Market

On my birthday, I wanted to go EAT!  So we went to the Chelsea food Market, where the Oreo cookie was invented!

I LOVE food, and I especially love trying new foods.  So exploring a giant food warehouse is my idea of birthday fun!

The ground floor of the Chelsea market was filled with food booths and small restaurants.  I also saw a bookstore and a couple of clothing stores.  The market was a bit too crowded for me, but I liked sampling the many victuals on offer.

On the way out, we noticed the High Line right above us!  We decided that would be our next stop.

The High Line

Walking the High Line is a one-of-a-kind experience.  It’s a ~1.5 mile long man-made park created along an old, unused railroad above the city!

The High Line was beautiful, but I was just fascinated with the way the city recycled an obsolete area that would otherwise have been an eyesore.

We saw beautiful trees and flowers, and we could even see the Hudson River at one point!

The road came to an abrupt end.

I definitely recommend the High Line to anyone visiting New York City!  It was quite peaceful, despite the large crowds and occasional noises from surrounding construction sites.

The High Line is NOT a circular path.  If you drive a car to the park, you’ll have to retrace 1.5 miles worth of steps.

Rockefeller Center

I decided to accompany my mom, sister, and their friends for a shopping trip.  What was I thinking!  I would pace around the shops until finally they decided to eat at the Rock Center Cafe.  This wasn’t my first choice to eat (too touristy and expensive, but I decided to give it a try).

I was curious to check out the celebrity sculpture!

I had recently transitioned into a vegetarian diet, so there wasn’t a lot on the menu for me.

I had various Mediterranean garden dips with pita bread, and they were surprisingly good!  We were 5,000 miles away from the Mediterranean, after all.

Rockefeller Center was only ~2 miles from our Airbnb, so I decided to walk back home.

Broadway Show

My mom and sister wanted to visit Broadway, so I treated them to Fiddler on the Roof because they insisted that I didn’t follow them around while they were shopping!

Tickets can be VERY expensive.  But I was able to get a discount using the TodayTix app!

I really enjoyed trying out the app.  After you buy, you need to show up half an hour before the play begins and grab your ticket from the TodayTix employees wearing red shirts.

Take Your Own Trip to New York!

Want to visit New York?  It’s easy to use your miles & points to do it on the cheap!  Here are a few ideas:

Flights