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Monday, June 10, 2013

New York City for Teenagers

Yesterday I received this question via twitter:



Naturally, I turned to my now 14YO daughter, who was 13 when she and I visited the city together last summer.

Admittedly, she is not a theater girl, but still she loved the city and can't wait to return.

Here, in no particular order, are her top 5:

1. Shopping


Girlfriend spent so much time shopping! She had saved some hard-earned dollars and was thrilled to spend them on 5th Avenue, particularly at H&M and uniqlo. And she didn't just have one shopping day, she tried to go shopping most days we were there - it was both her fallback and her priority.

2. Central Park


In her words, "It's just really pretty there. I like walking around there, and I like that there are plays in the park. It seems like there's a lot to do in the park, playing frisbee or whatever."

3. The Food


"Shake Shack, Carlo's Bakery, and the waffles in the park." (The waffle trucks can be found in different places throughout the city, but when we ate them it was always in Central Park.) Her favorites reflect, maybe, how little money I wanted to spend on food, but still: yummers.

4. Getting Around Town


"I like using the metro card, but the subway system could get a little confusing. It's really cool that you can walk pretty much anywhere you have to go. I love taking taxis, but they're so expensive." I asked what she likes about taking taxis: "It just makes me feel like a grownup. And getting a nice cab driver is the best."

5. The Sights



The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Times Square all fall under the, "I just thought it was so cool to be there, in these places I had only seen in pictures and movies," category. "I loved being able to see so much from the top of the Empire State Building." Also, the 9/11 memorial: "It's such an important part of history, it was so special to see all the names listed by the beautiful waterfalls." She keeps mentioning, "I love being able to say, 'I was there.'"

*****
Top on my wish-list right now is to take a family vacation to New York City, so if you have anything to add to the list of what teenagers/kids MUST do in the city, please say the word!

7 comments:

Debra Hawkins said...

I am loving the food recommendations. We are headed to NYC soon and I am all about the food!

Tracie Nall said...

I've always dreamed of going to New York one day. It would be great to take my daughter on a special trip during her teen years (and that would give me a few years to save).

Audra Day said...

I wish I had something to add to list fabulous list, but like Tracie I haven't been to New York yet! But when I go, I'm taking your list with me.

kaylynnczy said...

I'm seriously so jealous right now. Not fair!

Clement Park Ward Youth Trek said...

I've never been to NY...but if I do, I will definitely be coming back to this post :)

jyl @momitforward said...

Fun to read this while I'm in NYC. Your daughter is soooo cute. Thanks for this great post. We have had lots of rain, but want to get out to the Statue of Liberty and today, we went to Central Park. Yay!

MommieDaze said...

I haven't been to NYC since I was in college. But I remember my friends and I had a must-do list: See a Broadway show, take a cab ride, go to the top of the Empire State building, see the Statue of Liberty and eat a piece of real New York cheesecake. We did it all!