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NYC with two of our Nieces: Five Summer Days in the City That Never Sleeps

What happens when two New Yorkers host two of their nieces for five packed days in the city that never sleeps… during one of the hottest weeks of the summer?


Walking. Ferry rides. Museums. Food. Strategic air-conditioning breaks. And memories we’ll never forget.


From a flight into Newark to skyline views, Central Park adventures, classic NYC landmarks, and a last-minute escape into a movie theater when the heat finally won — this trip was about seeing New York through fresh teen eyes.


🎥 Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/8y4Kon8QZLc?si=asZSDn4TmZ5mEjK9

Don’t forget to subscribe for more travel adventures: @ourownpath



Five Days in New York City

Day 1: Arrival, Pizza & Fireworks

We kicked things off flying into Newark, hopping on the train to Moynihan, and walking to our Hell’s Kitchen apartment. After settling in, we grabbed classic New York pizza from 42nd Street Pizza and ended the night watching fireworks from our bedroom window (distant fireworks!) A pretty strong welcome to the city.


Day 2: Midtown Icons & Museums

Breakfast at Sullivan Street Bakery (Hell’s Kitchen) fueled a walking day through Times Square and up to Summit One Vanderbilt, the spot for balloons, views, and plenty of awe. We exited through Grand Central Terminal, cooled off in Bryant Park, stopped into St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and grabbed lunch at Tartinery.


The afternoon belonged to Central Park, and several blissfully air-conditioned hours were spent at the American Museum of Natural History. Dinner was tacos at Playa Betty’s, followed by Häagen-Dazs on the walk home.


Day 3: Harry Potter, Heat & Central Park at Dusk

After breakfast at Nasa Café, we headed to the multi-level Harry Potter New York. Butterbeer: good. Hagrid cake: questionable… maybe Hagrid baked it.


We wandered through Washington Square Park, cooled down in a pub on the way to Chelsea, and explored Chelsea Market, where cocktail shrimp were declared “undead” by one niece and told that ketchup improved everything by the other.


After regrouping at home during the hottest afternoon time, we headed out at dusk to Central Park: Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Fountain, lightning bugs, and climbing the Alice in Wonderland statue. We wrapped the night with ramen at EAK Ramen.


Day 4: Boats, Zoos & Downtown NYC

Breakfast sandwiches from Sunac Market were enjoyed along the Hudson before boarding a Classic Harbor Line Architecture Boat Tour. Our favorite NYC boat any time of year, and this tour was quiet, scenic, and gloriously air-conditioned.


Lunch (and frozen hot chocolate) at Serendipity III came next, followed by the Central Park Zoo. After boba at ViV Bubble Tea, we took the NYC Ferry downtown to Brookfield Place, explored the Oculus, visited the World Trade Center Memorial, and walked through Wall Street to the South Street Seaport.


Dinner at Il Brigante included pasta and pizza, followed by a nighttime walk along the High Line.


Day 5: Heat Wave

The hottest day yet. We were first in line at Edge at Hudson Yards, walked part of the High Line, and had breakfast at Empire Diner. When the heat became unbearable, we escaped to our favorite movie theater, Alamo Drafthouse NYC, before airport goodbyes.


A six-hour flight delay later… goodbye NYC.


Planning Your Own NYC Trip?


Final note

We live here. These are places we’ll go again. And that’s exactly why this trip worked. We knew how to make it packed but not rushed, fun but not perfect: real New York.






Originally from Iowa (Kassie) and Kansas (Rick), we met in Kansas in 2005 and immediately found that we had so much in common - including our desire to someday see the world. We now live in NYC and quickly started catching up on travel after our first (just us) international trip to Iceland in 2015. We decided to start making videos for us and our family/friends to track our travels. Kassie is in Marketing, an Author (see her poetry + author videos), and Puppet Creator. Rick is an Engineer and Script Writer (see our current and coming puppet movies!)


Kassie's Author Site: https://www.kassiejrunyan.com/

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