One of the best advantages of being a tour guide who travels to New York City once a month is definitely to see the city every season. I'm not going to lie, there is something to see all year long in the city that never sleeps! Since I understand that it isn't possible for everyone to visit once a month, or even once a year, here are my pros and cons for every moment so you can visit during the time that means the most to you. New Year's eveI have always been honest and you know I will continue to be in my travel tips, so this is why I will say that I found New Years Eve in New York to be a tad disappointing. I had fun and the group I was with did too, but most of the group left early as participating in Times Square festivities means arriving at noon. You are not allowed a big back pack, if you leave, even just to go to the bathroom, you are not allowed back in, you barely see the ball drop unless you are way at the front, let's just say it's not a comfortable experience. There are also fireworks in Central Park that can get very crowded, but can be less overstimulating than Times Square. Most restaurants in the city have special events that you need to make reservations weeks in advance to participate in, but it can be totally worth it. Since they don't want to have to remember what everyone ordered and print out bills, they usually have a cover (somewhere around 200$) and then have an open bar once you're inside. If you choose your restaurant wisely, some will even guaranty you a spot for the ball drop. You can't underestimate the weather in your plans. Last year was very comfortable, but New York can be humid, windy and pretty cold. So if you plan on being outside for hours, make sure you are ready for it. The part I found the most disappointing for my group was that, unless you are in New York only for the festivities and have no other plan, everything else was super crowded or closed. You could barely walk on Fifth Ave, you had to push your way through Times Square (when it was open), the library was closed, you couldn't even see the Bull through the crowd, Bow Bridge in Central Park was a restricted area because of the fireworks, every store was a mad house, it was ridiculous. Every activity you also needed to make reservations weeks in advance. For people who have never been to New York and want to see the sights, it really isn't the best time, but for people who want to be in the middle of the action and celebrate New Years with the best atmosphere, it is definitely the place to be! EasterEaster weekend is one of the most popular weekend for tour groups visiting New York as it is a four-day weekend for most, especially for students. The weather in New York can still be unpredictable, but is usually pretty nice. While it is one of the busier weekends, it wasn't crazy and overwhelming like other holidays. I rather enjoyed it! Plus the Hat Parade looked so much fun! I didn't have to chance to attend, but we could see people with crazy hats on the street making their way to the parade. Depending on the weekend Easter falls on, it can also be a good time to see the cherry trees in Central Park. SpringSpring is definitely my favorite season of all to visit New York! I would say, from mid-April to the end of May, the weather is perfect. Warm during the day, cool at night, with a small breeze, mostly sunny, the dream! I visited at the end of April, and though the cherry trees were not in bloom anymore and the magnolias were at the end of their bloom, every single other tree and plant seemed to be in bloom. There were flowers of every color everywhere you looked in Central Park, there was a tulip field in the yard of Brookfield Place, Bryant Park was full of life, it was just so beautiful to see every park in the city seem to come alive. For the restaurants, some of them keep their terrasses open year long, but the others will have opened theirs by mid-April. Plus, as long as you are not traveling on a holiday weekend, spring is pretty quiet in New York. I saw no crowds whatsoever. 4th of julyI personally loved visiting on 4th of July weekend. It seemed most New Yorkers had left the heat of the city for the country side or the beach and it was pretty quiet everywhere. That's not to say you shouldn't make reservations for most activities, but at least you'll have space to enjoy them and you might be able to get tickets on the day of. While it will be hot outside and you will want to carry water bottles and sunscreen with you, I didn't find it suffocating. Every store, restaurant and indoor activity has AC if you can't take the heat anymore, but I found it quite comfortable personally. I walked all the way from the City Cruises pier to the Vessel, and then walked the High Line all the way to Little Island and then up Fifth Ave to the library and, while I made sure to eat and hydrate properly, I had no problem. SummerExcept for 4th of July apparently, summer vacations are a busy time in New York City. It's never as crazy as the winter holidays, but you do need to prepare your vacation in advance if you want to do some activities and you will need to plan your accommodation in advance as well. The other point to consider is that it is hot in the city in the summer. From mid-July to the end of August, some days are unbearable. While the tour groups are able to keep mostly the same schedule year-round, in the summer, we make sure to stay in the shade when outside, the bus driver carries a cooler filled with iced water bottles, and we do outdoor activities early morning. Another thing you might want to consider is having your accommodation closer to the activities you want to do, as taking the subway in the heat is really unpleasant and, depending on your tolerance, walking in the heat might not be recommended. You might want to consider the hop-on-hop-off buses that I wouldn't normally recommend as they are expensive and New York has great public transit, but could be a good idea in the summer. The main positive point to visiting in the summer, other than school vacations, is the free activities offered. Bryant Park has outdoor movies and concerts, Lincoln Center has free concerts, most parks have table tennis, chess boards, etc. Central Park will have plays and shows. There is a street fair on 6th Avenue practically every Saturday and a parade on Fifth Ave almost every Sunday. The city seems to vibrate with energy. Labor dayLabor day is a good time to visit New York City. While some attractions might be closed on Monday for the holiday, most activities will be open. Since everyone is getting ready to go back to school or work, it isn't one of the more popular weekends so crowds are pretty light. The heat is more bearable, but the weather is still warm and nice. Altogether, there is no particular advantage to visiting for Labor day, but it is still one of the best moment in my opinion. FallAfter spring, fall is the nicest season to visit New York City. From mid-September to the end of October, the weather is so nice, the leaves slowly turn to orange, the city seems to breathe properly. There are practically no crowds, every outdoor attraction is still open before it closes for winter. They start installing Christmas decorations and ice rinks in mid-October so you can go ice skating in shorts with barely anyone else there. I definitely recommend! I personally visited over Halloween with my family and we loved it. Every tourist was in Salem for the weekend and it felt like we had New York to ourselves. We had two days of summer weather and two days of grey and rain, but we managed to organize our days so we could be inside during the rain and it was the perfect weekend. thanksgivingI believe every season has it's pros, but DO NOT VISIT DURING THANKSGIVING WEEKEND! It was crazier than New Years. Black Friday on Fifth Ave was a circus and it wasn't even worth it as there are barely any sales on Fifth Ave. The Rockefeller Center was a mad house, Bryant Park was loud and over-crowded, Times Square was just a bad idea, you get the jist. The whole group got on the bus to go back home on Sunday and we collectively breathed a sight of relief. I think my head spun all the way back to Canada. Honestly, if your goal is to see the sights and see the Christmas decorations, any other weekend in November or December will be better than this hell on earth. decemberDecember will have some Christmas crowds, but it is worth it. I would avoid the Christmas holidays, but otherwise it shouldn't be crazy, but rather nice. All the decorations and special activities will be on. You will find ice rinks everywhere with little booths for hot cocoa. The weather should be mostly pleasant, not too cold, and barely any chance of snow. The Christmas Spectacular at the Radio City Music Hall starts showing in November and the show is totally worth it. Honestly, a good time to visit! weekends vs weekdaysObviously, weekends are generally busier than weekdays, although there is more traffic at peak hours on weekdays. In the summer, there is no big difference, there are crowds all through summer. Opening hours can vary a lot though from weekdays to weekends, though. Some stores will be open later on weekends while most buildings have better opening hours during the week. You should check ahead of times and plan your schedule accordingly. Times Square will have a better ambiance over the weekend, but it will also be more crowded. I also love going to Central Park during the weekend as cars are not allowed in the park, but dogs are allowed to be off-leash until 9 AM so it makes for a fun visit. concerts and sport eventsIf you are visiting for a concert or sport event, make sure you arrive early and plan your transportation ahead of times. The subway can get very crowded before important Yankees games. Most big concerts nowadays are actually in the Met Life stadium which is in New Jersey, about a 20-minute drive from Manhattan. You can get there by bus, but I wouldn't recommend taking the last one out as the stadium has space for 80k people and you won't be the only person relying on public transportation. Same thing for football games. All in all, events like these don't really have an impact on your trip to the city, but if you plan to attend I would make plans to be there early and plan for the fact that it might take a while before you can leave the stadium after the event, especially using public transportation. Honestly, you can't really go wrong when visiting New York City. It really depends on your budget, tolerance of crowds, the activities you want to do, and what you wish to see. I hope the article was able to help you decide the best time for your visit. You can also check out my best tips for visiting NYC down below and let me know in the comments if you have any questions. Enjoy your visit to the Big Apple! other articles you might enjoy
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In April 2023, I decided I was bored at home and that getting a part-time job would give me something to do and increase my income, which meant more money to travel later on. A few days later, I saw an add that a tour company was looking for tour guides for bus trips from Quebec to popular USA cities and I figured, if there was one job that I would love to do in my free time, that would be it. So I applied, interviewed, and got the job! I have now been a tour guide, exclusively in New York City, for almost a year, and I couldn't love this job more! Once a month, I get to visit one of my favorite cities, I get to see everyone be excited to see the sights they have seen in so many movies, I get to discover the little hidden gems that you don't get to see if you are only visiting for a short time, and most of all, I get to see the city change over the year which is always interesting. tips on how to get aroundDriving in New York City is basically hell, but fortunately for us, there are multiple other ways to get around to city and they are very easy to master. The first is walking. Especially if most of your visits are located in Manhattan, most places are easy to reach by foot. More than half of the island follows a grid pattern that is easy to navigate with avenues going North-South and streets going West-East. Just remember that going from one street to the other takes 1-2 minutes, and going from one avenue to the next takes 3-4 minutes, depending on your pace and traffic of course, but it gives you a general idea. So basically, if you are on the corner of 6th Avenue and 43th Street and want to go to the corner of 5th Avenue and 52th Street, it will take you between 11 and 20 minutes. That way you can decide if you are willing to walk that distance or would rather take an other type of transportation. The subway is one of my favorite ways to get around, and with Google Maps, is it so easy for newbies. You just enter the place you want to go in the app and select the subway as the transportation method and it will tell you which corner to walk to, where on that corner the subway station entrance is, which line to take, the name of your stop and how many stops the subway will make before it is time for you to exit. Honestly, there is no way to mess up except one and now that you know, you won't make the mistake : the lines run mostly North-South on Manhattan with South (towards the financial district and Brooklyn) being called Downtown, and North (towards Harlem) being called Uptown. Just make sure you are taking the subway in the right direction and voila! You can also pay directly at the entrance with PayPass or even your phone so there is no need to buy tickets ahead of time. The yellow taxis are such New York City icons that we just have to talk about them here. Honestly, they can be pricey and take a lot of time since traffic in NYC is almost as iconic as the taxis, but they are reliable and available everywhere. If you want to save some money, since New York streets are mostly one-ways, I would make sure that the street or avenue that I am on is going the right direction or I would walk one street over to take the taxi in the right direction and avoid paying for the extra loop of it turning around. Uber is also available and can be less expensive than a taxi. tips on getting broadway ticketsGoing to a Broadway show is one of the activities you cannot miss while visiting New York City. I had the chance to see The Lion King and Aladdin and they were both incredible! The shows can be pretty expensive though, especially on popular weekends like Thanksgiving and New Years. The cheapest way to buy tickets is also the most risky... waiting the day of for last minute tickets. If seeing the show is not something you are willing to miss and spending a few more bucks is not an issue, you should purchase the tickets online as soon as possible. Otherwise, tickets can be bought at the TKTS booth, behind the red stairs in Times Square, or if you want to see a specific show, the theatre will have the best prices. The closer you are to the time of the show, the better the prices, but the higher the risk that there won't be tickets left. tips on which observatory to chooseYou have probably seen pictures of the Manhattan skyline from above. All of them are always beautiful, but there are multiple observatories in New York, all with pros and cons, and most people only have the time and budget to visit one of them so here's my two-cents:
tips on when to visit and for how longYou can check out my article on the best time to visit NYC here as it really depends on what you are looking for. Popular weekends like New Years and Thanksgiving can be very crowded, but allow you to see Christmas decorations. The summer can be very hot, but there are lots of activities and you will have a guaranty of good views. I recommend spending at least three days for a nice overview of the city. Three days will allow you to see most of the sights, do some shopping, and understand the vibe of the city. If you want to see it properly, go to museums, have time to take a stroll in Central Park, or walk the Highline, a full week would not be too much. It really depends on the time that you have and how much you are willing to spend on your vacation. tips on where to stayThis also depends greatly on your budget! In my opinion, the midtown part of Manhattan is the most central and the closest to all the main attractions, meaning you could walk to most places, but it is also the most expensive part of the city to stay in. Most hotel rooms will start at 300$ a night in low season. For cheaper options (and I mean cheaper, not cheap. New York is expensive) Brooklyn is well connected to Manhattan by subway and most attractions would be a short subway ride away. I have also stayed at an AirBnb in Staten Island which was convenient as we were traveling by car for that trip and could park on the street for free and take the free ferry to Manhattan. The parts of New Jersey that are close to New York are also a cheaper option, but unless you are traveling with a tour company, I would not recommend. The bus to Manhattan will take a while and driving to Manhattan every day would end up costing you more in toll and parking than just staying in Manhattan in the first place. tips on which museum to chooseThere are so many museums in New York City that there is no other choice than to make a choice. You can't possibly visit them all. There is even part of 5th avenue called Museum Lane because there are so many. Th classics are the Museum of Natural History (the one with the dinosaurs that you saw in the first Night at the Museum), the Met (art museum where they have the Met Gala every year) and the Guggenheim (modern art museum that looks like a white spiral from the outside). There is also a Jewish Museum, the Frick Collection (mostly European masters), the MOMA (museum of modern art), the museum of New York City, the Neue Gallerie (German art) and many others. If you are looking for something a little outside the box, you will find the Madame Tussaud wax museum, the ballon museum, the ice cream museum, the sex museum, the USS Intrepid (an old aircraft carrier converted into a museum of sea, air and space) and many others. There is also a museum about the September 11 attacks located by the memorial in the World Trade Center. Basically, if you are interested in a certain subject, there is probably a museum about it in New York City. tips on the stores not to missNew York used to be very big for shopping since there were a lot of shops that didn't exist anywhere else. Nowadays, with online shopping, everything is more available so shopping is not as big a reason for people to visit the city, but there are still some stores that are worth a visit. You don't even have to buy anything, these are worth it just for the fun of visiting:
tips for restaurantsThey say you could eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at a different restaurant everyday for a year and you wouldn't have tried every restaurant in New York City, and honestly, I can believe it! There are so many! Not counting all the foodtrucks... The first thing to know before choosing a restaurant is that NYC restaurants are inspected and receive a letter grade from the inspector. A is perfect, B is ok, any lower than that and I wouldn't bother. There are so many options that it's not worth getting food poisoning on vacation. The second thing to know is that the tip (or gratuity) is included in most tabs, and definitely for groups. Before paying your bill, you should always check if the tip is already on there. It will be written on a separate line next to the taxes. Tables of 6 or more (some restaurants it's 4) will have a mandatory 20% tip that is already on the bill at almost every restaurant. If you want to be more generous, good for you, but always make sure you aren't paying the tip twice if it's not what you intended to do. The food is already expensive enough. It is always possible to show up and eat without a reservation somewhere, but not everywhere. Most popular restaurants (think restaurants in Time Square, Michelin stars, rooftops, themed restaurants, etc.) will require a reservation or might have availability, but you would have to wait a few hours. If you are visiting for New Year's Eve, restaurants in midtown will definitely require a reservation for the evening of the 31st and most restaurants will have en entrance price, but an open bar policy. It allows them to charge a flat rate and not have to worry about creating a different tab for every table or people moving around and it being difficult to follow whose tab is whose. New York City is definitely one of those destinations that requires some preparation and advance planning, but it is so iconic and such a must for anyone who likes to travel. It's important to keep in mind that NYC has something for everybody and there's no way to do it wrong. I hope you will love the city as much as I do! other articles you might enjoy
It is a known fact the the region of New England in the North East of the United States is one of the best for fall foliage. I have also seen Gilmore Girls so I had hopes of small-town cafés and fall festivals, so when I had the opportunity to take a long weekend in September 2023 to go camping, I jumped at the occasion to visit New Hampshire. I had done very little research, we were leaving Canada with no reservation whatsoever and only a couple of tagged locations on my Google Maps account and it was a perfectly slow weekend, where everything went beyond any expectations! Here are a few of my favorite things that we saw and did, some by plan, others by accident. Sabbaday FallsSabbaday Falls is one of the things we stumbled onto by accident. We were driving through White Mountain National Forest and there was a small parking lot by the side of the road and a sign with the name of the fall. The number one rule on a roadtrip is "if there is a view point or an attraction on the side of the road, you have to stop to check it out". It ended up being a 1,5 km trail along the river to the bottom of the fall, and then a loop to see the fall from above and back down to meet again with the original trail. It's an easy trail with a small incline, but nothing major, and the view at the end is so worth it. There are multiple view points by the waterfall and the water is really clear and beautiful. I wish we could have seen it at the peak of fall colors, but we were a little early on September 25th and the leaves were just starting to change in that area. You do need a pass to go on the hike, but they can be purchased on the day of and are pretty cheap. If you have an annual National Park pass, that works too. Lost river gorgeThe Lost River Gorge was one of the places I had pinned on Google Maps, but just because I had seen a picture on an ad and I had done zero research. We just showed up one morning and decided to go. I thought it was pretty expensive at 26$ for a mile-long boardwalk through the forest (you get a small discount if you buy the ticket online), but after visiting, I think it is 100% worth the price and I understand why it is pricey. Not only do you get the boardwalk that allows you to walk through the Gorge and admire the river and the view, but you also get to walk or crawl through multiple caves illuminated by old fashioned gas lamps (one even has a waterfall inside), there are wood sculptures, a huge bird's nest where you can stand and so many viewpoints on the surrounding mountains. We spent about three hours exploring the whole site and we loved the visit! drive kancamagus highwayKancamagus Highway crosses part of White Mountain National Forest, but it also brings you in the heights of the mountains where you get a beautiful view on the surrounding mountains. There are plenty of rest areas and viewpoints where you can stop along the way and every turn seems more beautiful than the last. There were waterfalls and beautiful fall foliage. I will definitely drive that road again when I go back to New Hampshire. go horseback ridingThe last time I had been horseback riding was in 2017 in the Rockies at Waterton Park in Alberta, but I remembered it being a great experience that allows you to slowly take in the scenery. We had the idea very last minute and they had available spots at Bretton Woods Stables so we were really lucky. I wish we could have gone in the mountains on a longer ride, but I'm not an experienced rider so a one-hour tour along the valley was all I could realistically ask for, but it was still a great view and a very relaxing experience. I rarely get this feeling of being completely relaxed because there is nothing else I have to do than be present in the moment so this felt amazing to me. The horses were also very well treated and we were able to visit the stables and see that they were well cared for. camp in white mountain national forestThere were so many different campgrounds to choose from and all of them were spacious and offered some intimacy from neighboring campsites so we had a great experience. We also had no trouble finding available sites on arrival at the end of September, even on the weekend. The weather was perfectly comfortable to sleep in moderate sleeping bags, so anyone used to camping in the summer would have had no trouble. I will definitely camp again on my next visit to New Hampshire. It was so easy and convenient! Honestly, I loved my visit to New Hampshire and wish I could have extended it to a full week because there are so many things we didn't get to see. I plan on going back next year if I have the opportunity! other articles you might enjoy
I'm going to be very honest here: I made a lot of mistakes on my trip to Acadia National Park. Unfortunately for me, all of those mistakes were due to me not having a lot of time to research and going in unprepared, it had very little to do with the destination. Lucky for you, I listed all the things I wish I had known, so you don't have to do the same mistakes I did. you can and will drive into the park without seeing the visitor centerThere are multiple entrances into Acadia National Park and none of them drive by the Visitor Center. It is very out of the way, and you have to actually aim for it, otherwise, you might go through your whole visit without seeing it. Usually, when visiting national park, visitor centers are my first stop. I love them! There is always a fun museum sort of gallery with information about the area and the animals that live there, or the history of the park. You can find all sorts of information and you can talk to a park ranger and find out the best way to make the most of your visit according to your interests. Since the visitor center is nowhere near any of the attractions, it made no sense to do a detour for it and the only reason we even went was because I was done looking for parking spaces. If only we had gone there at the beginning of our stay! parking spaces are limited in the parkWether you are getting ready for a hike or looking forward to a lazy day at the beach, finding a parking spot might be a bit of a hassle. We spent the first few days of our visit really struggling to find parking spots before giving up and heading toward the visitor center and discovering there are actually buses that you can take for free that will take you to any spot you want around the park! We visited during the first weekend of summer and, I guess the signs weren't up yet, but we had no idea there was a shuttle service at the park. It wasn't on any of the park documentation we were given at the campground. If we had known, we wouldn't have bothered trying to find parking and would just have taken the bus everywhere! hiking maps are for sale or available onlineThis one really bothered me, not because it was a huge problem, but for the principle of it. So basically, you could get a map of the park for free, but that map shows mostly the attractions, main roads and some trails, but it doesn't say the distance or altitude or the difficulty level... If you want the actual "hiking map", it is available for purchase for 5$. Don't get me wrong, 5$ is nothing, but it felt cheap. Also, not knowing the distances or difficulty level can be an actual problem. People can get stuck on trails that are way too advanced for them because they had no idea it was technical in the first place. So, since the hiking map is available on the Acadia website, I recommend printing it out before heading there. That way you can make better decision on what trail to hike depending on your fitness level or you can prepare snacks, water and the right footwear according to the difficulty of the trail you want to hike. short hike doesn't mean easy hikeWe found out the hard way (because we did not buy the hiking map and had no wifi) that the shorter the hike, the steeper it will be. From what we saw, most hikes head up and down mountains, so a shorter hike means it is not zigzaging up the mountain, but heading straight up. Just thought you should know ;) you absolutely need a reservation to go to cadillac mountainIf you have seen pictures or articles about Acadia National Park before, they were probably about Cadillac mountain. It is the highest peak in the park and has a 360 degree view which makes it a great sunrise and sunset spot. It apparently also makes it a very popular spot at every hour of the day and night. We made our way there very early in the morning to find out you absolutely need a reservation and it was booked out for the whole week... We had no idea we needed a reservation, let alone a reservation far in advance. Luckily, there are other mountains, and the sunrises and sunsets are beautiful from any view point, but if going to the top is on your list of must-dos, make sure to reserve in advance. it can be very crowded even in shoulder seasonWe visited during St-Jean Baptiste which is a holiday in the province of Quebec, but isn't in the United States, so it wasn't a long weekend. It's also at the very beginning of summer, as school had just ended that week so I expected the park to be busy, but never even thought it could be crowded already. There were people everywhere. At the beach, at trail ends, in every street in Bar Harbor, on the rocks at random lookouts, everywhere! Even hiking in the rain we met some people! I don't think it would have bothered me so much if I had known, but I was expecting a quiet, tranquil weekend in nature and got... a theme park. Not what I had in mind! In the end, I did end up liking the destination. The park has beautiful scenery and the hikes were fun, but I feel like my own ignorance prevented me from fully appreciating the experience. I really hope I get the chance to go back one day and do it right! Luckily, it is only a short drive from my home in Quebec City. other articles that might interest you
In the summer of 2022, my friend Amy and I were on our trip to Delaware and decided to cut the road and stop for one day in Philly on the way. Neither of us had ever been to Philadelphia, but we had seen Rocky and National Treasure and thought, why not!
where to park
Since we were on a road trip, we had a car with us. And since we were on a tight budget, our Airbnb was definitely not in the city center, so there was no way to park there and visit the city on foot, and taking the bus from our airbnb would have taken way too much time out of our already short visit in Philadelphia. So we found out that you can park at the Independence Visitor Center and get a PHLASH Pass for 14$ per person and the parking is free. The PLASH Pass allows you to ride the hop-on hop-off bus along all of the main attractions and allowed us to see everything we wanted to see in a day.
Independence hall
Independence Hall is a must-see when visiting Philadelphia! It is a huge part of American history and the visit is pretty short and interesting and free. Most of the year, you need a reservation to visit Independence Hall that can be made on the web site. Unfortunately, since our trip was pretty last minute, we didn't have a reservation, but visits were open on a first come first serve basis from 3 pm to 4 pm, so we were lucky and were able to go inside and do the tour. We were there during 4th of July weekend so it was fun to see the decorations and feel like we were a part of the celebration. Being Canadian, celebrating the 4th of July is just as exotic to me as celebrating the Holi festival in India!
Try to pack small when visiting Independence Hall as you need to go through a metal detector on the way in and have your bags checked. the liberty bell
If you have seen and loved National Treasure you are probably just as excited as I was to visit the Liberty Bell. Otherwise, you are probably wondering what is so special about an old and broken bell. Either way, the visit is free of charge and the small museum where the bell is kept also has interesting facts about civil rights in the United States and was an interesting visit. You also need to go through a metal detector and have your bags checked before going in, but you don't need a reservation or anything.
the rocky steps
If you didn't take a picture of you running up the Rocky Steps, did you even go to Philadelphia? Enough said.
Reading terminal market
I don't know what is so fascinating with markets around the world, but I feel like they are always a condensed lesson about the culture of a place. What people eat, how they interact with each other, what transactions are like, what smells, colors, tastes represent the city you are visiting? It's always an interesting visit and the Reading Terminal Market was no exception. We bought lunch in the crowded and crooked alleys of the market and were happy to exit soon after as it was a bit overwhelming after two years of social distancing.
special occasions
We were so lucky that during our visit there was a beautiful lantern festival. Of course, it was pure coincidence and we hadn't planned our trip around this event, but I was truly grateful that we had taken the time to research what was happening in the city during our stay so we didn't miss such a beautiful event. Most cities have events like this one going on every weekend or even every day during the summer so it is absolutely worth the two-minute research to look up if there is a special event during your trip.
where to eat
We found that the restaurants in the Old City had a lot of variety and we had a fun time walking around, comparing menus and were pleasantly surprised by the prices in this touristic area where the prices would usually be completely over the top. We ended up having lunch at Reading Terminal Market and just grabbing a snack and drink in a restaurant on Chestnut Street. For dinner, we couldn't leave Philadelphia without trying a famous Philly cheese steak!
I quite liked Philadelphia to be honest. It was a good mix of modern and historic attractions, easy to navigate and I found the city to be truly beautiful. It also wasn't extremely busy or expensive to visit which was great after spending a day in New York City.
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Angel's Landing is one of the most popular hikes in the United States and is located in Zion National Park. You might have already seen photos and videos of people holding on the chains to hike the narrow trail to its summit. When my friend and I visited Zion on our road trip through the American Southwest, we were a little intimidated by this trail that. is rated very difficult. We are both healthy and pretty active, but we are not the type of people who train everyday at the gym or who run marathons. This trip was also pretty last minute, so we didn't have time to train for it. Let's just say we decided we were going to try it, but made the deal that at any point if one of us decided we were done, we were going to turn around and go back down and there would be no shame in it.
We planned our hike to give ourselves the best chance and started early in the morning so we would be in the shade for as long as possible and the heat would be less of a challenge. When we visited in September 2019, it was about 33 degrees Celsius in the afternoon.
This hike can be split in three sections. The first part is made of switch backs all the way up the vertical face of the mountain to the area where two mountains split that you can see on the picture above. Then you arrive to the section called Walter's wiggles, another section of switchbacks that are tighter and steeper that you can see on the picture below. And finally, the summit, where you have to hold on to chains and walk by the cliff on both sides.
Personally, I think the first part of switchbacks was the worst. It seemed infinite and we were in the sun for the most part so it was very hot. Usually when you hike a mountain, you will be going up and then the trail will go down a little bit and then up again and keep switching all the way up the mountain. Angel's Landing isn't like that. It's just up all the way to the summit and although the switchbacks aren't very steep, they give you no respite. You can stop at any point for a break and there is plenty of space for people to pass you if needed in that part, but it is rough on cardio and on your legs.
Once you are done with all the switchbacks and reach the summit section, it is more technical, but it gets easier in my opinion. Your mind is fully on planning where your next step should be instead of how out of breath you are. It also gets so beautiful that you are just blown away by it and grateful that you get the chance to see this view.
In this part, there is no rush. You take your time and if people want to pass you or if you want to pass other people, it can wait for a larger part of the trail where it is safe. Honestly, most people were very nice while we were there. Super respectful of others' limits and helping each other. Of course there were also people without water and hiking in flip flops, but what can you do...
When you reach the summit, you get a 360 degree-view on the whole valley and it blows your mind. It's been years and this is still my favorite hike ever, not only because I am proud that I reached the summit, but because the view was incredible. You feel like a bird flying through the valley and the feeling is indescribable.
We took our time on the summit, had a quick lunch and then slowly made our way back down. The switchbacks are still killer on the way down, but at least you are not as out of breath.
All in all, it took us approximately 3 hours for the hiking part and we took a small break before the summit and stopped for a long while on the summit. I would say from the time we stepped off the bus to the time we stepped back on, about 4 hours.
I seriously recommend doing this hike if you are able. It was easier than I thought it would be, but still a big challenge for me. I think if you are used to hiking mountains you can do it, but the heat and the switchbacks will be rough. The chains part was also more technical than I was used to, but it's not slippery so it wasn't that hard.
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During our trip to the American Southwest, my friend and I had made an itinerary, but we hadn't made reservations for our campgrounds as we wanted the liberty to stop for the night if we were tired or to drive as long as we wanted if we were feeling up to it.
One afternoon, we left Arches National park and made our way to Page, Arizona, knowing full well that we wouldn't make it there before the night fell. The villages and small towns in that part of Utah are really tiny and pretty scattered so when the sun started setting, and we saw a sign for a campground in Bluff, Utah, we decided to stop for the night.
In the last few kilometers, we could see the sun setting on our right, the colourful sky turning pinker all around us, and to our left, the full moon. It was so beautiful! I kept trying to take pictures and videos, but none of it made it justice.
When we arrived at the campground, the sunset was almost all the way down behind the mountains and there was only one other family there.
We checked in and barely had time to build a fire before it was completely dark out. We had dinner by the fire and suddenly we heard "Tabarnak". That word doesn't lie, there were other people from Quebec! What were the odds that the only other family in the campground, all the way in tiny Bluff, Utah, would also be French Canadian?!
It was such a simple, quiet camping night, but I don't think I will ever forget the beauty of that sunset, the randomness of making it to Bluff at the only campground for miles around, and the chance of meeting other Quebecois in this far away town.
For more information on our road trip through the American Southwest, click here.
In September 2019, my friend and I went on a road trip through Nevada, Utah, Arizona and California. (For more information about this road trip, click here) While on this road trip, we of course visited the Grand Canyon National Park. How could you go to Arizona and not go to the Grand Canyon?! But, not only did we want to see it from the top like you can see in all the pictures, we kind of wanted to see it from the river too. And the best way to do that was to go rafting! Since we didn't have much time, the 14 days rafting trip through the whole Colorado River wasn't exactly a possibility, but with Hualapai River Runners, we could go rafting for a day at the West end of the Grand Canyon.
We arrived the day before in Peach Springs, Arizona, a small reserve on road 66. We were to leave early in the morning from the Hualapai Lodge, and since there was no campground in Peach Springs, we were allowed to park and spend the night in their parking lot. The lodge is beautiful and there is a restaurant and small shop where you can purchase everything you might need or have forgotten for your day of adventure, like sunscreen, watershoes, dry bags, etc.
Early in the morning, we had breakfast in the van and walked to the front desk to wait for our guide. There were about twenty of us going on this expedition that day so we all climbed on a bus for the 1-hour drive to the Colorado River. The ride wasn't exactly peaceful as it is a dirt road, but the views as we climbed down the canyon was incredible. Soon, we had made it to the end of the road where the rafts were waiting for us to board. We put on our lifejackets, put our personnal items in a barrel for safe keeping and climbed aboard. There were 6 of us in our raft, plus our guide, as we started our journey down the river.
As indicated on the website, the first few miles are rapids, small ones and medium ones, nothing to make you fall overboard, but just enough to be completely drenched and have fun! The water is freezing cold and my hands were white from holding on to the raft as hard as I could, but I don't think I had laughed that much in a long time. The whole time, our guide was telling us about the region, its climate, vegetation and history, about the Hualapai tribe and their legends and traditions, about the history of his ancestors and how they try to preserve their way of life while adapting to the 21st century.
Once we were completely drenched to the bones, it was time for our first stop on the side of the canyon. We hiked a short way through a side canyon to a beautiful waterfall where we could sit in shallow pools and take pictures or relax for a while. Then, it was time to get back on the raft and get through the last rapids before lunch.
For lunch, we stopped at a small beach. Lunch was provided and thankfully dry as we had a sandwich with our choice of juice, water or soda, chips, cookies and fruits. I probably ate way too much and it wasn't the most healthy, but after hanging on in the rapids, hiking and swimming, I was hungry! We had some time to dry off in the sun and get to know our boat mates while we ate and then it was back to the water as it was really hot in the sun. I think I put sunscreen on about four times that day and still got sunburnt.
The rest of the afternoon was spent cruising along the canyon and looking around trying to convince ourselves that we were living this for real. I think the canyon is even more impressive from the bottom. The walls somehow seem taller and the river seems narrower.
Our boat mates had also made the reservation to be helicoptered out and go to the skywalk, so in the middle of the afternoon, we left them on the side of the canyon where the helicopter would pick them up and continued our journey just the two of us and our guide. Since it was just the two of us for the remaining 10 miles, our guide let us drive the raft and decide when we wanted to stop for a swim so we had a great rest of our afternoon and definitely took advantage of the swimming and walking along the shores.
We arrived at the dock at about 7 PM and had an hour of bus ride by ourselves to head back to the lodge. Both of us were exhausted and slept almost the whole way back, but we were also very satisfied of this day on the Colorado River.
So, was this day crazy expensive and definitely not something I could afford at the time? Absolutely! Do I regret it? Absolutely not!
I think it was a once in a lifetime experience and I am so happy we took the opportunity. How many people can say they were in the middle or the bottom of the Grand Canyon? I would definitely recommend it or even the multiple day expedition. I would have kept going for a few more days without tiring. Other articles you might enjoy
Every time someone asked where I was going on vacation this summer and I answered excitedly "Delaware", I got weird stares and lots of questions: Why Delaware? What is there to do in Delaware? Isn't that a long drive from Quebec? Why don't you go to Maine instead? Apparently, visiting a state that people don't usually visit confuses a lot of people and our trip actually has a pretty interesting back story, so here it is!
This story begins in March 2017, while my friend Amy and I were getting ready to leave Vancouver Island to visit California on a two-week road trip. Driving to California would take us two days and about 22 hours of driving on pretty boring interstates: we needed to think of games to keep us entertained! So I started researching and found plenty of car games that you can find here. One of those activities was to print a map of the United States and try to find a license plate from every state. Let's just say this little game quickly became an obsession after being stuck in traffic for 5 hours in Seattle and, not only did we play during the whole two weeks in California, but kept the game going on every road trip we went on that year.
After our two weeks in California, we were missing 18 states, but by the end of the year, we were missing only four.
Now, 5 years later, I have played this game way too many times to count, including on a two-week road trip in Utah, Arizona and Nevada in 2018 where we were missing only one : Delaware. So in almost 6 years of playing, the only state that we have never found is Delaware. There are only two conclusions that can come from this: either Delaware is a myth and only exists on paper, but no one actually lives there, or, it is so incredibly beautiful that once people arrive, they never want to visit any other place ever again. Let's just say, we were curious to find out!
So fast forward to the summer of 2022, Covid rules are starting to ease up, the borders are finally open, we have a long weekend in Canada for July 1st and a few extra vacation days, it seems like the right time to finally discover what's up with Delaware. We stopped on the way for a night in New York City where we had the chance to see The Lion King on Broadway, a day in Philadelphia where I had never been before, and then made our way to Delaware.
And wouldn't you know, after two whole days, in New York and Philadelphia, of looking, once again, for a Delaware license plate, we finally found it on a walk near our Airbnb in Philadelphia. Just a few hours before actually visiting the state! I don't know whose car that is, but thanks for visiting Phily!
We arrived in Delaware on July 3rd with no expectations. We knew there would be beaches as we were staying at the Delaware Seashore State Park campground, but we didn't know much else and we were excited to visit during 4th of July weekend as it was Amy's first time in the States for the 4th and my first time outside of Disney World (which I don't think is a fair representation of the holiday).
Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised! The beaches in Delaware stretch for miles, the sand is soft beneath your feet and the coastline is really beautiful. The waves were pretty intense though, and the beach towns are clearly not meant for so many people to visit at the same time as the street lights are set for little to no traffic.
We spent the afternoon at the beach just enjoying the sunshine and warm weather, but in the evening is when it got interesting. Obviously, we knew there would be fireworks for July 4th and I guess it makes sense if people go back to work on the 5th that they would need to leave in the afternoon of the 4th to go back home, but we weren't expecting fireworks on July 3rd too! Starting at about 8 PM, all around Rehoboth Bay and Indian Bay and even in New Jersey, on the other side of the Bay of Delaware, there were fireworks going off until at least 10 PM when we went back to our campground and stopped watching. I had never seen so many firework displays going off at the same time, it was just incredible! Americans clearly have a big fireworks budget for 4th of July!
The next day, we explored Rehoboth Beach, went souvenir shopping and spend the afternoon at the beach near our campground before driving to Dewey Beach where we knew there would be official fireworks for 4th of July. And once again, for the second night in a row, we were treated to a 360 degrees fireworks show. Before and after the official fireworks, people were lighting them on the beach beside us, on the other side of the bay, on boats over the water, literally everywhere! But this time, although we didn't bring our own fireworks, at least we were part of the celebration as we had 4th of July cupcakes and red, white and blue glow stick bracelets. It was fun seeing the excitement and the pride that the American people show for this holiday, even though I think it's a little too political and it's kind of ironic to be so proud of their freedom when they are trying to control half of the population, but that is just my opinion as a Canadian looking at it from the outside. I personally don't even celebrate Canada Day so it was a bit of a shock to see how big a deal Independence Day was in the USA, even if we see it in movies and on TV.
I really hope one day I get to visit Delaware again as these few days barely scratched the surface of what there is to see. Even driving through the state on our way back to Canada, I wish we had time to stop at Cape Henlopen State Park to bird watch or go pick some peaches and cherries in one of the many orchards. I also wish we had time to learn some of the history of this first state that I'll just have to Google. For being the second smallest state and one that nobody seems to visit, I found a lot to love in Delaware.
Although it definitely exists and it is truly beautiful, I don't think people stay there forever without visiting other states so we'll need to look for another reason why we never found this license plate on our travels ;) other articles you might enjoy
25/7/2022 0 Comments SWIMMING IN THE VIRGIN RIVER
I absolutely loved the road trip I went on with my friend Karine in Utah, Nevada and Arizona. These states are gorgeous all around with their mountains of red limestone, deep creeks, deserts as far as the eye can see and narrow canyons, but, in September when we went, it is HOT. In some parts, it is scorching.
On the second day of our road trip, we were hiking in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada before driving to Zion National Park in Utah. We started early as we knew it would be hot. I had intentionally chosen small hikes so we could slowly get used to the heat as, being from Canada, we are not used to this. The two hikes were about 30 minutes each, but after the first one, I could feel myself getting dizzy and dehydrated even after drinking from my water bottle every two seconds. As a lifeguard and having lived in Florida before, I can recognize the signs of heat exhaustion and this was it. We took a break before deciding to do the second hike. We stayed in the shade, drank cold water from our refrigerator, ate fruits and veggies and salty snacks and we were both feeling good enough to go. And it was so worth it as the view on the deep red and orange mountains and valleys took my breath away. We then started the drive to Zion with the air condition bringing as much relief as possible from this heat. Unfortunately, as soon as we started going up a hill, the engine was not strong enough and the air condition would stop. Let's just say that when we arrived in Zion at about 4PM we were both sweaty and exhausted, but excited to be there. Zion is also a lot cooler than Valley of Fire and, as the sun was starting to hide behind the mountains surrounding the canyons, we felt a huge relief. Unable to resist getting a first glimpse of the canyon, we both put on our swimsuit under our clothes and headed to a small trail called Lower Emerald Pools, with the intention of going for a swim in the river afterwards. We took the shuttle and exited at Zion Lodge, crossed the bridge and started walking on the easy path. On the way, we noticed tracks heading to a small beach by the river and called it: if we were to swim in the river today, this would be the perfect spot. A huge boulder hid a small pool from the current and the bottom looked sandy and soft.
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