Private New York City Red Double-Decker Bus Tour

On a chilly fall Saturday, Greg and I headed down to Midtown to board a red double-decker bus.

But it wasn’t a typical touristy excursion. Instead, this was a private bus just for us.

And for our favorite people!

Our friend Soren always plans the most random, and fun, activities. This day was no different, since he rented out the entire red double decker tour bus just for him and his lucky friends. Since the bus was just for us we could go anywhere we wanted, and bring any sort of alcoholic beverages we wanted too.

It was definitely nowhere near the typical touristy bus tour, and we had a blast roaming around the city with drinks in our hands.

We roamed around Midtown, breezing by the Plaza hotel and the shops on Fifth Avenue.

Then we drove past St. Patrick’s Cathedral where a wedding party saw us, laughed, and waved.

We went by Rockefeller Center too.

And were pleased to see they’re bringing F.A.O. Schwarz back!

And then it was the moment we had been waiting for. Our bus rushed down Broadway and into Times Square. And while you wouldn’t catch any of us New Yorkers in Times Square on an ordinary day, there was something about being on top of the ~~world~~ red double-decker bus that made it really, ridiculously fun.

We then continued south, marveling at the stunning architecture in our city. And while I would have never done a red double-decker tour bus tour ordinarily (I mean, can you even call yourself a New Yorker if you do this?!) I did appreciate the experience.

When you’re walking around to your job or your next event, you rarely take a moment to look up. After all, no one likes people who meander down the sidewalk, swiveling their heads as they glance around. Instead we have places to be, and are much too concerned with the hustle than with the sights we’ve seen a million times.

But, when you’re driving down the middle of the road and elevated from the ground, with nothing to do but look up, it’s amazing how much you can see, and how stunning New York City truly is. It felt like we were seeing the city from an entirely new perspective, which I suppose we were!

We continued past the New York Public Library.

And circled around Union Square.

Before heading all the way down to the Financial District.

Here we stopped at a bar to… umm… “warm up.”

And since we were in full tourist mode, we also grabbed a few hotdogs from Nathan’s hotdog food truck.

As a side note, for you actual tourists, eating a hotdog from Nathan’s is fine. What you do not, under any circumstances, want to do is eat a generic hotdog from one of those hotdog carts you see everywhere. It may feel very “New York,” but New Yorkers have seen those people obtaining the water they use to boil hotdogs from stagnant, street water that has collected by the curb. So just skip it or get the real deal, like we did!