AI and I go on a walk through NYC

Image created 2024-01-03 using DALL-E. Prompt: Generate 7 photos from a trip around NYC. They should include images of Times Square, The Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The 9/11 Memorial, and then two other random shots of the city. Please do not include people in any of the photos. with a follow up prompt to generate a single photo-realistic image showing the locations

I was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer in early October and began treatment - first with surgery and now with Chemo. Next in the pile on comes Radiation. As such, my immune system is pretty weak right now and so traveling and even grocery shopping is a little dangerous. I'm relying on friends and family to handle most of my getting out other than walks around the neighborhood right now. I thought my Wednesday Walks would be super boring if I only showed you the closets in my house so I decided to take on something I've been thinking about for a while - using AI to start planning several trips - both probably real and definitely imagined that I'd like to take once I recover.

We're going to start with one of the real ones - a visit back to New York City!

Why NYC?

Why not? is my first answer. My second is that my nephew, his partner, and his best friend (who I'm also close to) live there and so I've got a built in place to stay as well as helpful guides. Plus, I LOVE visiting NYC. I don't want to live there but I adore getting into the energy of the city for a few days.

Every time I've visited though, I've gotten overwhelmed with what to see and do. There are SO. MANY. OPTIONS.

For this next trip though, I decided to use Chat GPT to help me start on a 4 day itinerary and then I'd fill in from there.

Note: The remaining images in this post were also generated with DALL-E using the prompt above. DALL-E returned one image with 9 blocks (I'll include that full images at the end.) I cropped the images to use as separate highlights in this post.

Where will I go?

Lego Store in Time's Square

I've enjoyed watching Lego Masters and had a GREAT time visiting lego stores in Lego's home company of Denmark. I very much want to visit the iconic Lego Store in Time's Square.

I've visited Time's Square at night which is certainly a site to see but I also want to spend a little more time exploring in the daylight on this next trip. I tried this on my last trip but I was too early in the day and then had to catch my flight. This next time, I want to do a good afternoon visit.

The Statue of Liberty

I've taken a harbor cruise so I've gotten some of my own iconic photos of Lady Liberty but this time I want to visit Ellis Island and tour what is available to me.

The MET and MOMA

On both of my last two trips, I've said I was going to get to at least one of these two iconic museums and haven't done so. This time I'm definitely going to do it!

The Museum of Mathematics & The Morgan

Two other museums I want to visit are the Museum of Mathematics (I'm a recovering Mathematics Teacher) and The Morgan. I read about each of these in books last year (The Joy of X and The Personal Librarian) and so they are on my visit list.

The Itinerary

I don't know that this will be my exact itinerary but I asked ChatGPT to generate a 4 day itinerary that included these locations. This is what it generated that I've lightly edited as a potential starting itinerary.

Day 1: Midtown Manhattan and Times Square

Morning:

Start your day with a visit to the Empire State Building. Head to the observation deck early to avoid the crowds and enjoy panoramic views of the city.
Walk down to the New York Public Library and Bryant Park for a relaxed morning.

Afternoon:

Stroll along Fifth Avenue for some window shopping and see famous stores.
Have lunch at one of the many restaurants in the area. Make your way to Times Square for some day into evening sight seeing.

Evening:

Explore Times Square. Experience the neon lights, the billboards, and the hustle and bustle of this famous intersection.
Catch a Broadway show. (I've had Hamilton Tickets 2 times now that we've had to cancel/refund)

Day 2: Financial District and 9/11 Memorial

Morning:

Visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. It's a profound experience to see the twin reflecting pools and learn about the events of September 11, 2001.

Afternoon:

Head to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Evening:

Take a short walk to Battery Park and enjoy views of the harbor.
From here, you can take a sunset cruise or ferry ride that offers sunset views of the Statue and Island

Day 3: Museums and Central Park

Morning:

Start at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met). It's huge, so you might want to focus on a few key exhibits.

Afternoon:

Have a picnic lunch in Central Park, and then enjoy a leisurely walk through the park, stopping by sights like the Bethesda Fountain and Strawberry Fields.
In the late afternoon, visit The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Evening:

Dine at one of the restaurants near Central Park or along Columbus Circle.

Day 4: More, More, More

Morning:

Take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for fantastic views of the skyline.

Afternoon:

Explore the Museum of Mathematics and The Morgan

Evening:

Conclude your trip with a visit to the One World Observatory for a night view of the city.
Have a farewell dinner at a restaurant with a view, like those in the Hudson Yards or in the Chelsea area.

Where to Next?

Now it's time to decide where my next virtual trip will be to. Where would you like to go?

All images in this post were generated by the author using ChatGPT/DALL-E. Prompts are provided in the article. Images were separated into individual thumbnails using CleanShot for Mac.