Boston to New York & back: Did a 500 mile road trip in a BMW X2

I wanted to park the car at Times Square and found a valet garage right next to Times Square in Manhattan.

BHPian mobike008 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Earlier this month, spent a couple of glorious weeks in Boston, MA. This visit was to enjoy a family reunion as well as attend the school graduation ceremony of my niece which was an event no less than any Oscar Awards Ceremony as it had at least 3 main events that culminated into the graduation ceremony which was held in downtown Boston in Boston Symphony Hall.

I am so happy to see that my nieces are getting such amazing education, life lessons and superb amenities for kids of that age.

We spent a lot of time checking out all the hot spots in Boston, New Hampshire, Rhode Island.

One of the days, we borrowed my nieces BMW X2 xDrive 28i and made an overnight trip to New York City which is roughly 225 miles from Boston. This route is one of my favorite freeway drives in US and have done it multiple times in the last 20 years. It goes through Connecticut, New York State then finally into New York City.

2/3rd of this drive is through tight 2-lane winding freeways which is fast as people here drive at least 20mph above speed limit so I was hovering between 90-100mph in most of the winding sections which felt like a walk in the park for this beautiful handling X2.

Here is a review of the BMW X2, if you haven’t checked it out yet :

We left home real early and with a brief stop enroute for Bagel and Coffee, we didn’t stop anywhere and reached New York City around noon. I wanted to park the car at Times Square and found a valet garage right next to Times Square in Manhattan. This garage is like 20-25 feet away from the main Times Square area.

As we entered the garage, I was blown away as some of the cars parked took my breathe away :

X5M’s
Porsche 911, Panemera, Cayman
Range Rover HSE
BMW X7, M60i and a few other BMW M cars

Not a single common car and we felt poor driving in with an X2. LOL!

Parked and started walking with first destination marked as “Joe’s Pizza”

We waited in the line for 30-mins to get a few slices which was heavenly. Then walked to Bryant Park and then Grand Central Station from where we took a subway to Brooklyn Bridge and then walked the entire Brooklyn Bridge (Most favorite shooting spot for Shahrakh Khan) and then visited DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) which is a legendary location.

Then took a subway back to Times Square. One interesting thing about New York Subway is that you use your credit card directly to pay (Flat Fee of $2.90) to enter the station and I was using my Apple Watch to tap and walk in to the station. I heard it’s a new feature. Absolutely convenient and makes so much sense than buying tickets from vending machines.

We enjoyed a beautiful walk and decided to party on the 20th floor in Broadway (230 Fifth Rooftop Bar) which is one of the most popular party places where small spots were taken up by TikTok, Meta, JPMC etc for corporate parties.

We had a great time with a few French women who shared our table and spent a lovely 3-4 hours enjoying conversations about French and Indian cultures and the views,mocktails and appetizers.

Around 9;30pm, we headed out and see the line to enter has grown to a couple of blocks (Entry Fee is $15/head) as that’s when people start partying in NYC. We walked back to Bryant Park which is my favorite location and enjoyed a dinner in Bryant Cafe right in the park.

Then walked to Times Square and spend time walking around enjoying the glitzy glamour till midnight and then drove to our hotel and retired for the night.

Next day, we headed into New Jersey to meet a friend and then enjoyed a lovely Brunch at A2B before heading back to Boston. A friend of mine who studied in New York called and insisted that we stop at “Frank Pepe” in New Haven Connecticut for their legendary pizza.

It was a great feeling that we stopped at Fran Pepe’s in New Haven when they were celebrating their 100 years (Established in 1925) and we ordered the quintessential Italian Pizza- Margherita Pizza which was heavenly to say the least.

Enjoyed a fast drive back home to Boston and reached around 7:00pm.

That’s how we spent day and half in New York City/New Jersey.

Enjoy the Pictures and Cheers to the most amazing city in the world !!!

Off we go….

Pitstop for Bagel and Coffee..

Never see X2’s but, when I am driving one. I saw plenty of them…Does it happen to you as well?

Bagel & Cream Cheese- I can live on ’em. Haha!

Home of Basketball Capital- Interesting.

New York Baby…Yay!!

Waze is always on so as to beware of the cops on this stretch which is notorious.

This section was so thrilling. The whole drive became worth it only for this stretch.

Driving a BMW in Times Square gave me a different kick.

Times Square Parking Garage- X5M Twins.

Joe’s Pizza in Manhattan- Waited for more than 30 mins to get our slices. But, it was heavenly. NYC Pizzas are next level and probably equal or better than Italy.