New York, New York!

So, last week I went on one of the most amazing holidays of my life so far. Yep, you guessed it, New York. Having always wanted to go there it was a dream come true when my boyfriend said we could go with his family, so I have a lot to thank them for!

It was an absolutely incredible 6 days which were jam packed with all the touristy bits as you can imagine. We did everything from Top of the Rock to a tour of Radio City Music Hall and I have some amazing photos which would make some pretty good postcards if I do say so myself! I don’t want to blab on and on about how awesome it is because I’m sure you all know or have been there yourselves so here’s a round up:

Day 1: Too much travelling…

We got an early night Monday and woke up at the lovely hour of 5:00am to leave at 5:30am for Heathrow. We got to Heathrow early so got the chance to grab some breakfast and look around…it’s blimming massive!! It’s like a small town in there, probably bigger than the town I live in tbh. We had tea/coffee in Carluccio’s which was so nicely decorated with food as you can see below.

Then it was proper breakfast at a place called Giraffe where I had the best ham and cheese toastie thing that tasted liked pizza! I just had to take a picture of the giraffe’s…

We then had a quick look round the shops before boarding the British Airways flight to Newark Airport. How exciting 😀 BA have the best service btw. So friendly and cheery at stupid 0 clock in the morning! I felt safe and comfortable which is all a nervous flyer could ask for (only my second time on a plane…)

We landed in Newark where we queued for nearly for 2 hours in customs and saw either Jason or Howard from Take That! We are still trying to work out which one it was…

Finally in a very hot yellow taxi cab, we travelled to that place where they film Cake Boss where we took photos and tasted the incredible cakes and then on to the hotel. Me being so overwhelmed by the lovely hotel, didn’t even take any photos but if you wanna see it, check it out here, it’s lush: http://theknickerbocker.com/rooms/premier-room/. We all felt so jet lagged that we just collapsed in the very comfy beds and feel straight to sleep.

Day 2: Cue the goldfish mouth

So today we got up at the equally stupid hour of 7am for our first day in NYC! We had breakfast in a cute, independent diner where I had maple syrup pancakes. Soo good…

First thing on our never ending list was the air craft carrier you see in I am Legend that Will Smith plays golf off the end of? Yeah that iconic one, and my first of many high up things I had to conquer. (life is so hard eh 😉 ) Anyway it was pretty awesome and here’s some pics below…

We then took a boat to Greenwich Village to where they filmed Friends!! I couldn’t believe we actually saw it, looks just like the TV programme. Shame we couldn’t see the set…

Next up was a boat to Ellis Island which was probably one of my favourite trips of the whole holiday. The Statue of Liberty is on Ellis Island and it’s absolutely incredible. It was a really hot day, about 30 degrees (as was the whole week actually.) We walked round most of the island and had some fresh cold lemonade to cool down. You could also see an impressive view of the New York Skyline from the island. Well worth visiting and I got some pretty cool pictures…

Oh, we also saw Wall Street after that and I stood next to the bull. Another incredible thing we did that day was to visit the 9/11 memorial which I shouldn’t say I had been looking forward to but it was so beautiful. We visited the North and South Pools which are massive waterfalls flowing into a deep marble (I think) hole. It gives the effect of crying and all the names of the deceased are carved round the edge. It’s so moving. We also went inside the museum where parts of the World Trade Centre are still standing!! There were people talking about their experiences and many preserved pieces including a crushed fire engine which literally took my breath away. Very sad but an incredible tribute…

   The last thing for the day was dinner in a pizza parlour. The pizza was so huge I only managed one slice! Although, I nabbed some of my boyfriend parents’ pasta and salad tho…

Day 3: Highest heights…

We started the day off in style with big breakfasts and Rich had a huge waffle with whipped cream and maple syrup, oh and a bagel. Piggy!

Then was something I’m afraid to say I had been pretty much dreading since I found out we were going up it…Top of the Rock otherwise known as the mighty Rockerfella Centre. I kind of enjoyed it but was very glad to get back down again. Cue the shaky legs…

Next, we did something that I class as fun; cycle round Central Park!! It was so awesome, I can’t get over how pretty it was, or how hot actually, we were sweating buckets all week! There was a lake in the middle with boats and we looked round Shakespeare Gardens which is in Central Park too. This is where they put on Shakespeare plays and have a small temple looking place. Very nice.

After this, we popped into M&M’s world which is pretty impressive and I absolutely loved it although I think my boyfriend was much less impressed since he doesn’t even like M&Ms. (How can you not like M&Ms?!) He trooped round like a trooper though and I filled up a bag of peanut M&Ms to munch on so it was all good.

After a freshen up we then went to a place called ‘The Counter’ which is a make your own burger place. It’s seriously amazing. They give you a sheet with all the ingredients on and you tick off what you want. Soo yummy and I ate it before I could take a picture (this is why I suck at instagram)

We then went on this interactive coach tour called ‘The Ride’ which was hilarious. It was pretty corny but funny and basically took you on a ride round New York whilst telling you about it in the weirdest way. There were street performers who gave a shout out to my boyfriends parents for their anniversary the next day which was cool and dancers round a waterfall. To top it off, they made us sing New York, New York as we finished (this is a whole coach load of people from across the world btw- Germany and Argentina to name a few!) Also the seats were facing outwards as though it was a stage and you were looking through the windows. Check out our picture below…

Day 4: The longest walk ever…

To start off the day we ate in Hard Rock Cafe which had the coolest decor and I bought the iconic t-shirt…

Next up was Radio City Music Hall which was also one of my favourites. It literally was a I’m- blown- away – by -this, moment! It’s massive and so iconic on the inside and out. We met a Rockette who does hundreds of performances across the world (they are like can can dancers but like so much better.) Famous names such as Frank Sinatra, Beyonce, Elton John and Lady Gaga have performed there and it is known for being the first to air: Singing in the Rain and To Kill A MockingBird. How amazing is that?!

Next, because we are mad we must have walked round the whole of Madison and 5th Avenue which is like the posh shopping part and I got just a little exicted when we saw Bloomingdales…

After this was the longest trek of my life where we must have walked a good 4-5 miles in the blasting hot weather being pushed from all directions in a busy city and stopping every so often to snap at each other to hurry up…good times! We are still all talking to each other haha and did apologise afterwards anyway. We finally reached Grand Central Station at rush hour (0h the joys!) but it was damn impressive! Pictured in films such as The Godfather and The Day After Tomorrow, it really is a sight to behold…

We still hadn’t finished our crazy day cause we went and saw Lion King on Broadway which was pretty awesome. I’ve seen it before but the others hadn’t. I kinda preferred it in London actually since the theatre was more impressive but I still cried in this one and poor Rich had a wet shirt and didn’t even complain so it must have been pretty good 😛

To top off the craziest day ever, we went to the Empire State building at midnight to see it all lit up. However, I panicked and didn’t go up it which I am kind of annoyed at but hey I saw it so what’s the difference? 😉 The others all went up and I still haven’t managed to look through the millions of photos we have and find those ones so you’ll have to imagine it 😛

Day 5: A much needed chill

On Day 5, we finally managed to slow things down and go on a 2 hour boat cruise round Manhattan which was pretty damn cool to see all the sights from the water. We went under the Brooklyn Bridge through the Bronx and past the Statue of Liberty. It was so lovely and relaxing apart from my banging headache 😛 (It went eventually.)

We went to Mcdonalds for lunch which you have to really when you’re in the USA don’t you? It was massive from the place to the food but a much needed energy booster which made Rich and I feeling rather sorry for ourselves after! We decided to do Madame Tussauds which I was a little disappointed with but we saw all the famous peeps like The Beatles, The Obamas, The Spice Girls and Charlie Chaplin. After that, we went to Hunger Games Discovery which was an exhibition a bit like a small Harry Potter World I guess. It had all the costumes and loads of interactive stuff which Rich and his dad did. Hilarious!

Day 6: Shopping!

We went shopping in Times Square (where we were also staying) and I bought a Ralph Lauren polo top which I love. It was much cheaper than over here fyi. I dragged my boyfriend round numerous other shops too and it was a nice way to round off our holiday 🙂

Now how’s that for a round up? I’m only just recovering from the jet lag haha and still kinda wishing I was in the 30 degree heat cause UK you are freezing!