Day 1: Getting our bearings....
Stepping out of our hotel, the first major sight we are greeted by is the impressive Chrysler Building. I remember being in awe of the Art Deco style of the Chrysler building, back when I first visited New York with my parents 14 years ago and seeing it for the second time, I realised it still holds a special place in my heart. Did you know....the Chrysler Building was the world's tallest building for 11 months....before the architects added the antenna on top of the Empire State Building in 1931?! Next stop, the Rockefeller Centre. The area around the Rockefeller is modern and bustling, with high street shops such as TopShop to the high end designer shops like Michael Kors and Chanel. We made a pact to only go in shops that we couldn't find in the UK....(or that were not easily accessible to us in the UK). So with that, we headed straight to some of the iconic NY shops......Saks of 5th Avenue, Tiffany's (with 6 floors!!), Bloomingdales and Barney's. We of course, couldn't help but pop in and out of all the Sephora's we stumbled upon during our trip, as well as being lured into Bath and Body Works. For our lunch stop on day 1, we found the perfect place - Fluffy's Cafe - offering both vegan and gluten free options for my friend. I opted for a big slice of pizza and my friend went for a Quinoa Bowl, which were both filling! After lunch, we pottered around Central Park with the aim of finding 'Strawberry Fields' and the John Lennon Memorial plaque. 'Strawberry Fields' was flocked by tourists posing for photos by the memorial plaque; with a busker playing a stream of John Lennon hits in the background. We found the Dakota building in the edge of Central Park, where John Lennon lived and was tragically killed in 1980. Did you know....Yoko Ono (widow of John Lennon) still lives in The Dakota Building? To celebrate our first full day in New York, we enjoyed our evening meal at The Counter - a fantastic burger bar near Times Square, where you can pick your meat, toppings, style of bun and sides by ticking a sheet in the menu....so cool! Times Square at night is fantastic - the atmosphere and the on street entertainment is unique. Of course, no trip to Times Square is complete without some very late retail therapy in the huge Disney Shop (open til 1am!!)
Day 2: A trip down memory lane....
We began our second day at Grand Central Station purchasing a Metro Card (which I somehow managed to lose 2 of!!) so we could travel on the Subway to Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan. Once at Battery Park, we used our pre-purchased tickets (using the New York City Explorers Pass App) to travel on the Island Ferry....a ferry taking to you Liberty Island and Ellis Island. We had tickets for the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and we also planned to get a good position on the top deck of the ferry so we could take some blog worthy shots of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. As part of the Ferry ticket, you can get off and explore Liberty Island or you can purchase tickets to walk up to the top of the Statue, but neither of these activities appealed to us. We just wanted to experience the view that the Immigrants would have seen as they first approached New York all those years ago. I remember going to Ellis Island with my parents during our previous trip and for me it was the highlight of the trip as I have always enjoyed history and tracing family roots. Sharing in the experience again on this trip was equally as poignant and humbling and I would recommend the Immigration Museum to anyone coming to NYC for the first time. After our Island hopping trip, we headed to Mulberry & Vine for some lunch. Mulberry & Vine is a healthy eating "on the go" cafe where you make up a dish of protein and vegetables (For example; chicken breast with charred avocado and roasted sweet potatoes). This place is perfect for those of you who are vegan or gluten-free. From one poignant NYC sight to another, we made our way to the One World Trade Centre and the 9/11 Memorial Pools. The last time I was here with my family (in 2002), this area was known as "Ground Zero" and it looked very different to what it does today following the redevelopment of the area. The pools themselves are impressive and the atmosphere surrounding the whole area is peaceful. We took our time walking around the pools, taking in all the names and admiring the roses that were left scattered around the perimeter of the pools. We chose not to go into the 9/11 Museum as we both remember vividly the events surrounding 9/11 and felt that these were memories enough. Did you know....one tree was recovered from the wreckage and is now known as the "Survivors Tree", which is placed in the memorial garden? The rest of our afternoon was spent wandering the streets around Union Square and the Flat Iron Building and nipping in several coffee shops. Another highlight of our day was a trip up to the Empire State Building Observation Deck once the sun had set to take in the bright lights of New York City. What a magical way to end day 2 of our trip....
Day 3: Above the city, looking down....
After a jam-packed day yesterday, I had scheduled a more relaxed itinerary for our third day in the Big Apple. We started off by returning to Times Square in the morning, as it's the one place that has a totally different atmosphere during the day than at night. I'm a huge Hard Rock Cafe fan and whenever I am visiting a city that has one, I always buy a souvenir from the shop (usually in the form of a t-shirt). So we had a good look around the Hard Rock Shop in Times Square, as well as sussing out the delights of a nearby Duane Reade and Wallgreens. Once we had finished in this area, we took a leisurely stroll down 5th Avenue to check out the iconic NYC shop....MACY's! I was more impressed with Macy's than Barney's or Bloomingdales to be honest. We couldn't take a trip to New York without seeing what Canal Street in China Town and Little Italy had to offer. As it turns out, we weren't that impressed and as two young ladies on our own, it was the first time in the city that we didn't feel completely safe. Unimpressed by this particular area of the city, we made our way back to the Rockefeller Centre (in 91 degrees Fahrenheit!!) and enjoyed my personal highlight of the trip.....The Top of The Rock! The views from the top on a clear day are breathtaking, especially for such a sprawling city. We could see the Empire State Building, One World Trade Centre, Central Park, the Chrysler Building, Times Square, the harbours and bridges. If there is just one attraction that you can fit in when you come to New York, for me, this would be it. Next time I go, I'd like to go up at sunset so you get the best of both worlds.... A mixed day of sightseeing, with one spectacular highlight, ended with an evening stroll around Bryant Park and a good bowl of pasta at Barilla. Unless you want to pay through the roof prices, we found it very difficult to find any waiter service restaurants with gluten and dairy free options in New York. There are, however, a handful of great places like Barilla that offer good food to meet your dietary requirements at a good price and with a clean table to sit and eat. I may have had a very naughty waffle from an outdoor vendor in Bryant Park for dessert....ooops!
Day 4: The final day to explore....
On our final day in New York, our priority was to locate the cafe that was used to portray 'Central Perk' in the TV series 'Friends'. So we headed to the picturesque area of the city; Greenwich Village. They use the cafe frontage of "The Little Owl", which is a quaint little cafe on the corner of a leafy street in the heart of Greenwich village. Straight away you can tell this is where they filmed the "outside shots" in 'Friends' and, as both of us are huge fans of the show, seeing familiar sights reminded us of particular episodes and we couldn't stop laughing. As we were in the area, we also decided to check out what all the fuss is about when it comes to the Highline. If you didn't know, the Highline is a long section of disused railway line that has been redeveloped into a walk way over the city - it's free and we were promised lushious greenery and interesting artwork to make our walk more motivating. I could see the promise and thinking behind the concept, however, i did come away feeling a bit disappointed. We didn't complete the length of the Highline, so maybe the section we didn't walk along had more to it. Sorry for any Highline fans out there, it just wasn't for us. In much need of a rest from all the walking, we headed back towards the midtown area and enjoyed a lovely lunch at Roti. We were surprised to find a street market near our hotel, so we spent some time perusing the stalls, before heading back to our hotel to do some packing and rest. For our final night in the city, we decided to take a trip on the Staten Island Ferry to get some last shots of the skyline and Lady Liberty at night. We weren't disappointed and this trip was the perfect way to say goodbye to such an amazing city. It rained a little, we were hungry and a bit tired, but we really didn't care on the return journey once we saw the skyline at night coming into view. We shed a tear at the sight of the One World Trade Centre tower and the bright blue lights reflecting into the sky from the 9/11 memorial pools. As we drew closer to the ferry port, we both reflected on what had been a fantastic 4 days spent exploring this bright and alluring city.
Guess what?...We both agreed that we needed to come back to New York City in the near future. But next stop......Memphis!
Keep reading for Part 2 of our USA Adventure....coming soon!
Big Love,
L x
We began our second day at Grand Central Station purchasing a Metro Card (which I somehow managed to lose 2 of!!) so we could travel on the Subway to Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan. Once at Battery Park, we used our pre-purchased tickets (using the New York City Explorers Pass App) to travel on the Island Ferry....a ferry taking to you Liberty Island and Ellis Island. We had tickets for the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and we also planned to get a good position on the top deck of the ferry so we could take some blog worthy shots of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty. As part of the Ferry ticket, you can get off and explore Liberty Island or you can purchase tickets to walk up to the top of the Statue, but neither of these activities appealed to us. We just wanted to experience the view that the Immigrants would have seen as they first approached New York all those years ago. I remember going to Ellis Island with my parents during our previous trip and for me it was the highlight of the trip as I have always enjoyed history and tracing family roots. Sharing in the experience again on this trip was equally as poignant and humbling and I would recommend the Immigration Museum to anyone coming to NYC for the first time. After our Island hopping trip, we headed to Mulberry & Vine for some lunch. Mulberry & Vine is a healthy eating "on the go" cafe where you make up a dish of protein and vegetables (For example; chicken breast with charred avocado and roasted sweet potatoes). This place is perfect for those of you who are vegan or gluten-free. From one poignant NYC sight to another, we made our way to the One World Trade Centre and the 9/11 Memorial Pools. The last time I was here with my family (in 2002), this area was known as "Ground Zero" and it looked very different to what it does today following the redevelopment of the area. The pools themselves are impressive and the atmosphere surrounding the whole area is peaceful. We took our time walking around the pools, taking in all the names and admiring the roses that were left scattered around the perimeter of the pools. We chose not to go into the 9/11 Museum as we both remember vividly the events surrounding 9/11 and felt that these were memories enough. Did you know....one tree was recovered from the wreckage and is now known as the "Survivors Tree", which is placed in the memorial garden? The rest of our afternoon was spent wandering the streets around Union Square and the Flat Iron Building and nipping in several coffee shops. Another highlight of our day was a trip up to the Empire State Building Observation Deck once the sun had set to take in the bright lights of New York City. What a magical way to end day 2 of our trip....
Day 3: Above the city, looking down....
After a jam-packed day yesterday, I had scheduled a more relaxed itinerary for our third day in the Big Apple. We started off by returning to Times Square in the morning, as it's the one place that has a totally different atmosphere during the day than at night. I'm a huge Hard Rock Cafe fan and whenever I am visiting a city that has one, I always buy a souvenir from the shop (usually in the form of a t-shirt). So we had a good look around the Hard Rock Shop in Times Square, as well as sussing out the delights of a nearby Duane Reade and Wallgreens. Once we had finished in this area, we took a leisurely stroll down 5th Avenue to check out the iconic NYC shop....MACY's! I was more impressed with Macy's than Barney's or Bloomingdales to be honest. We couldn't take a trip to New York without seeing what Canal Street in China Town and Little Italy had to offer. As it turns out, we weren't that impressed and as two young ladies on our own, it was the first time in the city that we didn't feel completely safe. Unimpressed by this particular area of the city, we made our way back to the Rockefeller Centre (in 91 degrees Fahrenheit!!) and enjoyed my personal highlight of the trip.....The Top of The Rock! The views from the top on a clear day are breathtaking, especially for such a sprawling city. We could see the Empire State Building, One World Trade Centre, Central Park, the Chrysler Building, Times Square, the harbours and bridges. If there is just one attraction that you can fit in when you come to New York, for me, this would be it. Next time I go, I'd like to go up at sunset so you get the best of both worlds.... A mixed day of sightseeing, with one spectacular highlight, ended with an evening stroll around Bryant Park and a good bowl of pasta at Barilla. Unless you want to pay through the roof prices, we found it very difficult to find any waiter service restaurants with gluten and dairy free options in New York. There are, however, a handful of great places like Barilla that offer good food to meet your dietary requirements at a good price and with a clean table to sit and eat. I may have had a very naughty waffle from an outdoor vendor in Bryant Park for dessert....ooops!
Day 4: The final day to explore....
On our final day in New York, our priority was to locate the cafe that was used to portray 'Central Perk' in the TV series 'Friends'. So we headed to the picturesque area of the city; Greenwich Village. They use the cafe frontage of "The Little Owl", which is a quaint little cafe on the corner of a leafy street in the heart of Greenwich village. Straight away you can tell this is where they filmed the "outside shots" in 'Friends' and, as both of us are huge fans of the show, seeing familiar sights reminded us of particular episodes and we couldn't stop laughing. As we were in the area, we also decided to check out what all the fuss is about when it comes to the Highline. If you didn't know, the Highline is a long section of disused railway line that has been redeveloped into a walk way over the city - it's free and we were promised lushious greenery and interesting artwork to make our walk more motivating. I could see the promise and thinking behind the concept, however, i did come away feeling a bit disappointed. We didn't complete the length of the Highline, so maybe the section we didn't walk along had more to it. Sorry for any Highline fans out there, it just wasn't for us. In much need of a rest from all the walking, we headed back towards the midtown area and enjoyed a lovely lunch at Roti. We were surprised to find a street market near our hotel, so we spent some time perusing the stalls, before heading back to our hotel to do some packing and rest. For our final night in the city, we decided to take a trip on the Staten Island Ferry to get some last shots of the skyline and Lady Liberty at night. We weren't disappointed and this trip was the perfect way to say goodbye to such an amazing city. It rained a little, we were hungry and a bit tired, but we really didn't care on the return journey once we saw the skyline at night coming into view. We shed a tear at the sight of the One World Trade Centre tower and the bright blue lights reflecting into the sky from the 9/11 memorial pools. As we drew closer to the ferry port, we both reflected on what had been a fantastic 4 days spent exploring this bright and alluring city.
Guess what?...We both agreed that we needed to come back to New York City in the near future. But next stop......Memphis!
Keep reading for Part 2 of our USA Adventure....coming soon!
Big Love,
L x
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