To say the trip did not disappoint would be an understatement to say the least, I would say it exceeded my expectations and more. We arrived around 8 on the Sunday night and were immediately met by the chaos that is Times Square. Our hotel was on 8th avenue so just seconds away from the throng of it all. We decided to explore Times Square and spent the evening scoping out the surrounding shops and restaurants.
Day 1 started early due to jet lag. Awake every hour from 2am as soon as it hit 6:30 I had to get up and start the day. We had breakfast at a little coffee place opposite our hotel which ended up becoming our go to breakfast place. The weather on our first day was amazing, a crisp sunny day which was why we decided to hit the top of the rock which is an amazing viewing point at the top of the Rockefeller centre. According to a lot of newyorkers the view here exceeds that at the top of the Empire State, plus it's cheaper with less queues. The view was stunning and the weather meant we could see everything, Brooklyn bridge, the Statue of Liberty and the Hudsen river to name a few. A recommendation if your in New York around December is to go to the ice rink and have a look at the massive Christmas tree at the Rockefeller centre. Unfortunately the tree wasn't up when we went but it's definitely something needed to be seen.
Next we headed to Central Park which is about a five minute walk from the Rockefeller centre. I fulfilled my dream of taking a picture next to the Plaza hotel which is in one of my favourite films of all time, Home Alone 2. It's right next to Central Park and is one to see if your a lover of the film. We walked around Central Park soaking up just how autumnal it was.
From there we hit the shops. We walked to Bloomingdales on Lexington avenue which had the most amazing Christmas shop. The decorations were amazing and I have to say they went to town on filling every space on the Christmas trees. We explored Lexington avenue then walked down to fifth avenue, which if your planing on spending dollar this is the place to go. I couldn't resist taking a picture of tiffanysandco the buildings just so gorgeous that I couldn't help it. After satisfying our shopping needs we headed back to the hotel for a much needed rest. At this point our feet were killing! I don't care what people say the majority of things to do in the touristy area of New York are walkable. Your wasting your time and money paying for taxis as its so busy on the roads walking is just as fast as taxi. For dinner we ended up eating in a restaurant in Times Square which did the most amazing garlic prawns. I'm annoyed at myself for not remembering what the restaurant was called.
Day 2
Again we were up early, damn jet lag. We decided we wanted to walk the high line. So went and got breakfast and started the 30min walk. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as good as the previous day so we did have to battle a few rain showers. This was totally worth it by the time we got the the high line. For all that don't know this was a disused trainline high up off the ground that was about to be demolished but Diane von furstenberg and other contributors fought to restore the line. Now it's an amazing walk way that's very understated and isn't very busy. It gives you great views of the Hudsen river and has many stopping points if you just want to stop and watch the cars go by. If you walk the whole line you'll end up at the meat packing district and Chelsea. This area is a honey trap for all the in people so you may spot to celebs whilst your there. That afternoon we walked to Macy's then up to Victoria secret and the Lexington hotel. We finsined our day by having dinner in an Italian restaurant close to our hotel called Charlotte.
Day three
Today was our Broadway way day for Matilda so in the morning we walked to Bryant park which is a great little square that is quite underrated by tourists. I really recommend it is you have a free 30 mins because there's all these amazing stalls, a carousel and an ice rink (which is good to know as many of the other rinks get busy very quickly!). This is a great place to come in the evening as well as the lights are so pretty and the carousel looks even more gorgeous.
We then walked back to Central Park to go to the zoo. From memory I think the tickets were about $14 per adult so a great price if your wanting to see things on a budget. I really recommend the seal, bear and snow leopard exhibits. After the zoo we headed over the the Alice in wonderland statue as this is something I've wanted to visit for years! It's a great place for a Disney fans and its opposite a little lake where you can race mini boats (this reminded me of Stuart little, if you've seen that film you'll know why).
In the afternoon we headed over to Broadway which is a must if your in New York. We watched the theatre production of Matilda which was absolutely amazing! I would definitely see it again and would recommend it too all ages. They've done it so well, just like the film, where there's humour for both adults and children.
Day 4
We had one last shop in Times Square and fifth avenue. Levi, Victoria secret, Sephora, Bloomingdales, bath and body works, Macy's and forever 21 would be shops that I'd really recommend either good prices, good quality or just amazingly Christmassy. I didn't go to shops like H&m or top shop as I live in the uk and can get to these shops easily. My one wish is that we had more that one Sephora in the whole of the U.K. That's just torture for us Brits.
Day 5
Much to my disappointment we had to head home. I would say New York is probably my favourite place I have ever travelled to and hope I'll be able to explore more of it in the future as 5 days just aren't enough. We managed to fill a lot into our days and focused what we wanted to do around Times Square but if I come again I'd definitely go to the 9/11 memorial, soho, china town and see more of Chelsea.
Good bye New York and hello to new adventures!
Lysette xo
No comments:
Post a Comment