My First Prize Trip to New York... Thanks AXA

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As someone on a temporary contract with odds of 600 - 1 winning the first prize at your christmas party raffle is no mean feat.... I apologise to my colleagues but hey I won so I went ;-)

We caught a flight to New York from Dublin, clearing US Immigration in Dublin (yes we had the visitor stamp before we arrived!!) was great we then sat back and were served roast beef by the cabin staff at 10:00am and then we relaxed for the rest of the flight.

On arriving in New York I understood the meaning of cold, it was bright blue skies and sunshine but with the temperature being about 0 degrees its not warm. We spent the afternoon getting our bearings visiting 'Times Square', The Rockefeller Centre, Radio City Hall and the Apple Store!

The following morning we purchased a two day city bus tour and headed to our first stop the Empire State Building, the views were amazing as you can see from the photos but it was extremely cold up there. Second stop was New York Stock Exchange and Wall St including our fist taste of a New York Street Vendor Hot Dog... We caught the Ferry out to Liberty Island but remained on the boat got loads of photos of both the statue of Liberty and the New York Skyline. We then headed back into Midtown via the Lower East Side passing Katz Deli (from When Harry Met Sally) and Coyote Ugly Bar.

That night we met up with my friend Claire and headed to a fantastic bar on fifth with a roof terrace looking up at The Empire State Building, had it not been for the snow and freezing cold we would have sat on the Terrace... We then headed into the Village to an interesting little bar a bit like something you would expect to find in northern canada, full of stuffed animals and wooden walls but the vodka was cheap and the atmosphere was good so i liked it! Dinner was a treat at Lombardi's (First Pizzeria in New York) in Little Italy we ordered two massive Pizza (Kieran ate most of it - as you would imagine).

Saturday again was actioned packed with a bus tour around Brooklyn, and the Upper West Side through Harlem and then down along Central Park, we stopped off at the Ice Rink in Central Park but only to take photos, Kieran wouldn't skate with me :-( Lunch was at Juniors in Times Square which serves the best Cheesecake ever (except for the sponge base...) That night we did another bus tour but taking in the night lights of New York City and with a temperature of minus 5 sitting on the top of an open top bus is not the most pleasant but it was worth it...

Our last and final day included a whistlestop tour of The Met, Central Park and Macy's. We met Claire for lunch in an american dinner before buying more cheescake for the airport. There is so much more to see, do and eat that we will definietly have to go back, but next time we will have to pay for ourselves ;-)

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Photos

Kieran and i in the snow
The faint light in the background is the Empire State Building - we are standing on a roof terrace that overlokked the city (an amazing view!)