New York City!!

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Well, we are in New York City! Our trip from LA went very well, we scored fantastic seats on our Delta flight, with heaps of room to stretch out. The flight took us only 4.5 hours, with lots to see along the way across the US. There were seas of light to see along all the coast from about 30 mins out of NYC.

We took a taxi from JFK, the taxi driver obliged us by driving over the Queensboro Bridge so that we had a fantastic first view of the Manhattan skyline from that side. Checked into the hotel, had a quick coffee and hot chocolate at Starbucks across the road and stocked up at the Fairway Markets for breakfast in the morning.

We managed to be ready by 8.30 in the morning, quite a feat considering the time difference from LA and our late arrival. Purchased our subway pass for the week and took the subway to Times Square to start our day. Explored the Square (including the M&M store) before walking to Macy’s and down to the Empire State Building. As the line to go up to the observatory had a waiting time of 2.5 hours we decided to explore 5th Ave instead. Viewed the NY Public Library (amazing building) and St Patrick’s Cathedral and passed all the exclusive shops along the way. Had to go into Tiffany’s and made a small (very small) purchase and then checked out the Trump Tower next door. Walked up to the Apple Store and even managed to squeeze in and have a quick look around, visited FAO Schwartz before checking out the Plaza Hotel. They just served High Tea, certainly impressive to see. Took a 2nd and then crossed Central Park (beautiful, all trees in bloom) to Strawberry Fields where we stopped in memory of John Lennon. Passed the Dakota Building and made our way back to the hotel for a quick stop and rest.

Dinner was at the Utopia on Amsterdam Ave, not far from our hotel. It had been a recommendation and the food was fantastic. Nothing like we’ve experienced in LA. I had the best chicken soup in years (home made) which came as part of the meal! Portions were massive again, we ended up taking most of Danelle’s Linguine back to the hotel in a doggy bag for tomorrow’s dinner.

Afterwards, we went back to Times Square which was just packed. Sat on the stairs for a while to take in the atmosphere and then made our way to the Empire State Building for a night time view of NYC. The lines were still very long, every time we thought we were at the front, there was another line waiting around the corner. Well, the view was worth it!

19 April 2011

There is just so much to see that we hardly get to writing this blog. We both agree that we like New York much better than LA.

Today we didn’t wake up till nearly 10. We quickly got ready and walked from our hotel a few blocks to the Museum Of Natural History ( where night at the museum was filmed ). The place was packed and people everywhere. Stood in line for a while before making it in to the museum to the massive dinosaur skeleton in the lobby. Spent a few hours there before making it by foot ( and in the rain ) to Bloomingdales where we bought sandals and perfume. Passed Columbus Circle (including another Trump Building) and walked along Central Park with all the horse carriages at the side of the road to the Upper East side. Later took the subway to Macys..

We were disappointed after waiting half an hour for the sales assistant to get the perfect shoes he said they had in the right size but in the end didn’t. Ended the day by dropping into Zabar’s for cheese and H&H Bagel’s for …bagels.
Hoping for better weather tomorrow to look at the Statue of Liberty and exploring Downtown.

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Comments

[anonymous]

NYC !!
hi fellow Aussie :) how alive does NYC feel ??? i spent a week there last August and can't wait to go back in June this year :))

[liz]

NYC!
Sounds like you had an amazing time! Next time you head to New York you should check out Family In New York! They specialize in custom private New York tours! They can create a custom tour to fit your preferences and show a New York you have never seen!