Travellers' Tales...

NYC - Part 4 (Sat & Sun)

We had a 'lie in' this morning, though Aum woke up at 7.50am! After showering and lounging for a while we went to the City Diner again for breakfast, this time I had eggs Benedict with Canadian ham and homefries to fill me up for a day in the city!

We got the ferry across the river with it being the weekend (cheaper) and walked for a while before hopping in a taxi to go to the Guggenheim where we met Aum's cousins. I must admit, art isn't really my thing, but it was all modern and futurist there so I actually really enjoyed looking at the paintings and prints. There was also a section on sound that had cymbals suspended from the ceiling that you could hit - which obviously the kids loved!

Aum and I stayed to do the whole thing whilst his cousins left for some lunch at the Metropolitan - then we spent a good two hours wandering around there afterwards trying to find each other! Eventually after cake and a drink at the cafe we gave up and went to the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, which was incredible. Everyone was given a chip upon entry which they could program with their own login details including a photograph, soundbite and music preference. You then went around exhibitions scanning the chip and doing various activities, including a section where you could program robots, try the latest technology used in hospitals to perform virtual heart surgery and even be a newsreader with an autocue and working video camera.

We had a look around FAO Schwarz afterwards (I actually managed to get Aum out without buying anything) and then we walked for ages to find somewhere to eat before stumbling across an Australian grill. Aum had barbecued pork ribs and I had kangaroo in a red wine sauce with asparagus, which was great to try and tasted rich like a dark red meat - kind of like a mixture of lamb and venison.

We caught the ferry back and waited up as Anjali was back that evening, although her flight was delayed so she didn't arrive until gone 10pm - Aum was so tired! He stayed with her so I got a night to myself - which I spent researching tattoo parlours...

This morning I slept in until 9am when Aum knocked on my door for some clothes to change into. We went to the diner again (I had double berry pancakes) and then caught the ferry again and went to the Natural History Museum. We saw a show at the planetarium called The Dark Universe which was fascinating - having never been to a planetarium before it was a great experience. We wandered around the mammal sections and then Aum met up with some friends from back home and they did an exhibition called 'The Power Of Poison' whilst I stayed outside and called my parents for a chat.

We had a bit of a panic trying to meet up afterwards as Anjali had to rush back to catch her flight back to England, but once she had gone we stuck with Aum's friends and went to an Italian called Caffe Storico for dinner. I had seafood pasta with clams, mussels, prawns and lobster in, followed by pistachio icecream (and Aum's honeyed apple sorbet that he decided he didn't like!).

We said our goodbyes afterwards and rushed to catch the ferry as it was getting late and we had a project to do for his homework. We have just managed to make said project (a glider) using straws from the hotel, sellotape and scissors borrowed from the giftshop and the box from some honeycakes I bought - if only they gave points for inventiveness!

Travellers' Tales...

NYC - Part 1 (Sat-Mon)

This could be a long post, as I feel I have crammed so much into my first three days here in New York!

Saturday was a fairly chilled one, as we arrived at our hotel (the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City) at 1pm and I went to my room straightaway for a while so I could unpack. Anjali and Aum's wasn't ready so they waited downstairs and I joined them afterwards for some lunch. I had a simple salad of spinach, olives, tomatoes and bacon with a ranch dressing which was really tasty. After lunch we went back to our rooms (theirs was now ready) and relaxed for a while. At this point it was around 3pm (8pm UK time) so we were all fairly tired after very early starts. We were going to go out but we all just didn't have the energy so stayed in our rooms - I was fast asleep by 8pm!

Yesterday we were all up really early because of the jetlag, I got out of bed at 6.30am and showered before meeting Aum and Anjali for breakfast at an American diner near the hotel called City Diner. In true US style I ordered a waffle with bacon and poached eggs; which filled a hole as having missed dinner the previous evening I was ravenous!

Straight after breakfast we caught the ferry across the River Hudson to the Financial District (very reasonably priced at $5 return for the weekend) and walked to find Wall Street and the New York Stock Market. We then continued walking for the whole rest of the day! From Wall Street we went along to see Brooklyn Bridge and Seaport, through China Town and Soho where we stopped for a drink. Next we went up through Greenwich to Macy's where we had a toilet break and Aum had some lunch (I was still stuffed from breakfast!).

Outside Macy's we jumped in a cab to Central Park, but by this point we were all knackered so only stayed for ten minutes before jumping back in a taxi to the ferry port and going back to the hotel. That evening after an hours chill in our rooms we went out for dinner to a place called Honshu Noodle Bar where we shared some edamame, pork dumplings and vegetable spring rolls before I had shrimp udon for main. We walked (waddled) back to the hotel where I lasted for half an hour before falling asleep at 8pm again!

This morning we woke up super early ready for Aum's first day at summer school. We ate at the diner again, this time I had three huge pancakes topped with nutella and granola - it was delicious! Then we used Uber to catch a cab to school (this app has been a lifesaver over here!) and dropped Aum off. After getting a taxi back to the hotel I went for a run along the boardwalks, great view to exercise to with the New York skyline in front of me!

After a quick shower I went for a wander around Hoboken where we're staying. I walked along the seafront and stopped to read my book for a while when I got a bit hot (the weather is so nice!). I was trying to find the mall but must have missed it and ended up in a Target where I bought some supplies for nibbling! I eventually found the mall and had a look around, there's a Macy's and a few other decent shops, handy to have nearby.

Anjali picked Aum up and we went for a walk around Liberty Park, which is the best place to see the Statue Of Liberty from apart from going around Ellis Island on a ferry. We ate at a bistro called Amelia's where I had incredible mac and cheese with bacon, mushrooms and truffle oil in. We walked back to the hotel as Aum was really sleepy, and I plan on sleeping soon after reading for a while!