Travellers' Tales...

NYC - Part 5 (Mon & Tues)

On Monday morning we woke and went and got breakfast in the hotel, then I dropped Aum off and got a cab back there. After a run, I got ready and chilled in the room. I spoke to Mo who was back from the stag do, seems he had a great (drunken) time!

I summoned up some energy and walked to the local Target and spent £18 on American food to bring home! I got Poptarts, Lucky Charms, M&Ms in cool flavours, Reese's and Hershey's ice cream sauce and grape flavoured Jell-O, excited to share it all with people once I'm back!

I picked Aum up and we had a rest back in the hotel before going out for some dinner at a local Indian restaurant called Raaz. I am always dubious about getting Indian/ Chinese etc abroad, but this place was awesome - I had a delicious lamb rogan josh with roti, followed by gulab jamun. The kids portion was perfect for Aum, and he got to have a mango lassi which he loved. We got a cab back home as it had started to rain, and a lightning and thunder storm erupted when we got back to the hotel!

Today after the school run I went straight into Manhattan on the PATH and walked to the High Line which I had a walk along and took some photos. There was a photography student up there who asked to take my photo as she liked my outfit which was flattering! 

I stopped in a Starbucks for a while, and then wandered around Greenwich and Soho for a while. I had a consultation for my tattoo at Kings Avenue Tattoo Parlour, where I paid my deposit ($100) and discussed my ideas with them - including an awful sketch I'd done which they were able to rework!

Afterwards an AWFUL storm hit - I had pale trousers on that turned see-through up to my thighs and my shoes squelched as I walked, despite using an umbrella! I got back to the hotel, ate a spinach and chicken wrap that was in a green tortilla (!) and got changed before popping a bag for Aum round to his aunties apartment as he is having a sleepover there tonight (the storm has made doing anything pretty limited!).

I have just bought some supplies from Starbucks, and have given Mo a call, now I intend to stay in my room all evening eating and watching Snowpiercer, which I have wanted to see for ages. A well deserved chill out night I think!

Travellers' Tales...

NYC - Part 3 (Thurs & Fri)

Thursday was the day Anjali was leaving for her course in Miami, so we had breakfast in the diner as a send off - I had nutella stuffed french toast! After we'd dropped Aum off I hung around the hotel for her to leave her bag with me and dop Aum's stuff off. I went to the gym for a bit and then chilled out in my room until it was time for pickup.

After I'd collected Aum we went straight into Manhattan to the Dominique Ansel Bakery; home of the famous croissant/donut or cronut as it's known. Unfortunately they had sold out, so we got some of their mini madeleines and a pastry called a Paris-New York that was two puff pastry circles stuck together with chocolate and caramel cream. We sat outside in the garden area for a while and then walked onto the main street (casually passing Lana Del Rey on a date in a restaurant along the way!).

We jumped in a cab to Gansevoort Street, where the High Line starts, but Aum was a bit tired so we went for dinner instead. As we were in the Meatpacking District, it seemed only right to have American food, so we went to a diner called The Sugar Factory that was amazing! When you walked in there was a wall of sweets, and a cocktail menu encorporating them - gummy bears in vodka, marshmallows in Caipirinhas, smoking Margaritas - I wish some of the girls had been there so we could sample some!

 I had a turkey burger with cheese and Aum had a chicken burger, both served with skin-on fries. I also had a grape soda cocktail which was really good - although mine didn't come with a sweet! We headed straight home afterwards as it was getting late and we had one more day of summer school before the weekend!

This morning after the school run I went straight into Manhattan back to the DA Bakery. I queued for an hour for a cronut, and then they ran out when I was just four people from the front - devastated! I read my new book in the queue though and it was sunny, so it wasn't too bad.

From there I walked into Mid-Town and went shopping, buying lots of presents for people! I had a bite to eat from Breads Bakery at the outdoor food market in Greeley Square and then caught the PATH back to do the school pickup.

We had a bit of a break back at the hotel before going across the river to the Metropolitan Museum. It is huge! Aum loved it and there were loads of interesting exhibits, including one by Charles James on dresses which was great to look around - Aum didn't seem to mind!

There wasn't a great deal of restaurants around the museum area (the rooftop bar only did drinks, although we went up for a peek at the view whilst the sun set) so we walked for a while until we came to EAT Cafe & Deli. I had crab cakes and Aum had tomato and basil pasta, which were both lovely, although it was quite expensive, probably as it was in the 5th Avenue surroundings (where all the high-end designer shops are).

We got a taxi back to the station and caught the PATH home, I can't believe it is so late already; at least it's the weekend tomorrow!

Traveller's Tales...

New York City! (Part 1)

Last week I got back from New York, and it was the best week of my life! We (there were 3 of us travelling there) went on Tuesday 10th April, arriving at our friend Abi's house at about 2am UK time, which was 9pm in NYC. After a full day of travelling, we were really tired, so set up our beds and crashed out ready to feel refreshed for our first day.

We all woke up quite early due to the jetlag, and got ready quickly so that we could go for some brunch. We went to Cafeteria, which is the place where the Sex and the City girls are known for going in the famous series. I had a waffle with summer berries and cinnamon flavoured chantilly cream and a latte, and most of the rest of us had pancakes. It was the perfect American style first meal for us to have!

After eating, we went to Chelsea Market, which had loads of awesome little food shops, selling everything from lobster to brownies and flowers to bunting! We then walked long the High Line, a disused railway line that had been made into a walkway above the streets. It was cool to have a view of the city from high up, and it was all really well designed with little collections of plants and deckchairs made from the wooden bunkers - they could even move along the traintracks!

We got an Auntie Anne's pretzel for a light lunch and then went and sat in Bryant Park for a bit as the sun had decided to come out. Then we went into the Central Library for a look around, it was enormous! The interior was all very grand and old fashioned, the ceilings looked more like cathedral ceilings than inside a library. It is here that Carrie famously gets left at the altar in Sex and the City, which was another reason why we'd gone for a gander!

Later on in the evening (after we'd ventured to look at Times Square and go into a few shops) Abi took us to a restaurant on Broadway called Stardust, which is where all the aspiring musical stars work to fund their training. It is a typical all American diner, complete with red cushioned booths, baskets of fries and hammered metal tables, and the wait-on staff all get up on a stage and sing songs from different Broadway shows while you eat. I had seasoned chicken goujons with fries and honey mustard sauce, topped off with a delicious warm alcoholic chocolate milkshake with whipped cream. I could have drunk that drink all night! Naughtily, we told the staff that it was Hana's birthday, so she was serenaded by our waiter, which was a hilarious end to the day. We were all really giddy afterwards, so messed around in the M&Ms shop before we caught the subway home and all collapsed into our beds, exhausted after such a busy first day.

We still woke early even on the second day, probably due to the jetlag again. Abi was at work, so it was just the four of us from home exploring for the day.We had decided to do some of the touristy bits that Abi had already done, so our first stop was The Empire State Building as we'd been told it was an attraction that gets busy. We had breakfast at this gorgeous little cafe called Panya (Ryan Reynolds has recently been spotted there) where I had an almond croissant and a very frothy mocha, and then caught the subway. We paid $39 for the full package including a queue jump, which saved us time. We took some amazing photos at the top, it was incredible to see NYC from such a viewpoint. We weren't there long but it was well worth it.

We met Abi for lunch near Bryant Park and went to a salad bar called Pogola where you construct your own dishes - mine had pasta, chicken, avocado, olives, salad leaves, sweetcorn, potato and other bits, there was everything possible to add to it, and it felt slightly healthier than our previous few meals! After lunch we did a spot of shopping (including Forever 21) and bought tickets to see a musical that evening. Then we caught the free ferry across to Staten Island to get some photos of the Statue of Liberty. We didn't get off the ferry as we'd been told it wasn't worth it, but it was good to see the landmark in the flesh.

We then met Abi after work, and went to a pizza place for one of the famous slices NY is famous for, I had spicy chicken and cheese. Afterwards we went to Broadway for the show - Prescilla Queen of the Desert. It was hands down the best musical I've ever seen! It was all men in drag and the costumes were phenomenal. All the songs were well known so people sang everything, and it was really funny; very tongue in cheek. It was the perfect show for a group of girls on a trip to the Big Apple!

Afterwards we went home as it finished pretty late, but Abi and Lydia went to 16 Handles (a frozen yoghurt bar) and saw supermodel Karlie Kloss there, I was very jealous!