I thought I would tell you about the summer holiday I went on last year. My fiance and I went to New York last June and it was brilliant. New York is somewhere that both of us had always wanted to go, so we thought let's do it while we can afford it and before we have too many responsibilities!
Our hotel was right next to Time Square so as soon as we arrived at the hotel we checked in, got changed and went straight here. It was actually much bigger than I expected it to be and it was great to see all the advertisements around. The only downside was that it was always really busy to get through and we had to pass through it everyday. We also went back at night a couple of times and it was so impressive to see the whole square lit up and shining. It was always a lot busier at night as you can see in the pictures above.
The Empire State Building was huuuuge! I was standing at the corner of the next block along to take the above photo and fit the whole building in. Once you were at the top the views were incredible, although it was pretty misty the day we went up but you could still see the whole island. It was so surreal to be taking in the views from up there and it really hit home that we were actually in New York.
We visited the Statue of Liberty on the hottest day of our holiday. We pre-booked tickets before we flew so we had or fingers crossed for good weather and we definitely got it. We both got sunburnt this day just from walking around on Liberty Island. Mrs Liberty herself was a lot smaller than we were expecting but still cut an impressive figure. We went to the top of the pedestal and looked back over to the mainland but you can go up to the crown if you wish to. The views were really good from the pedestal so I would say you don't need to go to the crown, but it's personal preference.
The same day we went to see the Brooklyn Bridge and the new World Trade Centre. These were all down the south of the island so we decided to do all these together as everything else was in Manhattan. It took us about an hour of wandering until we finally found the Brooklyn Bridge, as it wasn't a direct route on foot but we eventually got there and managed to take a few pictures before we made our way to the One World Trade Centre and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.
September 11 was one of those events that I will always remember where I was when I heard the news. I walked in from school and my mum was sitting watching the TV. I saw the footage of the plane crashing into the first tower and I thought she was watching a film. She then told me it was really happening and then the second tower was hit too. It was such an awful disaster and it's a day I will always remember. When we booked to go to New York both me and A wanted to visit the September 11 memorial and pay our respects. Where the towers used to sit there are now 2 lovely fountains, with names etched into the edges of the people who lost their lives on that day.
We also visited the museum where there are various objects from the disaster on display that you can walk around and look at. When you walk in it really hits home how this day changed so many lives forever. The place has a feeling of sadness and sorrow which is expected, but there is also a feeling of awe at how America came back from this disaster stronger than ever. There is a section that you can walk around where you can't take pictures but it explains what happened to some of the people that were involved on that day. There was a firemans outfit on display and a ladies shoe that was found in the wreckage. It is definitely something that I would recommend doing as it is an important part of New York's history and really makes you appreciate life more.
We did a film location tour too and this was amazing. A and I love our films and series so it was only right that we do a location tour as so many films are based in New York. We got to see loads of cool places from films including the Flat-Iron building which was used for the Daily Bugle in Spider-Man, the fire station that was used for the Ghostbusters headquarters and my personal favourite, the apartment building from Friends. The tour was probably one of the best activities that we did while we were in New York and was brilliant for film buffs.
The Rockefeller Centre was somewhere else we visited while we were there. We had a tour of the centre and all it's art pieces in the day which was really interesting and then we went up the Rockefeller Centre just after sunset. We decided that as we did the Empire State Building in the day it would be nice to do the Rockefeller Centre at night and see New York all lit up. It was amazing to see all the lights of the city and it was such a fun, magical night.
We also went to the Central Park Zoo and met up with my cousin and her family who live in New Jersey. They came into the city to meet us and we spent a lovely family morning catching up. We also went to Grand Central Station, Madison Square Garden, The New York Public Library and Madame Tussauds. We did plenty of shopping (mainly Sephora for me!) and we also ate loads. We went to Hard Rock Cafe and Shake Shack along with other places and I swear I came back a stone heavier!
All in all it was probably our best holiday yet and I would definitely recommend visiting New York if you get the chance. If you are thinking of going I would definitely suggest writing an itinerary before you go and pre-booking tickets for all the tourist attractions, so that you fit them all in and don't miss anything. This is what we did and it saved us so much time, as we didn't have to wait as long as the people who were buying tickets and it didn't seem like we spent a lot while we were there as we paid for everything before hand. I would really like to go back at Christmas to do a spot of Christmas shopping, skate on the ice rink at the Rockefeller Centre and go round central park in a horse drawn carriage. Maybe one day ey.....
Labels: Lifestyle, Travel
