Trip to NYC: Day 3 - Empire State Building

On our third day in the Big Apple, Alice and I took advantage of the beautiful scenery next to our hostel and paraded around central park for a couple of hours. Our group then set off to the second art gallery of the tip, all the way on West 20th Street which was over 40 blocks away! One of the pieces at the David Zchwirner gallery was to experience a white "dome" space where you couldn't see the ceiling or the edges of the room and you could only hear the echoes of your footsteps (seriously messing with one's mind)

My college art project was focusing on body image and size, so we thought a trip to Mcdonalds maybe could be passed off as "educational"? I made full use of this opportunity and ordered a large (extra-large in UK) meal, which unfortunately defeated my mighty stomach. Whilst at Mcdoanlds we also took lots of selfies and were spotted by a group of Americans who later stopped us outside and asked for a group selfie which was massive surprise to us!

As I had been to NYC before with my mother I knew the best time to visit the Empire State Building was at sunset so I made sure myself and the girls got tickets and got up to the top before the queues started! The view was spectacular and because we went about 5ish we managed to catch New York in the day, at sunset and at night. I know the girls enjoyed their first experience on the empire state (from what they've told me!) even if was absolutely freezing! So I really recommend going just before sunset if you want the best views and photo's.

(the view from the empire state building)

Since it was only a couple of blocks away we walked to Times Square, however it was the coldest weather I had ever experienced, so to try and keep warm we three created a tightly linked formation to walk in (not the most conventional of idea's) and waddled all the way. We managed to find a TGI Friday's and have a spot of dinner, Zoe and Abi going for burgers and myself opting for a children's spaghetti, needless to say it aaas more of a large portion than a children's!

After dinner we were hoping to do some shopping but we were so exhausted from walking and the cold that we decided to get a taxi back to the hostel (so boring I know!)

Trip to NYC: Day 2 - Pancake Day!

Used to UK time, Alice and I (my roommate) woke up at about 3 am in the morning and were unable to get back to sleep. Instead of lazing around in our rooms for a couple of hours we decided to make the most of our trip and head out into a -10 degrees central park.

It was really refreshing to take a small walk in the cold as it woke both of us up and made us much more eager to go to our first art museum of the week.

The Guggenheim was a long walk away from our hotel and some of us were desperate for food when we got there (ie. myself) but despite that you couldn't dismiss the stunning design of the building. The gallery itself was filled to the brim with beautiful paintings and artists including the famous Kandinsky, however I didn't feel like I really connected with any paintings and left the gallery yearning for something a bit more "3-D".

After leaving the gallery we were hoping to find somewhere to eat and headed off in a random direction, unfortunately we managed to walk over 30 blocks the wrong way. A spot of lunch and a long sit down later, we finally arrived at Times Square!

We were all rather tired when we arrived and only managed to visit the Disney store, but we made sure whilst we were there to take lots of pictures of the iconic landmark and visit the famous "Red Steps"!  For dinner that evening we managed to find a local restaurant called "Il Violino" which I highly recommend. It was a cosy italian/french style restaurant which served amazing food and excellent customer service. Of course we didn't forget it was pancake day and made a quick stop to grab a classic nutella (chocolate) crepe on the way back to the Hostel.

Trip to NYC : Day 1 - The five hour delay

After a sleepless Sunday night, myself and the girls (Abi and Zoe) awoke to an early 3AM start; with difficulty we managed to head off to the airport to start our little adventure! However when we arrived we found our flight had a 5 hour delay. Given a food voucher we scoured duty free, until we came upon a Wagamama's.

As a Wagamama's virgin I was a little apprehensive to give it a try but both Zoe and I ended up getting pancakes whilst Abi opted for a breakfast stir-fry. 

The smell wafting from Abi's stir-fry was so enticing, but sadly I couldn't have a taste because it contained three types of meat (and I'm pescetarian). Soon our pancakes arrived and they were oh so scrummy and delicious especially with extra nutella, although they were so filling I couldn't eat them all (a very depressing moment)! 

Finally we found ourselves on a seven hour flight to New York, with a massive selection of entertainment to chose from (yes, the films are my favourite part of a long-haul flight). I watched Frozen (my new favourite film), Hobbit 2 : Desolation of Smaug and Were the Millers.

When we arrived in NYC it was a bitter -15 Degree's with wind which I think no-one was prepared for. We had to wait an hour in the cold for a bus to our hostel and we were all ready to dump our stuff and settle into our duvet's once we got there; but not before we ordered  a chinese takeaway (it even came in one of those little boxes you see in the movies)!

That's all for Day 1 but keep checking back for Day 2!

Im off to NYC!

I just wanted to update and let all of you lovely readers know I will be absent from blogging from the 3rd-8th of March.

This is because on Monday I jet off to the famous streets of the Big Apple! Yes NEW YORK!

This will be the second time I've been to NYC, the last time being in July 2010 (ages ago I know!) and will be an "educational trip" with my Art Foundation course.

I will be taking lots of photographs and writing posts up in my mini-notebook the whole time so look forward to those going up when I arrive home.

au revoir