New York

After our journey up the East Coast, it was time to head back to New York city. Driving through the area wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. It wasn't easy, just unfamiliar, but as they say, if you can drive in LA, you can drive anywhere. We dropped the car off about 3pm and got an Uber to our hotel in Manhattan. 

We were meeting Mitchell's brothers Callum and Kyle here, but their plane didn't arrive for another few hours, so we went out to explore. We got some dinner first as we were staying close to Koreatown. The streets were a little overwhelming to start with after living in car city and walking through quiet off season towns all week. But we got some rice and then went to another place for some ice cream (I got matcha and black sesame flavour). I also stopped into a Korea skin care shop for some face masks. 

We then decided to walk up to central park. It was a nice walk, and we passed lots of shops and the big public library. There were blossoms and spring flowers all over and we got some cute pictures. 

We also walked through the central park zoo gates. The zoo was closed by the time we got there, but you could see (and smell) a sealion from the outside. 

We also went to go and see bow bridge which has been in lots of films including Enchanted.  It was a very romantic spot and we also got pictures here, inbetween all the dog walkers and people out for post-work strolls. There were also plenty of people out for runs and just meeting for a walk with friends. 

We walked around the lake a bit further and found some nice spots to watch the sunset from. 

We then went back to the hotel to wait for Callum and Kyle. They arrived and we all went to check out the rooftop bar on top of our hotel. It was pretty cool and we got to see the Empire State Building up close. 

 Just before midnight, we set off for Times Square. Apparently at midnight they showcase artists on the big screens. We arrived just in time, and we very underwhelmed. It was a weird little animation that looked like it was made using software from 20 years ago. But we saw it and then walked back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped for pizza, and the slices turned out to be enormous. 

Thursday morning was the start of our first full day in New York and we had a full list of things to see. We started by getting breakfast in a deli around the corner from our hotel, which again was very busy and slightly overwhelming to order from, but we got everything we needed and then took the metro to Brooklyn. 

From Brooklyn we got a really nice view of the New York City skyline and got to see some more blossom too. 

We saw the pier which had loads of different courts for basketball, pickleball and a skating rink. We then got some milkshakes from Shake Shack and walked over the Brooklyn Bridge! It was very cool and had a whole layer just for pedestrians which made it nice to walk over. 

Once we were back on the mainland, we got the metro just a couple of stops and got out to hop on the Staten Island Ferry and immediately leave the mainland again. This ferry was free and took us closer to the Statue of Liberty. 

We got straight back on at the other side to go back to Manhattan and went for an explore of Wall Street. We found the bull and little girl statues, and some big buildings. Callum also showed us a wall which had chunks blasted out of it from an assassination attempt on JP Morgan. 

We then went to go and see the 9/11 memorial and the survivor tree, the only one which survived the attack and was in bloom when we visited. It started to rain at this point, so we went inside a big mall and Kyle decided to try out the Apple VR machine. 

When we were all done here, we walked up to Little Italy for some dinner as we were all very hungry by this point! We stopped in the restaurant we were standing outside of when it started to rain heavily and it was pretty nice. We all got some pasta and they kept bringing out more bread for us. 

We walked back to the hotel, and then while Mitchell and Kyle had a nap me and Callum went out to see a drag show. We went to a little bar and watch a few hours of banter, comedy, lip syncing and games. It was a lot of fun, and afterwards we decided to go and find another one. 

The second one was a bigger production with more drag Queens and was billed as the one to see in New York, but it was a lot of dancing and I think we both actually preferred the first show. 

The next morning, we had breakfast at Ellen's Stardust Diner, which is a diner where we had eggs and pancakes, but all the wait staff sing Broadway hits while you eat! It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed it so much we went back again the next day for breakfast too!

The first thing on our list for Friday was the Natural History Museum. We did split up here to make things easier and me and Mitchell saw the dinosaurs, the primates, the North American mammals and the Ocean exhibits. It is a very good museum, but after a while all our feet started to hurt. We met up again and caught the metro down to Grand Central Station.

It's a very impressive building, and they had lots of food options too. We got some tacos and Callum tried some real New York cheesecake and Kyle found a bagel. 

We then went to the Morgan Museum and Library which give out free tickets on Friday afternoons. It was very busy, but they have some very old copies of books, including an original Gutenberg Bible on display. They also had an exhibit about Beatrix Potter and had some of her early drafts and letters on display. She really loved to draw bunnies!

We took a quick break in the modern public library as they have a rooftop cafe. The cafe turned out to be closed, but we could sit on the rooftop for a bit while we discussed what to do next. We decided to stop for a quick snack and then head straight to the Empire State Building. We found a little bakery which had some really nice olive bread twists and I tried a pistachio cruffin (croissant muffin). Kyle stopped in another place to get a cronut (croissant doughnut) too. 

We arrived at the Empire State Building to find out we didn't actually have our tickets sorted like we thought we did, so me and Mitchell decided to buy tickets at the door and the others went over to the Rockefeller building where we could wave at each other across the city. 

Inside the Empire State Building, they had a little museum about how it was built, movies which had been filmed in (or on) it, and different views of the city over the last century. 

The lift up to the top even had a screen on top so it looked like you were flying up through construction as it was happening. 

We reached floor 80 and could immediately see some very good view of the city at night. However, we still had 6 floors to go. We got in a second elevator to get to the outside balcony and the views were so cool! You could see the whole city (including the Rockefeller tower). It was however very windy on one side! But we had a great time and I loved being up one of the most iconic buildings in the country. 

On the way back to the hotel we got hungry and stopped at a Burger King for some food. We could only see the sign from the outside, and the doorway just led down some dark steps, but it opened out into a legitimate space and we got some burgers. 

Our final day in New York began with breakfast at Ellen's Stardust Diner again and then we went to central park. This time we saw Belvedere Castle (which apparently used to be a water treatment centre that they built over to look nice). It rained a little here, but we could hide under the castle. 

We also saw plenty of birds and even a raccoon in the park. 

The MET is also in central park, and we sat on the steps to take some pictures just like Gossip Girl, but we didn't have the feet energy to go around another museum at this point, so we didn't go inside. 

Also inside the park are some statues of Alice in Wonderland, and Hans Christian Anderson, which made for some fun photos. 

The last thing we did together was go to Chinatown for some lunch. We passed a lot of shops selling whole birds and interesting vegetables, but we found a food court and a stand which seemed to sell vegetarian options (which turned out to only be half true). But it was fun and we got to try some new things. 

After eating we said goodbye and me and Mitchell went to see the Public Library (the one with the lions out front). There was an exhibition about Winnie the Pooh, but it was closed for a special event and we didn't have time to wait for it to reopen that afternoon. It was another very cool building and while we could see some of the hallways and special exhibit rooms, a lot of them were closed off for quiet study only (which is only fair for a library). 

And then we went back to the hotel to pick up our suitcase and make our way to the airport to end our trip. It was so much fun, and having two trips in one made it feel so much longer. I can't believe how much stuff we fitted into just six days! New York is an awesome city and I loved it. 

Until next time (we have a big camping trip booked for June!)

Lots of love,

Emily and Mitchell (and Callum and Kyle)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx