Okay, calm down...
As I was saying, recently I went with 40 other people from my school to the Big Apple. The trip had been a year in the planning and I actually can't believe how quickly the time went leading up to the whole event (as well as how quickly the actual week went past... that's not fair!). On Monday morning we all got on the coach at 4am (ugh...) and headed to London Heathrow Airport.
After a 7 and a half hour-flight (and a rather rough landing) we landed in JFK Airport and once we got through security, we boarded the coach that would take us to our hotel. When we arrived and checked into our rooms we were fairly disappointed, but were reassured somewhat by the fact that we would spend minimal time in these rooms as we would always be out doing something.
After a couple of hours we went out to dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant, which was pretty damn good if I do say so myself! Then we headed back out onto the streets and made our way to the Empire State Building, and as it was St Patrick's Day (and boy do the Americans love St Patrick's Day) the top was all lit up green! We also got the chance to go up to the viewing platform on the 86th (yes, really) floor, where the view of the city was spectacular.
The last two photos are probably my favourite because you can really see the beauty of New York when it's all lit up!
One of the weirdest things that I noticed while being up so high was that all the buildings seemed to block out the noise of the traffic on the ground, so it was almost silent up on the viewing platform. I guess this was a really good thing as it created a very peaceful atmosphere in which to view the beautiful city below.
Tuesday morning we were up bright and early (i.e. up, washed dressed etc.) by 7:30am, and we headed to a cute little café where we had breakfast every morning.
That morning I chose to have pancakes with scrambled eggs. This is before I drizzled maple syrup over them (which tasted amazing!):
Then we went to Grand Central Station (I couldn't help but think of the scene from Madagascar when we went in there haha), where we caught the subway to Bowling Green and got on a ferry to take us to Staten Island and... the Statue of Liberty! It's actually considerably smaller in real life, but it was a magnificent specimen nonetheless and we had a great view of the New York skyline.
Interesting little anecdote for you: not long after we'd walked into the station, a man randomly came up to some of us and said "What do cows do at the weekend?" After some very confused looks amongst our little group we turned back to him and he said "They go to the mooooovies!" We all groaned, but I guess it's nice to have some bubbly people like him in a world that is becoming increasingly negative!
I am wearing:
Coat - Asda
Snood (just seen) - Primark
Jeans - New Look
Gloves - Asda
Bag - Courtesy of my mum!
We also had a brief exploration of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, which taught me a few things about the history of America's people and how they lived.
(I didn't want to post too many photos of what was in the museum in case you guys got bored!)
When we got back on the ferry to go back to mainland Manhattan, I paid a visit to the little gift shop on board and bought a Statue of Liberty duck! How cute is that?
Once we were back on the mainland we walked to the financial district of New York - Wall Street. On the way there we saw these memorials to honour those who lost their lives in the devastating events of 9/11.
As we walked further we saw the skyscrapers that had been built to form the new World Trade Center, and then, after giving a donation, we visited the 9/11 memorial.
This church was the only building in the area that wasn't even slightly damaged by the falling Twin Towers - perhaps those affected believed it was a sign that religion would always be there to help people through times of hardship.
When we got into the memorial site it became clear that it was a place for quiet reflection and there was a very peaceful atmosphere. It felt very surreal to actually be at the same site that experienced so much devastation not so long ago, and reading a few of the hundreds, if not thousands of names listed around the edge of each of the pools really brought home how many innocent people lost their lives. It's certainly a part of the trip that I know I'll never forget.
On our way out of the site we got talking to some of the police officers who were on duty, and they were really very lovely... and funny - they had us in stitches on more than one occasion! Once we'd finished there, we headed back to the subway to travel to Times Square... all I could say was "Wow!"
Another little anecdote - while we were on the subway we stopped at a station and these four men got onto the train. They seemed fairly ordinary, until one of them started pretending that the pole in the middle of the empty space by the doors was a double bass (if you're not sure what that is, Google it - it looks like a giant violin) and we were then treated to an acapella performance of "Stand By Me". We thought they were great and joined in (we also tipped them at the end)!
For dinner we went to the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, a restaurant themed around the film Forrest Gump. The staff were so nice and bubbly, despite being rushed off their feet, so I definitely recommend it if you ever get the chance to go there. I had the Southern charmed fried shrimp with fries, which was amazing! For dessert we had vanilla ice cream with cream on the top, served in the smallest bowl I think I have ever seen!
On Wednesday at the little café I knew I had to have an authentic New York bagel... and they didn't hold back on the cream cheese! In all seriousness it was delicious and set me up for the day nicely.
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After breakfast we headed to Central Park... and yes, it really is as big as it looks on TV! Apparently it's 864 acres - that's pretty big!
I am wearing:
Coat, snood, bag and jeans - same as before
Converse - Schuh
I also decided to treat myself to a horse and carriage ride around the park with a friend. We even managed to haggle the price down to $35 instead of $50! The ride was very pleasant, if slightly cold, and our driver was lovely, giving us some information about the history of the park. Our horse was called Harry and he was lovely too (you can see him in the picture above)!
Shortly after I exited the park I saw this and had to take a photo... Your stereotypical New York transport haha!
After that, we went into Bloomingdales, although unfortunately I didn't buy anything because we had a fairly short time in there. On our way back we also visited the Cake Boss Café - I will point out now that I've never seen the show, nor have I heard of Buddy, but I can tell you that we didn't get to meet him. The cakes looked amazing though!
Once we'd finished, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner at Planet Hollywood. When we got there we saw the handprints of some of the celebrities that had been there. Here's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sean Connery's prints:
On our way up the stairs to the eating area, I spotted the dress worn by Morticia Addams in the Addams Family film. I'd love to wear it!
When we were sat at our tables I had a look around - I didn't expect it to be so big! The atmosphere was lovely though, and again I'd recommend it if you get the chance to go! I ordered a bowl of pasta and after that the waiters came round with plates of giant - and I mean giant - cookies, mmm!
For breakfast on Thursday morning I thought I'd go for something a little different: cinnamon toast. It was a lot tastier than I was expecting, although I did start to choke after accidentally inhaling some of the icing sugar, much to my friends' amusement (ahem...)
After breakfast it was back to the hotel to pack and check out. Then we got on the subway to Brooklyn Bridge (you can just see it through the trees in the picture below), where we walked to Chinatown and Little Italy.
You can just about see them in the picture above, but as we were walking past we saw a couple coming out of the church after getting married. Aww!
To be totally honest I was a little disappointed with both Chinatown and Little Italy. I feel like they would probably come alive at night with all the lights and the atmosphere would probably be a lot better. Still, it was an experience to tick off the 'to-do' list I suppose!
Then we walked to the Rockefeller, where we had the opportunity to do some last-minute shopping or go ice-skating. I didn't trust myself on the ice, so me and a couple of my friends went along 5th Avenue and bought a few bits.
I kid you not, this pizza slice was bigger than my whole hand! It was yummy though...
Once we'd all met back outside the ice rink we had some group photos done, including a group 'selfie' that would put Ellen DeGeneres and her Oscars buddies to shame. I'm at the back in both photos, but that's life I guess!
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Then it was back to the hotel to pick up our luggage (we'd put it into storage while we were out) and onto the coach to Newark Airport so that we could fly back home. It was an overnight flight but unfortunately I had trouble sleeping whilst on the plane so I stayed awake for most of the journey.
Once we'd got through security at Heathrow we went to collect our luggage but then had to wait because one of the girls left her passport on the plane. However, our delay did mean that we got to meet Russell Brand! He's lovely in person, and was more than happy to chat with us and have photos taken for about 20 minutes, and his security team were very relaxed which was nice. I had a couple of photos taken but they weren't that great. Here's the better one of the two (i.e. I was actually looking at the camera haha):
Then it was back on another coach to take us home! I'm sorry this took me so long to post but I had a load of schoolwork to catch up on so I've had to put it back a bit. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in New York and would go again in a heartbeat. It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and if you ever get the chance to go, do it!
If you've been to New York, let me know what you thought of your stay as I love hearing other people's opinions!
Lots of love,
Fliss xx
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