New York City

Hello! I am back from the sunny, hot USA and have returned to Autumnal London. Sorry this is quite a long post! I found it hard to narrow down the photos as we packed in so much in the 48 hours in NYC. 

As soon as we landed we dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out into the late afternoon sunshine. We walked the full length of the Highline which was beautiful! And such a good way to see the streets of NYC.

We ended up in the Meatpacking District where we had a little wander around Chelsea Market. There were so many delicious looking treats which we had to resist as we were about to go out for dinner. The shops around the area were staying open late for NYC Fashion Week parties so there was a great atmosphere as we wandered around. 

We met Alex’s Dad with his wife and kids who happened to be visiting from Australia for cocktails at The Standard then dinner at The Spice Market, both of which I recommend!

Off to Brooklyn Bridge and the Staten Island Ferry – not to catch a ferry, but one of these…

I was super nervous as I don’t like heights but it was fine! And the views were stunning. A lovely birthday present to both of us from Alex’s Dad. 

We wandered through the sun, grabbing ice teas on the way (New Yorkers love ice tea!) and went to see Ground Zero, the memorial for 9/11. The fountains were dramatically deep (you couldn’t see the bottom) and there was a peaceful, thoughtful atmosphere. The victims’ names are all written around the edge and on their birthdays they place a rose next to their name, which I thought was a sensitive touch.

We ended up walking through the whole of Central Park which was beautiful. There was a scene from a movie around every corner! 

We met with Alex’s Dad again, and after a bit of wandering and shopping through Soho we went for yummy cocktails at Gilligan’s. 

Then we said goodbye and headed to the bright lights of Times Square. It made London’s Piccadilly look tiddly!

We had a proper American diner experience here – Alex had the biggest hot dog ever! The USA isn’t great for veggies, so I stuck to salad. 

The next morning we had breakfast at Bubby’s in TriBeCa – amazing sourdough pancakes! (Photos on my Instagram). We then went to Grand Central Station to try out the trick that Joanna Goddard posted on her blog – and it worked! We stood at opposite corners of the room and whispered to each other. It sounded like Alex was speaking into my ear. So strange.