The Big Apple | New York City | United States of America

New York! New York! My, oh my what a city. The big apple, a city that never sleeps, a dream city every tourist wants to explore; to lay at Central Park, to get lost amidst the skyscrapers, and to feel the freedom at Liberty Island with Lady Liberty. It was a dream come true for me, when we confirmed our visit to New York City.

I set foot on New York City soil on 24th July 2013. We had arrived in New York from Washington DC travelling on an Amtrack train. What's the first thing I see, why, a cop eating a donut, of course! In my entire American trip, until that point, I had not seen a cop eating a donut! Talk about stereotypes! We get into a cab that takes us to our hotel, Marriott on Times Square. One thing you got to know, sitting in a cab in New York City feels like you're in Need for Speed. They swerve through lanes, speed through lights and voila you're at your destination.

Back to my travel log, the good thing about staying at Times Square is well, you're staying in the middle of one of the biggest tourist spots in New York City. On the other hand, the bright light from the billboards in the middle of the night is troubling. Yeah, that ain't fun when you're trying to get some shut eye.

We quickly checked in, dropped our luggage and headed to walk around Times Square and explore it's surroundings. But first, honorary mention a Starbucks at our hotel building. Getting my daily fix of my White Chocolate Mocha was a life saver. Any how, we first ate lunch, and then decided the first stop would be Grand Central Station. I mean, you've got your tourist game strong, who doesn't want to go check out a train station in another city?! Also, in close vicinity is the MetLife building. For those who don't know, this used to be the Pan Am building in the 1980s, and it is now the MetLife building. You would have definitely seen glimpses of it, on any movie, television show that's been shot in New York City.

We continued strolling and headed towards one of the most famous parks in the world. Yes, you guessed it, Central Park. But there were a few stops along the way. First and foremost, we walked past, this really famous person's apartment building. He is known for firing people left, right and centre. Look at the picture below to guess who it is. The second stop, Apple Store on 5th Avenue. It was appleception, we were at an Apple Store in The Big Apple. An Apple a day, keeps us tech awake. Ah, Central Park, thou art so beautiful. We find a nice park bench, a few steps in to the park, to reward ourselves with all the walking we'd just done.

That brings day 1 to a close. Ain't no way we are walking all that way back, so we get into a cab and head back home just in time for dinner. The thing about New York City is that you don't need to go to a restaurant to eat, there's food trucks everywhere! In fact that is the best way to dine in this city! You walk a little, you eat a little.

Day 2, we had a date with a very special lady. The plan was to take a subway to Battery Park. But like I said we had our tourist game strong. We got on a hop on hop off bus to make our way to Battery Park. Enroute we got to see The Flat Iron Building, the ball from the ball drop every New Years' Eve, the original Macy's and much more. Not only that, we also heard numerous stories of these different spots. Did you know, Mr. and Mrs. Macy who started Macy's died on the Titanic?

Back to Lady Liberty. Just a tip if you are heading to New York City and plan on visiting the Statue of Liberty, I mean let's be real, who wouldn't, I would advise that you pre-purchase your tickets online, well in advance. Rumour has it, that it is a very popular attraction and if you plan on purchasing your tickets on the day, you might have to wait a while before there's a spot available.

When you see something in front of you, something that you've heard about your entire life, there's just no words to describe that feeling. It truly is a dream come true. Even though, on the day we visited the weather wasn't the best, but none the less the experience was mind blowing. Time to get some lunch and so we got back on the hop on hop off bus to get off at a stop closer to Wall Street. But first to confirm, you are in the vicinity of Wall Street, take a photo with the Charging Bull. In other news, finance, money and numbers aren't really my thing, so I don't have much to say about Wall Street.

After spending some time at Wall Street, we had to rush back. Why? Mamma Mia, because no trip to New York City is complete without a broadway show. Yes you guessed right we watched Mamma Mia. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect going in. But I only have one word for the entire show, brilliant! By the end of it, most of the people in the audience were dancing to the good old ABBA songs. Again, if you plan on watching a broadway show, pre purchase your tickets online so you can get your desired seats.

On the third day of touring New York City, we went to Rockefeller Centre. There's lots to do here. NBC Studios, Top of the Rock, Lego Store and more! At first, we did a quick scan of the area and made a strategic plan of action, of which places to go when. As per our strategic plan, the first stop was, the Lego Store. I kid you not, 4 fully grown adults, spent a decent hour at this store. We are totally normal. Next stop NBC Studios. When we went to purchase tickets for the tour of NBC Studios, the next available spot was at 4pm. Perfect, time for lunch first then! It's so easy to forget to eat when all you want to do is explore.

The tour of NBC Studios, was a first of it's kind for me. It was interesting to see how television broadcasting works, and some of the different sets for television shows. Once the tour finished, we immediately made our way to the Top of the Rock. As you know, New York City is known for it's skyscrapers. Most of these skyscrapers have a viewing deck on it's top most floor, so why should this be any different? You get a good view of New York from here. It was just before sunset that we went, and what a beautiful sight it was witnessing the sunset from here. P.S. there's a small shot of it in the video, at the end of this blog. All in all, this was a good day with some memorable experiences.

This was by far the most depressing day. It was the fourth and our final day in this majestic city. On this day we got on the hop on hop off bus again, remember our tourist game was strong, and we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I personally am not a big fan of museums, but as we'd already been to all the main tourist spots and attractions of New York City, this was the only one left. This is a big museum. From memory I think we spent a good two hours here, however you can easily spend a lot more time.

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN EXHIBIT AT METROPOLITAN MUSEUM

Well, if I've managed to keep your attention till this point talking about New York City, thank you for hearing my fan girl experience being in this city. If you'd like just a little more glimpse of this city, because well who doesn't, watch the video below.

Until next time,

MiliG

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The Big Apple | New York City | United States of America

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