New York

Last weekend Goreti and I went to New York for a long weekend. New York at Christmas time, in my opinion, should be a pilgrimage for all Americans!! It’s just something you just gotta do! There is so much to see and do there and we were going to try and cram as much as possible in, although all of it would be impossible.

We flew very early Friday morning (up at 4.15am, flight at 6.35am – yawn!), and arrived a few hours later – it was just gone lunchtime when we had got settled into our hotel which, considering how cheap it was, was very, very nice!! It was overlooking Central park, although our room didn’t have a view. But we spent such a little amount of time (sleeping, showering, getting ready to go out) that the room was more than adequate.

The first thing we did was walk through Central Park towards Midtown Manhattan on trek to Bloomingdales. It took a lot longer than expected – 2 hours – just to walk through the park!! It was very, very cold but New York at this time of year IS! The park was lovely and must be gorgeous in the summer, and we were bemused by the ducks in the reservoir and lakes that had decided to NOT fly somewhere warmer for the winter. We also saw a lot of squirrels – probably gathering their nuts before hibernating, and some extremely mad New Yorkers running in the park!!! On route we stopped for a hot dog and Tea and Hot Chocolate to try and warm ourselves up and then carried on.

Our Hotel

Central Park

Eventually, we arrived in Midtown Manhattan and found Bloomingdales. We had a quick look around but it was so crowded with Christmas shoppers that we left pretty quickly. It was huge and impressive. From there we walked further into town, checking out some shops on the way. We headed towards the Chrysler Building so we could see it all lit up, and the same with the Empire State. But we didn’t get a chance to actually go in them due to lack of time. We headed down towards Macy’s so we could see the ever famous dressed Christmas windows, and then to Times Square. This had such a vibe about it with all the big screens flashing and all the famous lights going. Then we were pretty done so we stopped at TGI’s for a drink and then caught a cab to Little Italy where we found a little Italian restaurant and had a lovely meal. Then it was back to the hotel for some sleep as we had an early start and a busy day the next day.

Chrysler Building

Empire State Building

Macy's

Times Square

Our first New York drink in TGI Fridays

Saturday morning we got up and went to see the Statue of Liberty. Right in the south of Manhattan it was freezing cold. We queued for ages to catch the ferry across to Liberty Island and I lost feeling in my toes and my fingers, but it was so worth it. Lady Liberty was awesome – and we were lucky enough to be able to go inside (you are supposed to have a special ticket apparently but the security were obviously in a good mood!)There was another long queue, and in the bottom of the pedestal is a museum all about how The Statue of Liberty came about , how it was built, how it affected the immigrants arriving in the 1800’s and early 1900’s,etc. They don’t allow you up to the crown like they used to, ever since 9/11, but we climbed the 153 steps to the top of the pedestal, where we had some great views of Manhattan. We didn’t have time to see Ellis Island, as Liberty Island alone had taken hours, and we had to get back to the hotel to get changed for our posh meal that evening.

Freezing cold standing in the queue

Liberty's original torch

Manhattan from the pedestal

Liberty from the ferry

We had a table booked at Maze by Gordon Ramsay in The London Hotel. Just so we can say we did it! It was fine dining, it was expensive and it was a gorgeous treat. We both ordered the 5 course chefs menu, and agreed it was delicious:

Carpaccio of roasted eggplant, black figs, pickled chanterelles and hazelnuts

Sautéed Sea scallops, butternut squash and red wine vinaigrette

Carnaroli risotto of roasted sunchoke and Burgundy truffles

Slow poached chicken breast, bulgar wheat with braised leg, shitake, and tarragon jus
Or
Fillet of Brandt beef, celeriac remoulade, confit shallot and Madeira jus

Valrhona chocolate fondant with green cardamom caramel, sea salt and almond ice cream

Eggplant

Sea Scallops

Rissotto

Chicken

Chocolate Fondant

After Maze we went for a short walk to The Rockefeller Centre to see the big Christmas tree and Ice Rink. It was so crowded outside but looked great, with lots of impressive decorations, and then we went up to the 72nd floor of the centre to see Manhattan at night from the Observation Deck. It looked amazing and I could have gazed at it all night.

From there we went for a few drinks and then headed back to the hotel as it was nearly 2am.

Views across Manhattan from the Observation Deck

Sunday morning dawned crisp and cold, and after Goreti went for a run in Central Park (!!!) we headed to Ground Zero. Only to find it is closed for reconstruction right now. We went to a memorial museum nearby and I hated it. I’m glad I saw it, don’t get me wrong, but it was very saddening to see the videos and see all the photos of all the people lost on that tragic day in 2001. On the other hand, seeing the plans of the new tower that’s being built, and the business buildings, and memorial museum which will occupy that site in a few years was good. They look amazing.

After that we went east to Wall Street to see the Stock Exchange building, and then headed to see the famous Brooklyn Bridge.

Entering Brooklyn Bridge

Views of Manhatten Bridge from Brooklyn Bridge

After walking along the bridge part of the way (it was too long to do the whole thing!) we headed back towards midtown - grabbing a traditional hotdog from a New York Hot Dog vendor on the way - to 5th Avenue where all the designer shops were and one shop in particular – Tiffany!! And yes, I did buy myself a little something! But I didn’t spend thousands of dollars on jewellery for myself! That Geoff’s job – or it would be if he ever got the hint!! :-)

After Tiffany we visited Trump Tower (which was right next door) and had a quick look and then it was time to head to the airport for our flight back to Austin. The trip had gone so fast …

Stuffing my face with a hot dog!!

Tiffany!

There is still so much I want to do and see in New York so I’m determined to head back there one summertime. But it was an amazing trip and one I’ll never forget!