New York

Friday 6/8/11- Tuesday 10/8/11

Broadway, Shiny lights and Statue of Liberty were my ideas of New York up until I was 20 years old. From then on it was mostly Sex and the City.

As a person who never says NO to an airport sightseeing opportunity, it comes as a shock even to me, that I have never ended up in the Big Apple, even though for years I believed I was born to live there. The bagels might have been partially responsible for my reasoning, however I believe there was more to it. After 8 years of living in smelly, overcrowded London, where an ambulance and a fire brigade beats the alarm as a wake up call of choice, I still loved it. New York seemed like a logical choice. Also: I love American attitude to life, nothing is a problem. Everyone is happy, things are big. Huge in fact.

But this time, I wasn’t changing location. After around 10 different homes in the last 5 years, I think it’s time to unpack.

This time it’s a stop prior to an adventure of the year: 4 weeks on Route 66.

Shane and I love the States, so spending a month here is a no brainer. This time we are taking Leah with us, as she is 12 years old now we think it’s about time she got introduced to something else besides beach holidays in all-inclusive resorts.

So back to the subject: New York. Books have been written and movies recorded about the island and it’s inhabitants, but since we had just 4 days, my schedule was planned with military precision, with next to no time for food, God forbid excessive toilet breaks.

We would probably win a competition “How to see all the tourists spots in Manhattan” if there was one, so I will concentrate on the must see things that I would recommend for a short weekend break:

- Guggenheim Gallery, check the exhibition on show prior to the visit, as it seems to be more a case of an amazing architecture and random art (apart from the regular items on show, which are all crammed in fairly small space on the first floor).
- Natural History Museum – amazing, regardless of your age. Huge. Make sure you have got a good few hours spare.
- Central Park on a bike. One of life’s little pleasures.
- Patricia Field’s shop. Trash heaven. For the few of you who are not SATC die-hard fans, she is the stylist for all those amazing outfits. Pure genius.
- Top of the Rock. The best views of the city.
- Statue of Liberty, take a picnic basket with you and enjoy the sandwiches whilst admiring an awesome skyline in the shadow of a woman with bigger hips than your own (if you are a man, more encouraging thought may be a fact, that you are no more than 5 minutes walk from the biggest tits in town).

Not fussed about..
- Macy’s. World’s biggest store. It’s fairly big. But for someone who spent enough time in Harrods and Selfridges over the years, Macy’s feels like Primark on steroids, with better brands, but in an old building with no visible investment into interior. Call me picky but easy on the eye surroundings make me happy. Nevertheless I picked up two pairs of awesome jeans for a fraction of UK prices, so the Macy’s complaints section is closed until further notice.
- Skyride in Empire State Building. If being ripped off turns you on, this is a must. It is suppose to be a flight simulator showing you NYC from the helicopter. With supposedly “funny” narration. It’s blurry and serves no purpose.

Eat hot-dogs, be marry and feed the squirrels everywhere you go.
NYC rocks. Just don’t wait till it gets cold, snow spoils the fun.