New York, New York

New York, New York: so good I’ve been there twice! In fact I’ve been three times now, and I’d say we’ve hardly scratched the surface! It’s so great for so many things: sightseeing, culture, food and shopping.

I’ve done the cheesy horse drawn carriage through Central Park in the snow, been on the open bus tour, visited the MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum (from Thomas Crown Affair) and walked miles on the streets just marvelling the variety of architecture. A few feet up, I’ve been to the top of the Statue of Liberty, up to the Top of the Rock, the Empire State building, then up the Chrysler building so that I could look at the Empire State Building.

Each time we’ve been to New York we’ve chosen a Broadway show: we loved the massive production of The Lion King starring some incredibly talented children, and it was great to see Jersey Boys in America as it felt more authentic. I think our favourite was a new play which we had never heard of called Steady Rain which was a totally absorbing production starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. I know that you can get last minute tickets for Broadway, and it’s not cheap but we have bought all of ours well in advance so we got to see the shows we really wanted to.

Food in New York is a big as you think it’s going to be. We’ve had some incredible steaks and pizzas but our favourite restaurant was Del Posto. Del Posto serves very special Italian food, and I’m not alone in thinking it’s great, Relais and Chateaux, Michelin, and Wine Spectator have all recognised its brilliance. However, the first place we think about for food is always Sara Beth’s as they serve the most amazing American brunches including pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict and French toast. We always try to go to the Sara Beth’s at Central Park but the one in Lord and Taylor is often quieter and great for replenishing energy whilst out shopping!

Now I’m on the subject of shopping, New York has everything from Tiffany to Macy’s, Sephora to Banana Republic and I can’t resist a trip to Abercrombie and Fitch (but I always go first thing in the day because there are queues later on). The selection of jeans and the helpful staff in Bloomingdales make shopping easy, and I love buying stocking fillers from Henri Bendel. On one visit all the shops in New York still couldn’t satisfy my shopping needs, so we headed out to Woodbury Common which is a massive outlet mall – total joy for me, devastation for my husband! I love New York, we’ll be going back soon…