New York, New York girls trip
We travelled from Newcastle with Air Lingus and cleared immigration in Dublin, I can’t believe how easy this was! We were fast tracked through to catch our connecting flight and once in JFK literally walked off the plane to collect our luggage and beat the queues to the taxi rank. A transfer from the airport is long, the traffic is just ridiculous! It does however give you chance to take in the skyline and your surroundings
We stayed 15 minutes from Times Square, you will feel tired when you arrive with the jet lag but it's so important to stay awake and enjoy the evening so you can enjoy the first full time and hopefully not be awake at 4am. We opted for room only and loved exploring the local cafes early morning for a bagel and coffee for less than $5 (hotel breakfasts are so expensive!)
Our first night we walked all the way up to Central Park for ice skating, we had this pre booked and it was a surreal experience. Holding hands skating in the dark with my best friend, tired and a little delirious and with the New York skyline all around us. A real highlight of my trip
Our first full day in New York was spent shopping, we took a trip to Woodbury common and were not disappointed. This was pure shopping heaven! I recommend this place to all of my customers and everyone is always grateful as 5th Avenue, Macy’s, Bloomingdales etc are not any cheaper than London I would say (exchange rate depending). Of course it’s a must to visit these iconic stores. This trip is exhausting, the bus journey is long but 100% worth it, an empty case is a must
The second day was spent as a real tourist, having been before I wasn’t keen on doing the usual tourist sites and we opted for the helicopter tour, and we were totally blessed with the most amazing sunny day with a clear sky. This is a lovely thing to do especially if there for a special occasion.
We opted to walk as far as we could and got to see so much of New York on foot before hailing a taxi. We walked through a food market, Chinatown, little Italy and got to see “real New York”.
Our last full day we went to see the Christmas lights at Rockefeller and 5th Avenue and all the iconic places on my tick list.
Comfy shoes are a must and layers, even though we travelled early December and this should have been cold the sun was shining and actually warm walking everywhere. So glad I didn’t take a big coat and opted for big scarf and layers instead.
My biggest regret for this trip was the lack of good food and drink! We didn’t plan at all and found ourselves eating pizza on street corners and drinks in Hard Rock Café. Many TC’s travel to New York regularly and have many great recommendations so please pick my brains for ideas. I wish I had planned better however as I had been before I presumed I knew it. How very naïve!
My second time to New York was stunning and I will definitely return with an empty case and planned to perfection.