New York

New York is well known for being magical at Christmas and I've wanted to go there ever since I read about the city in my favourite childhood book. With neither of my parents interested in going, it didn't look like I was going to get a chance to go for quite a while; however I was wrong. On Boxing Day 2016 my parents dropped me off at Heathrow Airport where I got on a plane (by myself!) to JFK where I would meet one of my best friends from Year 11 Cailin and her Mum, Lindy.

After meeting them at the airport we got a cab to our hotel which was right in the centre of Manhattan. When we got to the hotel we had a little rest before we went for an explore to get something to eat. As much as I love planes and flying (long haul flights are way more fun than short haul...) the time difference can be really annoying and draining...my top tip for fighting jet lag has got to be to adjust to the local time as soon as possible (i.e as soon as you get on the plane) and not worry about it. I often find that the adrenaline and excitement of being in a new place kicks in and I don't feel tired at all...

We walked out of the hotel and soon came across the giant Macy's store which was decorated for Christmas with their famous moving window displays. We had a quick look inside and had a wander around their Christmas Sale. It was a really magical and buzzing atmosphere with all the people and the Christmas music playing.

Outside Macy's we found a little waffle stall called "Waffles and Dinges". I ordered a Churro waffle which was possibly THE best waffle ever! It was so yummy and had a cookie dough sauce. We later found out that "Dinges" were just "things" that go on waffles...after waffles, we went back to the hotel and to bed (at this point it was 10 o' clock at night and as far as I was concerned I'd been awake for 24 hours...).

The next morning, the combination of excitement and jet lag meant I woke up 3 hours before everyone else...eventually though we left the hotel and had a walk to "Panera" for breakfast, which had the yummiest bagels and hot chocolates ever! Their "Signature Hot Chocolate" comes served with cream, chocolate chip marshmallows and caramel syrup and considering its price it was possibly the best hot chocolate I've ever bought...it was soooo delicious! Unlike English hotels, not many places in the States offer breakfast, so when we've visited other cities we've often found that we spend ages wandering around a city to find breakfast...(in this case it's often worth visiting a supermarket to buy some bread or croissants as it both saves time and money meaning you can spend more in the city!). This was so not the case in New York where there's a Starbucks on every single corner and a hundred other cafes and restaurants in between.

Cailin and I got the subway to Central Park where we went ice skating. There are two ice rinks in Central Park, the "Wollman Rink" which is located on the east side. This rink is the pricier of the two but is closer to the city and has a much more magical atmosphere. The second "Lasker Rink" is located mid-park and much cheaper. It also converts into a swimming pool in the summer which is pretty cool! After the ice skating, we walked through Central Park, visiting some of the other sites, such as Belvedere Castle and the Alice in Wonderland Statue along the way. Although many people see Central Park as "just another park" it really is incredible to see the difference between the business of the city and how quiet the park is... Near the Alice in Wonderland Statue we met Lindy and walked through the city to the "Shake Shack" (a restaurant featured in my book...) where we had some dinner. The burgers there were so yummy, though funnily enough I didn't have a milkshake...

It's actually really easy to walk and navigate through New York as all the streets line up and it doesn't take long at all. When you look at a map it looks really far, but it's actually not. The iMaps App was great as well, especially for using on the Subway (which I was terrified of...but it really wasn't that bad...) as it told us exactly how many stops we had before our stop, and how much it would cost us. You then just top up your MetroCard at one of the machines before you get on the train. After our meal at the Shake Shack we went to see the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Centre all lit up.

The next day we had a wander around the main part of Manhattan and went to see the Empire State Building, though we didn't go up it as there was a really long queue. We did a bit of shopping, but mainly just walked and took in the atmosphere. All the main sites in Manhattan such as Fifth Avenue for shopping, Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Centre and Times Square are located really closely together so it's really easy to see them all in a day or even an afternoon!

New York is so busy and there's so many people rushing around trying to get to different places. The roads are crazy, especially at night time where there are police at every junction just to stop cab drivers from running over pedestrians.

In the evening we had a helicopter tour booked! We waited in the waiting room before watching the safety video. The tour was amazing as it was sunset and we got to see the city in both daylight and nighttime from the sky.

After the tour, Cailin and I decided to have a wander around Times Square and Broadway! The atmosphere was so cool with street performers and loads of people rushing around. We went to the biggest Disney Store ever (other than the one at DisneyWorld of course...) and a 4 story "Forever 21"! Like Las Vegas, the city comes alive at night and the atmosphere completely changes with bright lights and street performers.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped in Bryant Park which had the cutest little Christmas market and ice rink. The atmosphere there was completely different to that in Times Square. It almost felt like a European Christmas Market with the smell of Hot Chocolate, Hot Dogs, Popcorn and a bright tree to rival the one outside the Rockefeller Centre.

The next day it was quite rainy...we got the Subway down to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty but you couldn't really see it because it was so foggy. We were going to get a boat out to the island, but again there wasn't really much point as the boat was open air and it was so rainy and foggy. We were just happy that our helicopter tour was the day before as we managed to get great views of the statue from the air! We then got the Subway across to Ground Zero. The memorial was really well done and rather moving with fountains and names written on plaques of the 3,000 that died, around the fountains.

That evening we had a booking for "Chicago" on Broadway. After getting changed we had something to eat at "Panera" which doesn't just do incredible Hot Chocolates, but also Sandwiches and really yummy Mac n' Cheese! The show was incredible and I loved the dancing and music although the set and theatre weren't as impressive as those in shows such as "The Lion King" and "Wicked". This being said, the story line of the show didn't require extreme sets and special effects. We had no idea that Spice Girl, Mel B was in the show, but that made it even cooler!

After we left the theatre we went to the "Junior's Cheesecake Factory" where we had ice creams to celebrate our last night in New York.

It was a really great trip, and even though we were only there for a three days, we managed to see everything we wanted to!

So, my top tips for visiting New York? Or any city for that matter...

Do some research and make a list of all the places you'd like to visit throughout your stay.

Use this list to mark the locations on a map and use this map to create "zones" which you can visit within close walking distance. That way it limits the amount of running around you have to do (despite the fact that travelling on the Subway is actually really easy...)

The zones I used were Central Park day 1, Central Manhattan day 2 and Battery Park, Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty day 3.

The city very much comes alive after dark, so this is the time to visit places like Times Square and Broadway!

I had an incredibly safe and positive experience in New York, however not all experiences are like that. Limit the amount of cash you carry about, and carry credit cards, phones and cameras in inside pockets as much as possible. Don't get out phones and cash whilst in busy places and the Subway. Stay safe!

Fancy exploring New York yourself? Click here to drop me a message, let's start planning your trip!

Click here to read more about city breaks. And here for more of my adventures in the USA!