The Tourists

So it's day one in NYC. We're sitting in our Yotel room, aircon full blast, gently cooling off from the 4 block walk in the smothering humidity, planning our next few days in this incredible place. What's on the cards? How about The Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, Madam Toussards, Madison Square Garden, Central Park, Fireworks on Pier90 at the Hudson River for the 4th of July, Ellis Island, Hard Rock Cafe, Little Italy, China Town, Wall Street, and the food.....well, I'm going to let the pictures do the talking:

4 days in NYC.. just not enough time to be tourists:

Standing on the 4t floor deck at Yotel, surrounded by the concrete jungle

Taking a stroll at 5kms per hour down Broadway... Soooo much to see! And hello summer sales...

Couldn't resist, had to take a pic of something that said NYPD!!!

 A quick trip to Hoboken New Jersey, 10 mins from New York on the train under the Hudson River, got us to the famous Cake Boss Bakery -  Carlos's bakery. Pretty much the only thing happening in the small town. Unfortunately we did not have 4 hours to wait in a 500m long queue to sample or purchase any cake... but managed to sneak a peek at the confectionery...

Five guys told Justo about Five Guys burgers... Does the burger come with chips I ask... soon realising with the returned blank stare... oh sorry I mean FRIES! Hello Lauren, you're in America now! To which the reponse was.. "regular or large (emphasised American accent)?"

 Refillable SODA!! Getting the lingo right... eventually!

 MMMMM... the BEST ice-cream in the world!! Caramel Sutra and Half Baked.... Legen....wait for it....hope you're not lactose intolerant... dary!!

Broadway Avenue... goes on and on and on.....



Awesome view from the Empire State Building

Right then, last day in NYC, time to catch the Peter Pan bus to Connecticut... See you soon NYC

New York New York!

So hand in hand, luggage and boyfriend, we merrily step out of the airport into the New York air and this whack of humidity just hits me, oh yes! It's summer time! We bought our Sky Train single ride tickets for $7.50, next stop Times Square.

The Sky Train stops at Howard Beach and then its a quick change over onto the subway to 42nd Street Times Square. So far the first fellow subway passengers are a beggar and a preacher. Hmmm. In a daze, my head spinning, a mixture of the heat, the overwhelming buzz and the fact that I haven't seen Justo in over a month, we step off the subway at 42nd Street. PEOPLE! There are just millions of people everywhere, left, right, front, back, every direction, walking frantically to get to their destination. Hundreds of yellow taxi's hooting and creating havoc in the streets while the sirens are going off in the distance. Time of day: 7am.... Welcome to "the city that never sleeps".

It's only a 3 block walk to our hotel - Yotel. A big red hand on the traffic light turns to a little fluorescent man who looks like he's walking and then its a quick walk, luggage still in tact, across the big intersection and through the on coming crowd. It is difficult to walk through so many people and all the chaos while dragging your luggage behind you. Nevertheless, I am dumbstruck by the yellow taxi's, the people and the massive high rise buildings, so high, my neck hurts trying to look up. There is no doubt I am in New York.

A quick turn to the left and there stands our lovely Yotel - all 27 floors of it. An ultra modern concept of hotel this is. As you walk in its a self check in service to the left and something that looks like it's out of a Star Wars movie, called a Yobot to the right. This interesting and phenomenal contraption, which is a big robotic arm, is programmed with a pass code to collect and retrieve your luggage. Are we in the 21st Century or what!?

A warm and super modern welcome to Yotel takes us on to the 4th floor which has a welcome desk, pc's to do   all your internet communications, a breakfast social area where they serve muffins every morning, a beautiful deck surrounded by the concrete jungle and the lifts up to the rooms. 27th floor please! Enter cabin with your unique    scan key and TA DA!! Wow, what a room, and a what a view!!                                                                    

     

                                                

Flight SA203 to JFK International Airport

It's the 2nd of July, and after an entertaining 15 hour flight, SA203 lands safely in JFK International Airport. It's a short walk to passport control once I have exited the plane directly after the business class passengers. By some stroke of luck, I finally got front row seats with plenty of legroom. This has to be a good start to any trip.

As I approach passport control, I see an entire plane full of people already in the queue. Luckily we had landed an hour early as this was sure to be a long wait. 45 minutes of playing my rehearsed plea to get through passport control and just like that I was next. There was a nice old man at the window who smiled very politely while asking me for everything short of a DNA sample to come to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. His last question of reassurance "Are you sure you want to do this?" and then my reply "Yes" got my passport stamped and just like that I was in AMERICA!!!

In amongst many suitcases I found my glad wrapped bag and off I went happily through the doors and was excitedly met by the love of my life, Justo. And so it begins......