Sunday 9 February 2020
Today we woke up, got ready and headed off on public transport to go and meet out friend from high school (Olivia Nunn) for breakfast. She lives in New York with her boyfriend. It was great to catch up and have a nice breakfast (with our first experience of real, black American coffee) at a cosy cafe in the West Village.
Afterwards we walked around the west Village some more and saw the famous ‘Friends’ building. It is the nicest weather we have had so far, and we really enjoyed walking the streets of the West Village – cute houses everywhere and a great vibe. If I could live anywhere in NYC I think it would be here. We also visited the Washington Square arch which Art and Ed recommended we visit as it has a lot of history. It is also part of New York University.
Afterwards we caught a train to Times Square to see if there were any last minute tickets to any broadway shows. None for Harry Potter but we did get tickets to Aladdin (i ased Michael if he wanted to go to Broadway or an ice hockey game and he chose Broadway – now that is saying something!).
After we got our tickets we headed to the Rockefeller centre where we had lunch; a smoked salmon bagel, Starbucks coffee with some banana pudding and cupcakes from a famous NYC bakery called Magnolia Bakery. We felt very American.
Before the show we decided to go to a rooftop bar in Times Square which had nice views of the city. We watched the sunset while having some flatbread and wine/beer, then made out way to the theatre. The musical was fantastic – so much fun and so colourful and entertaining. e both felt like the genie was the star of the show. A larger then life character who was hilarious. Another very enjoyable experience on Broadway. When we got back to the Air BnB we had a light snack for dinner part 2, and watched the Oscars before heading to bed.
Monday 11 February 2020
Early this morning (about 8:30am, which has been early for our NYC stay) Michael went for a run through central park and along the Hudson river. I had planned to get up and explore while he was runnig but had a poor nights sleep with a headcold coming on, so stayed in bed until he got back. After packing up our things we headed down to CHerlsea Market (in the rain) and enjoyed some pizza and lobster rolls. We then headed to Starbucks Reserve Roastery (a mega-starbucks with a bakery inside and multiple levels). Apparently it is only one of five in the world. We enjoyed a coffee and blueberry tart from there.
For our last afternoon in New York we took the subway (again, in the rain) to New York University where we bought some NYC collateral (me a jumper and Michael a running tank) to commemorate our time here. We then headed back to our apartment, said goodbye to Ed and caught the train to the airport.
We have really enjoyed our time in New York City! It has been cold and at times quite rainy, but we still enjoyed seeing so many historical sights and having some great experiences in the Big Apple!
Fell's United States Trip 2020 