In August/September 2018 we visited America for 2 weeks. Normally we would book all flights and accommodation separately ourselves but we saw a really good deal on Barrhead Travel (a UK travel agent) Facebook page. We had 4 nights in New York, 3 nights in San Francisco and 4 nights in Las Vegas. We flew with American Airlines and British Airways.
New York: We arrived at JFK in the evening and got an Uber to our hotel . We were staying at the Distrikt hotel which is just next to the Port Authority and 2mins from Times Square. We went out for a walk about – Time Square is so bright at night that it felt like day time. We ended up in an Irish bar for some dinner and a couple of drinks. Bit of a quiet one as we were tired from travelling.
The next day we were up early and went on the hunt for this bagel place I had read about called “Best Bagel and Coffee”. I had a bacon and egg bagel and iced Americano. This was probably my most popular drink on holiday (and in normal life, even in the depths of Edinburgh winter!) After breakfast, we walked up to Central Park to hire bikes. (https://centralparkbiketours.com/bike-rental/) It was really good value and when we called up to extend our hire for another hour they were really accommodating.
We cycled around the park for 2-3hours, pausing here and here to see the sights – the John Lennon memorial, the lawn, the Shakespeare garden – and stopped for an iced Americano at the Loeb Boathouse.
After the park, we stopped for a couple of drinks at an Irish bar to cool down. We wandered back to Times Square for lunch and went to a rib place called Virgil’s Real BBQ. I had the BIGGEST shrimp salad I have ever seen in my life. The portions were the stereotypical American super size – and I wasn’t complaining! It was delicious.
That evening we went to the Plaza for cocktails and dinner. My boyfriend is so clumsy so managed to spill my 25USD Cosmo all over the table. The waitress promptly replaced it which was so nice. The setting for the restaurant and the hotel itself are just stunning. Really enjoyed our experience there and a nice treat to start the holiday.
The next day we had pre-booked tickets for the World Trade Centre memorial and the Statue of Liberty. I would 100% recommend pre-booking online for both. The queues were ridiculous. I have absolutely zero patience so if anyone reading this is like me, you will thank yourself for pre-booking.
World Trade Centre: I had visited NYC a few years before when the WTC memorial was much smaller. My mum was actually in NYC when 9/11 happened – she was staying in the Marriott next door and was due to be in a meeting when the first plane hit but her meeting was pushed back an hour – she managed to escape and is totally fine but what a terrifying day. The world will never forget 9/11 and I am thankful each day that my mum managed to escape. Visiting the memorial museum was really emotional. We purchased the audio guide and it is narrated by Robert De Niro which is nice. The audio guide also guides you around the different sections of the museum so you see things in the right order. We spent a good few hours here, walking around and listening to the stories and hearing the different perspectives from people who were there on the day. The museum is mostly in the basement of the WTC area, underneath the memorial pools and it really helps bringing the location to life. The amount of artefacts and items that were salvaged from the events that day is impressive. The only thing I found odd was one woman taking a selfie next to the wreckage of a fire truck. Just don’t. Overall the whole experience is tastefully put together even the gift shop is a quiet affair tucked in a back corner. Would definitely recommend.
Afterwards we wandered down to Wall Street in preparation of the Statue of Liberty experience. Wall Street is pretty underwhelming but it is cool to see the big stock exchange building. We went to a sushi place for lunch which was tasty then headed over to a seafood grill place and had a drink in the bar before the boat. The only annoying thing about this area is the AMOUNT of people trying to sell you tours.
Statue of Liberty: Again I would say to pre-book. I did it a few weeks before we left and I couldn’t get the full statue access to the crown level as it was sold out. We boarded the ferry and took the short trip over to the island. The boat and the island give you spectacular views of Manhatten.
We walked up to the fort bit of the statue (the highest bit we could get to with our tickets) and had a look around then came down and walked the perimeter of the island. There is no avoiding the gift shop and I treated myself to the foam statue of liberty face thing (see pics!). We had a drink at the café and then headed back.
I think if I went back I would do a guided tour to get some more of the history of the statue.
That night we went to a Yankees game – they were playing the Detroit Tigers. We got the tickets on resale from someone – was literally 3USD each. Our seats were quite high up but the atmosphere was AMAZING. We had chicken and beers and watched the game for a few hours. Love the music playing and everyone chanting and getting involved. Felt very New Yorker after it!
On our final main day in NYC, we walked the High Line which was really cool – it is a converted train line which is now a walk way / city garden that runs through Manhatten and conveniently ends just near the Chelsea market. We absolutely loved the Chelsea market – so many fun shops, bars and restaurants. We had a couple of snacky bits from a butcher place and the sushi place and a flight of wine from the bar (would recommend all 3 – Corkbuzz (wine), Lobster Place (sushi) and Dickson’s (meat!) Also had a wee shopping spree in Anthropologie!
Afterwards we walked to the Friends apartment block – instantly felt like I was on the TV show. Then we walked around a bit more and got an Uber back to the hotel for a rest. For our last night out we went to a steakhouse in Hells Kitchen called K Rico. It was incredible – South American flair and amazing fillet steak. We had a trio of guacamole to start with as well – bacon bits in avocado was an interesting surprise!
We then went on a little bar crawl through the city to get to the 230 Rooftop bar on 5th Avenue. The views of the Empire State building were stunning. There was a massive queue to get in but the doorman let us jump the line (no idea why and was not hanging about to find out). Had a few drinks and photos then home time.
The next morning, we had to head to airport, Newark this time, for our flight to San Francisco which I’ll talk about in part 2!
Hollie-Days 