The City That Never Sleeps… New York!

My most recent trip took me to the city that never sleeps…. New York! I visited 2 years ago and stayed with a friend I met whilst interrailing, but this was my first time being rostered the flight with work so I was very excited to be going back.

After a tough 13 hour flight we finally arrived and made our way to the hotel. A few of us arranged to meet for some dinner, and strolled along eventually deciding on a diner not too far from our hotel. I thought I was ordering something small and light, but it was the most enormous sandwich I’ve ever seen! American portions are just ridiculous 😛

After dinner we walked down to Times Square for a look around. After having been on our feet for about 24 hours by this time we couldn’t manage much more and walked back to the hotel, straight to bed! Early the next morning 7 of us met to do some sightseeing.

Our first stop of the day was the Staten Island ferry, which takes you across for free, all whilst giving you a great view of the Statue of Liberty!Unfortunately the weather turned pretty suddenly and as we got on the ferry it started to rain. Luckily we were under cover and we still had a great view. The ferry drops you off and then you go straight through the terminal and back onto another ferry (unless of course you want to stay on the island).

Luckily the weather cleared up a bit on the way back and we got some great views of the Statue of Liberty and the NYC skyline! After the ferry a few of the girls decided to head back to the hotel (it was 11:30 by this time and our wake-up call was 19:30…I can’t understand what was wrong with them!). The three of us left hopped on the subway to go to the High Line, which is a park converted from old train tracks, elevated above the city. It’s a really nice green escape in the middle of the city.

We strolled along enjoying all of the greenery that we don’t get in Dubai, and soaking up the sunshine. There are lots of little stalls selling all sorts of food, so of course we had to stop for an ice-cream! 😉 There’s a hotel called The Standard which is right at the beginning of the High Line, and I’d heard about a rooftop bar there which supposedly has great views of the city. We took the lift up but unfortunately it didn’t open til 2pm, so I’ll have to save that for next time.Our next stop was Grand Central Terminal. I keep calling it Grand Central Station, but it’s actually Terminal. Not sure how much difference it makes though! 😉 We then walked all the way up to Central Park. One of the girls had never been so she really wanted to see it! Unfortunately I stupidly forgot to charge my camera the night before and at this point it decided not to cooperate any more so this was the last picture I got!

By this time we’d been out all day, so we decided to get some sushi to have for lunch/dinner.

Of course I managed to squeeze in a little bit of shopping as well…it wouldn’t be a trip to New York without some shopping!

All too soon my time in NYC was over and it was back to work and another 12 hour flight home!

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