Hopefully this post will be a bit shorter than the last; it covers only two cities!
After my tour ended I flew to New York. I was pleasantly surprised to run into two girls from my tour also waiting for the flight, so it was nice to know I’d have someone to have meals with and so forth. Having found the 14 hour flight to LA really uncomfortable, I was happy to find that the 5 hour flight across the US was survivable. The only disaster was that it took 2 hours to get from the airport to my hotel, and it turned out my two friends were meant to be on my shuttle but had been left behind by the driver.
In my five days in NYC I saw all the usual sights; the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building (it’s always been my favourite), the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and the WTC site. I utilised the very touristy hop on-hop off buses but they were very convenient.
After my tour ended I flew to New York. I was pleasantly surprised to run into two girls from my tour also waiting for the flight, so it was nice to know I’d have someone to have meals with and so forth. Having found the 14 hour flight to LA really uncomfortable, I was happy to find that the 5 hour flight across the US was survivable. The only disaster was that it took 2 hours to get from the airport to my hotel, and it turned out my two friends were meant to be on my shuttle but had been left behind by the driver.
In my five days in NYC I saw all the usual sights; the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building (it’s always been my favourite), the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and the WTC site. I utilised the very touristy hop on-hop off buses but they were very convenient.
I was amazed by the gorgeous architecture of all the buildings in the city, and loved the abundance of Christmas decorations. I was also lucky enough to see snow!
I had dinner with the girls; we found a restaurant at Times Square but were told it was a 90 min wait. When we turned to leave, they told us to hang on and we were seated straight away. And it would seem that our waiter took a liking to us, as after we finished the bottle of wine we ordered, we were topped up from a further two bottles which we didn’t have to pay for. After dinner we did the proper New York thing and had Cosmos.
I also went to places such as the Natural History Museum (which was selling Platypus toys which is a bit odd), and saw The Lion King on Broadway. I also managed to catch a glimpse of the lovely Hugh Jackman, as well as Daniel Craig.
After New York I flew back to LA for a few days, mostly to break the trip up a little. I stayed in Hollywood at the flash Roosevelt Hotel. I certainly felt a little out of place there as everyone looked very glam, and one night there was even some red-carpet event and hoards of paparazzi out the front!
Again I did the usual tourist things; saw the walk of fame, and all the hand and footprints out front of the Chinese theatre. I also met another lovely Aussie on their hop on-hop off bus and we spent the day travelling around to Santa Monica, as well as Beverly Hills and the flashy Rodeo Drive. I also managed to go to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live, which apparently isnt actually live!
Then finally it was time to come home; 24 hours in transit with a short stop in Auckland, New Zealand. A minor hiccup when I came through customs with a tad more alcohol than I should have (they let me get away with it). About 40 hours awake, minus the short powernap I had on the plane. And no major jetlag…just get a tad snoozy around 8.30pm but hopefully that’ll sort itself out. Doesn’t help that I've come from 5C to 39C in a matter of days! Still one holiday post to go; have to show you all the lovely fabrics I picked up (among other shopping!)
1 comment:
What an incredible, incredible trip! I can't even begin to imagine being on a plane for that many hours.
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