New York - travel diary part 1

I'm back from an amazing 5 days in New York. It was a fantastic time and we crammed so much in it was a little exhausting! I made notes at the end of each day so I could remember all the places we had seen and the streets we had walked and the food we had eaten.

Day 1 -After a VERY long flight to get to New York, we arrived at 7pm to our hotel, The Surrey.  It met all our expectations and was absolutely beautiful. We had dinner at a local restaurant Seraphina, Simon had a pizza and I must have had the world's largest chicken breast and vegies. Just the beginning of a few humongous meals! Bed time as we were zonked!

en route 

lobby of The Surrey at night 

gorgeous painting near elevators 

hugest chicken breast ever! 

view from our room

Day 2 - Jetlagged! Woke up at 3.30am, decided to call the boys to let them know we had arrived, watched some tv and eventually went back to sleep for a few hours. A room service breakfast and then a shower with the most intense shower pressure ever. We then caught a cab to Soho We wandered down streets with lots of shops including Anthropologie. We got Finn some of the Vans shoes he couldn't get at home and Simon got a couple of pairs of shoes too. I looked but nothing really grabbed me. Maybe it is being pregnant but all the clothes were a bit ho hum to me. I had money to burn and couldn't find anything I liked! We stopped for snacks at Dean and Deluca, (a gourmet deli) We decided to just walk in the direction of our hotel and see how far we could go before we got too tired. Stopped for lunch at a cafe where a toasted sandwich was an extravaganza with all the trimmings and a massive serve of fries. Passed the Flatiron Building, Madison Ave, popped into Trump Tower and of course I had to have a browse in Tiffany and Co. We had a little rest near the Plaza Hotel, it looks a lot smaller in real life! The streets were bustling and very New York! We then wandered over to Central Park and did the very touristy carriage ride.The carriages were a little tired and worn but it was one of those "have to do" experiences.
We then walked back to the Surrey Hotel and collapsed! I calculated we had walked 91 blocks and that wasn't counting going up and down some of them. We had left the hotel at 10am that morning and walked until 6pm that night! I ended up having a 5 hour snooze and woke up at midnight starving. Simon went looking for the pizza place he went to 10 years ago(!)and brought back the sausage pizza he had been raving about ever since. 

anthropologie, I really wanted that tureen! 

pumpkins at Dean and Deluca 

The Flatiron Building

Simon on the carriage ride, the carriages are in need of a little refresh!

Simon's beloved sausage pizza

Day 3 - We decided to explore the West Village today and caught a cab to Bleeker St, saw the Magnolia Bakery but didn't feel like a cupcake. We walked down Perry St (where all SATC fans will know that Carries apartment stoop was shot here). So many lovely Brownstones and of course had to get the usual tourist pic on one of them.It was a gorgeous area with tree lined streets and a lovely feel to it.

We then headed to the Meat Packing District, and walked the cobblestone streets to the High Line. This is a disused railway track that has been turned into a park/walkway. Caught a cab to Grand Central Station for a wander and a late lunch. I had the most delicious vegie soup ever! We then walked over to Rockefeller Centre for a look at the Moma store and a few others. We then ventured into Times Square. Absolute chaos! Bright lights, crowds of people, tacky and over the top but a must see. We headed back towards the hotel and detoured via the toy shop FAO Schwartz. The boys would have loved it! Highlights were the Barbie Foosball table for $25k and of course the giant piano from the movie Big. Of course Simon had to have a go, which I recorded for the boys. It was hilarious! We HAD to wander through the "candy" section on the way out and marvelled at the size of all the lollies! We bought the boys some rock candy and giant gummy bears as a souvenir. So much fun stuff there!

We headed to the hotel for dinner and a rest. We decided to have a late night treat at Serendipity (remember the movie?). Simon had the Strawberry Fields - an extravaganza of cheesecake, icecream, cream and strawberries and I had their signature Frozen Hot Chocolate which was to die for!

Perry St

me on a the stoop ;)

Grand Central Station - (can you see me?)

shoe shine at Grand Central Station

Simon at Times Square

The $25k Barbie Foosball table!

Simon creating that "moment" from the movie Big!

Now that's a lollipop!

 biggest gummy bear ever!

oooh my delicious frozen hot chocolate

Exhausted yet? I will pop up the rest in another post :)

Simone xx

all images my own