First Day In The City Part One!

I was beyond excited to be arriving in New York! It felt like we had been planning this trip for ages, when in reality it had only been a few months! A few hours before we had stepped off the plane, a little worse for wear, with the journey being so long, British Airways is no luxury way to travel, (must note to spend extra and go with Virgin), we were finally in the city of big dreams! But its no dream when you get off the plane and have to then wait in line for your passports to be checked again,  and with your fingerprints to be taken! All I wanted was get our cases and to get in a big yellow taxi!!!!

Ok, so the taxi wasn't that big, but still I'm in a yellow New York taxi! I'll take it!
The ride was crazy, swerving in and out of lanes that didn't exist, and overtaking when there was no room to get back across, but thats the craziness of New York driving! The survival of the fastest!
 About an hour later we ended up at our hotel the InterContinental New York Barclay, and I was not disappointed! The concierge were waiting on the steps to take our luggage in, with their right hand extended for their tip. And so it starts, the tipping! There is no choice in this, its expected!
Anyway, onto the hotel itself! I wanted a Home Alone New York hotel, you know the one where he uses his dads credit card and eats all the ice cream. Well this hotel was so like it, down to the 1920's decorative touches and the extremely large reception area. I loved it! The decor was rich in exterior and ceiling lights brightening the seating area, this was one of New Yorks finest and I was staying here!

Yeah I know a little random to take a picture of a door, but hey I'm in New York so why the hell not!!!!

Now lets venture inside........

In keeping with the downstairs of the hotel, the theme ran throughout its bedrooms with extremely large beds and fancy bedroom furniture. If you prefer modern then this hotel is not for you, as it  has more traditional styles.

Waking up in the city!!!!

5am and I'm awake and ready to take on this city.

Stepping out into the fresh air to go get some breakfast, the sight was breath-taking! I couldn't believe my eyes. Yeah I have seen New York in the films, (I have been Las Vegas and been up the Eiffel Tower), but  this was simply amazing! The scale which all the skyscrapers are built on is beyond anything I have ever seen before and out of this world! It's like they tower above the clouds. Walking along the streets you can't help but have your mouth wide open and your camera clicking away at literally anything! 

   We decided for the first day to have a general look around and just to get our bearings with the grid of New York. But before we knew it we had ended up outside Grand Central Station!! Both of us had this on our lists of things to go and see and here it was not far from our hotel. It was so amazing. For me being a massive Gossip Girl fan I couldn't wait to get inside. It was magical seeing the stairs for the scenes where Serena Van Der Woodsen entered my life. The stairs grand and the ceilings high, the tourist in me took over.

After taking a million pictures and literally squealing like a big girl at everything we finally left to get some breakfast. As it was sunday not much was open at eight in the morning so we headed into (insert embarrassed face here) to Mc Donalds! I know, i know all that way and we go McD's, but we were hungry and it was quick and convenient! And apart from the rubber egg was soooo good!

 Walking the city streets and taking in all the sights we then ended up at another tourist spot that was on my list of things to do! The FlatIron building! The reason I was so excited for this building was simply because of the design of it, as it's so unusual. It's called the FlatIron building as it has the same shape of a clothes iron.

 A little bit of history for you.... The building was completed in 1902 and located on 175th Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It's one of only two skyscrapers north of 14th street, which is pretty crazy considering how many skyscrapers are in New York. The neighbourhood surrounding the building is known as the FlatIron District and the building itself was designated a New York City landmark in 1966. You simply can't go New York without visiting this district as it's simply beautiful and so peaceful compared to the craziness of Times Square.

Wandering around this area for about an hour or so we decided to see what else we could find just simply by walking round and not concentrating on the map. The streets seemed to get much busier as the day went on and before we knew it we saw the bright lights and extremely large billboards flashing the latest advertisements in Times Square! This was crazy! So many people crammed into one space all taking selfies with the massive buildings in the background, with police around on every corner making sure everything is in check! 

 We had brought with us our New York Passes, which we paid for before we came out here and we saved so much using these as you get in to virtually all attractions for free, you just pay for the card but the savings are massive compared to what you would pay on the day! We had seen Madame Tussauds was on our card lists so headed on over.........

That's all for now!!! Keep checking back for the 2nd part soon!

Vicki xoxo