In New York

I think most people are surprised when I tell them my parents came with me, and yes I guess that is unusual. But my parents have supported me and been there every step of the way and I know I'm extremely lucky to have such amazing parents who fully support me in the way that they do. I also needed there luggage allowance. I also have never traveled overseas by myself before. So this was a full on adventure for me with a lot of new experiences. So I definitely needed the extra support.

I only had a short time in New York, just nine days. And because I have never been there before I spent a lot of time sight seeing. Now you may ask why such a short time? Well I was lucky in the fact that it was in my uni's holidays and I had to get back to complete my major work. 

Our flights went fine, and surprisingly customs didn't give me any problems with the pasta dress(phew!). I was extremely worried that we would loose luggage, especially the over-sized box as it wasn't going through the conventional luggage system. And watching the luggage handlers throwing the bags on, well I was having mini heart attacks in my seat. But when we finally arrived in New York and pulled everything out it was all in one piece. We arrived really late in the evening so it was straight to bed basically. 

It was super exciting to have the empire state building as my view from my bedroom window. Out hotel "Holiday Inn" located on 6th Ave was perfect for our nine day trip and central to everything we could want including the fashion show. That day we went exploring, now at that time of year it is meant to be autumn, but of course there was a heat wave. It was so hot that my first purchase in New York was in a Kmart buying sandals and shorts because all I had bought with me was boots. If you know me personally then you will already know I love my boots and only wear sandals in the form of heels. So when I say it is too hot for boots that is saying something because I wear boots even in the Hawkes Bay summer.

It is so busy in New York, they don't lie when they say its the city that never sleeps! And getting use to walking on the opposite site of the side walk was a challenge. I can promise you I probably pissed off a few locales by being on the wrong side. During the first day we went to the meatpacking district. Which is not what you think, well not anymore. It houses a really cool market very similar to Melbourne's Victoria Markets  but smaller and has more then just food, but crafts, clothes etc. If you want to find unique gifts this is the place to go. 

Here is a tip especially if you have a traveling companion: There are a lot of different brands for the Hop on Hop off Buses (we don't have these in NZ but there common overseas) there is also a lot of people on commission trying to sell tickets for them. There are a range of tickets from the different districts you can see to night tours and you can combine your ferry for Ellis Island as well. They are really handy to get around so you're not having to walk everywhere. Now it pays to haggle, and trust me these guys are everywhere! So the advice is when one approaches you, listen, let him tell you "the deal he is going to do just for you today only". (they all say that) Then have your travel companion say that the guy on the other corner was a better deal. And trust me suddenly you now can have a night tour for free and and extra day to use the bus. Because they are on commission it pays to haggle! And this doesn't just apply to the Hop on Hop off bus but also some stores as well. You'll know which ones it obvious.

​I will continue this on another post In New York 2