NEW YORK NEW YORK!

New York New York - so good they named it twice! And I certainly agree with that statement! I have been lucky enough to have visited New York many times; in fact my most recent trip was my ninth time in the city, although I had not been since 1999 so I was keen to see if the city had changed since 9/11. The answer is no, it is still an amazing city! I decided that, as this was my husband’s first trip to New York and we also took our 3 year old son, the best way to ensure we saw as much of the city as possible was to do one of the open top bus tours, of which there are many on offer. This was the best decision I made as on this trip to New York I saw far more of the city than I have in the past. The open top bus allows you to hop on and hop off at almost 50 stops around the city. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt near Central Station which was a great choice as it is away from the hustle and bustle of Times Square yet only a few blocks away so is very convenient. My favourite thing to do in New York has always been to just to find a seat and watch the world go by in Central Park - a wonderful area that you just don't expect to see in such a busy vibrant city. We took a horse drawn carriage ride right into Central Park which is always great fun. Our 3 year old son loved his visit to the FAO Schwarz Toy Shop near Central Park! The last few times I have been to New York I have always been up to the top of the Twin Towers so it was very emotional to visit the Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial for the first time. It is a really beautiful tribute of remembrance. We then walked through Battery Park and took one of the many ferries that take you out into the harbour and around the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately since last year’s hurricane, the Statue of Liberty remains closed whilst they repair the damage but seeing it from the water always gives me goose bumps. It’s such an iconic sight and the city skyline with all its skyscrapers is also one of the highlights of a visit to the Big Apple. We made good use of the 48 hour open top bus tickets and saw famous sights such as the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Centre, United Nations Building, Times Square and Broadway, the Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. We also managed to go over the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn and as this was at night-time the views back over the Brooklyn Bridge over to Manhattan were just fantastic. We also had time to visit the area north of Central Park which is Harlem – there are some beautiful churches there and a real vibrant community spirit. It was my ninth visit to New York and I loved it just as much as the first time - here's to my next visit!