New York

I've had a difficult few weeks and my blogging mojo has been on an extended holiday.  Meanwhile, I've been on holiday too in the form of a four-day visit to New York earlier this month.  I fell in love with New York the first time I visited in 2008 and this was my third trip back. We had a bit less time there than we'd had on the previous two occasions so I wanted to try and cram in all the things I hadn't seen before.  

The first night there we headed straight for the Top of the Rock so I could take in my favourite view.  Looking at the Empire State Building all lit up never loses it's magic for me.  People naturally want to go up the Empire State Building when they visit New York and we did that too the first time. Your view is somewhat obscured, it's very crowded and there seemed to be lots of pigeons when we went up which I found scary, quite frankly. Top of the Rock gives an uninterrupted view all the way round, it's never been that crowded any time we've visited and of course, you can see the beautiful Empire State Building. 

We visited MoMA for the first time.  Neither of us are art fanatics but it was interesting to see. The photography section was amazing and I was also delighted to see my first ever Frida Kahlo painting in the flesh (so to speak).  Munch's The Scream was being exhibited so we naturally went along to stare at it and pretend to be very arty. In reality, I thought it looked like a five-year old's crayon drawing but that's just my opinion.  The highlight of MoMA for me was the epic Mexican hot chocolate I had in the cafe. Oh yes, I'm cultured alright. 

Fulang-Chang and I by Frida Kahlo

I've always been interested in Native American history and culture so I was really excited to visit The National Museum of the American Indian in Battery Park. I was absolutely fascinated to see so many original artifacts on display including clothing, jewellery, art and traditional headdresses. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jimi Hendrix' coat of many colours on display too, to celebrate his Cherokee ancestry. 

On our second last day, we walked through The High Line park. The High Line is a public park built on an old freight line. It's elevated above street level so it lets you view part of the city from a different perspective. The park runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District and finishes on West 34th Street.  We made an all too brief stop at Chelsea Market along the way too. It's a haven for foodies but unfortunately we had no time to eat there. 

There was time to visit the Lower East Side and make a stop at McSorley's Old Ale House. They only serve light ale and dark ale so best avoid if you're looking for a Cosmopolitan. Just along the road is Toy Tokyo which has an amazing floor-to-ceiling selection of designer and vintage toys. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately for my bank balance) they had no Blythe dolls in stock at the time of my visit. They do stock them from time-to-time though. We spent a good 45 minutes browsing round the amazing selection and the staff were really helpful and friendly.  Top travel tip - visit Toy Tokyo before any ale houses. Alcohol makes you lose your inhibitions and your financial common sense. 

McSorley's

Next door to Toy Tokyo

Nice graffiti but I wouldn't use the ATM

Search & Destroy - Lower East Side

On our last day, the sun shone and we walked around Greenwich Village before popping into A Salt & Battery for chips.  Their seasonal special was deep fried Cadbury's Creme Egg but I resisted. 

The Lowdown - 

Sleeping - We stayed at The Strand on West 37th Street. Central location, friendly staff, very clean and an amazing rooftop bar open 7 nights from 5pm-1am. What more could you ask for?

Eating - Spoiled for choice really but my favourites were The Shake Shack (best burger I've ever tasted and peanut butter milkshake to die for) and Lombardi's (amazing pizza and inexpensive).  

Drinking - McSorley's (as mentioned above), The Beauty Bar (a former beauty salon turned retro-beauty parlour bar with original hair dryers on the wall and hairdressing themed martinis. Awesome!) and Top of The Strand (amazing Empire State Building view, nice cocktails and great music).  

Until next time, New York...