When visiting Thailand in December, rather than spend all our time in Bangkok, we decided to head out to nearby Rayong for a few days. Why Rayong? Well I’d heard Pattaya was overcrowded and the water wasn’t particularly clean. The other option was Hua Hin but upon doing some research, I found that Rayong was much cleaner and we could visit another island from there too.

Rayong is a 3 hour drive from Bangkok and is on the coast. It’s a very quiet town, so if you’re looking for a party, Rayong is not the place to go. However, I was travelling with my family so it was ideal as it would suit multi-generations. One of the best resorts to stay at in Rayong is the Marriott. However, we chose not to stay there as it is quite far from the city centre. Perfect if all you want to do is stay at the resort and soak up some sun but we like venturing out so found somewhere closer to the city.

We stayed at Kantaray Bay in a 2 bedroom serviced apartment. Although the apartment was slightly dated, it was clean and had everything we needed. I prefer staying in an apartment when travelling with S because it means when he goes to bed early, there’s a separate living area to sit in and of course having a kitchen is always helpful when travelling with children. Breakfast was included and the spread was quite large – Asian, Continental, American and European. The hotel/serviced apartments also had a gym and two pools.

We decided to break our journey down to Rayong by stopping at The Cartoon Network waterpark and spending the day with friends who happened to be in Thailand at the same time. If you’ve read my blog for a while, you’ll know just how much I LOVE a waterpark – Dubai, Tenerife, Center Parcs, you literally have to drag me out of there. The best thing about The Cartoon Network waterpark was how empty it was. We didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes for any ride. It’s super child friendly! They have a massive play area as soon as you enter for younger children with a pool (and waves) behind it. The waterpark is quite small and very easy to get around but they still manage to fit quite a bit in. I finally conquered my fear and went down the vertical shoot – you stand in it and the floor just comes away from under you. I got into it and out again twice before I finally did it and I can report back to say it looks far worse than it is. When you’re all tired out, they have some great pizza and the most amazing crepe which they serve with condensed milk (my weakness!!) Good thing you had to climb lots of stairs for every slide so I felt like I got my workout in to make up for the yumminess that is condensed milk! 😉

We left the waterpark around 4:30 and were at our apartment in Rayong by 6ish. 3-4 days in Rayong is probably enough. Although our resort is on the coast, it doesn’t really have much of a beach. So if you fancy lying on a beach, the closest one is Laem Mae Phim. We decided instead to kill two birds with one stone and head to the beach on Koh Sahmet Island. A 40 minute drive to the pier, a 30 minute boat ride, a 20 minute walk and we were on the beach in Koh Sahmet.  Like most beaches in Thailand, it caters to tourists so expect over-priced food, drinks and pretty much anything else you need to buy. It’s also quite a short beach with tourist boats pulling in every 100 metres. The water however is gorgeous and the sand is soft. Expect to see lots of Chinese tourists jetting in and out on speed boats as well as endless (!!!!) “selfie queens”. We were really lucky with the weather, it was a glorious 29 degrees the day we headed out to the island.

Exhausted from a day spent at the waterpark followed by a day heading to the island, we decided to take a day out and head to one of the malls, followed by foot massages. We also explored some local markets – I love taking in the culture, sights, sounds and smells of different cities we visit but word of warning, the smell of dried fish is very, very strong! The fruit however, amazing! My favourite being preserved guava.

On our final day we headed to Khao Chamao-Khao Wong National Park – approximately 90 minutes from Rayong city centre. The idea was to see the waterfalls and the caves. However, with a grandparent and grandchild in tow, the climb was all a bit much. It was probably one of my favourite days though. I loved hiking and climbing through the trees and we got to see quite a lot on the way up, even if we didn’t get to the top.

I don’t think I’d go back to Rayong again, once is enough to see it all, but if you’re looking for a short trip away from the main city and you don’t fancy dealing with hordes of tourists, then Rayong is the place for you!

A few months ago, there was uproar on the internet because H&M featured a little black boy (am I allowed to call him that?!) in a sweater that said “Cheeky little monkey”. I didn’t get what the big deal was. I later learnt that people felt offended because in the past, people of colour (specifically black people) have often been referred to as “monkeys”. I am not insensitive to racism. When I moved to school in Ireland in 1997, I had my fair share of racist slurs thrown at me. But I see racism as another person’s lack of culture and ignorance, not as a reflection of me. The fact that the model was a minor and his mum signed off on it should be enough shouldn’t it?! Following the Twitter storm, there was a video of a group of kids who ran through an H&M store trashing it. This is the other bit I don’t understand. We want the world to see us in the best light even when we’re happy to be doing something that’s dark. There are ways to protest and ways to stand up for what you believe is wrong. Trashing a store because they put what many just saw as a little boy in a sweater that said “monkey”, something most of us call our kids, is not the way to go about it.

This is just one example, there are so many I notice on the internet on a daily basis. Someone just has to sneeze the wrong way and everyone’s criticising it. Just look at the amount of criticism the Duchess of Cambridge got earlier this week. I’m all for empowering women and supporting #thisgirlcan. I am a woman after all and women have been marginalised for far too long. However, I have a son and I recently saw an ad that left me quite surprised. Mainly because I don’t see anyone going on about it. It’s for Direct Line. The DL man tells a couple that a taxi is going to take them home after an accident. He then says to the wife…”Aren’t you forgetting your donkey?” The wife looks at her husband who’s shuffling over carrying ALL the luggage and holiday paraphernalia and the DL man goes “No, this one…” and hands her some sort of straw donkey she’s bought on holiday. So it’s okay to insinuate that a man is a donkey and no one has anything to say about it? Is it because men don’t take themselves so seriously? Or women think carrying of the bags is a man’s job? Or if it’s not about them then why bother protesting?

There are definitely things we need to be protesting about – sexual harassment, lack of gun laws in America, lack of flexible working options for mother’s who want a work/child balance, rape, war, LGBTQ rights, the list is endless. But I think we need to pick our battles because we could be doing so much more with our time than feeling bad about something that had no malicious intent.

https://youtu.be/hEx6bDvmavc

This HILARIOUS video pretty much sums up how I feel about everyone being so PC – ridiculous!

What do you think? As a generation, have we become too sensitive? And is social media making us feel better or worse?

My Instagram feed yesterday was filled with pictures of exhausted mums, wondering how Kate Middleton was able to stand on the steps on the Lindo Wing, 7 hours after giving birth and look as amazing as she did. I went on to read some papers who thought she was making normal mums feel like shit by looking so amazing (the same papers who would have crucified her if she came out in tracksuit bottoms and a mum bun). Firstly, what is normal? And secondly, no one else can really make you feel shit but yourself.

What people seem to forget is that a) she has a make up artist and hair dresser who helped her look like that b) she has a team at home to support her c) she didn’t do a 1hr meet and greet, it was 1 minute on the steps d) she is a PRINCESS and in all likelihood, her husband will be the King in the next decade or two.

I think she looked amazing, I think lots of women look as good leaving the hospital, they’re not just in the media’s eye with millions of people waiting to catch a glimpse of their baby. I believe if any one of those mums posting pictures had what Kate has, they’d be doing the exact same thing.

The Royal Princess is a role and she cannot be expected to come out, in front of the world’s media looking like a “normal” mum…and I’m surprised anyone thinks she should. Rather than judging her for “dissing” the sisterhood (not my words!), we should be respecting and supporting her as the “sisterhood” should!

Congratulations Kate, you DID look amazing and you play your role perfectly. Enjoy all the baby snuggles!

My baby snuggles a little over 6 years ago!

Bangkok, although known for its red light district, lady boys and cosmetic surgery, also makes for a great family vacay. We spent a few weeks in Thailand over Christmas and we still didn’t get to see all of Bangkok. With the gorgeous weather in December (not too hot), we chose to do a lot more outdoorsy things but if you’re visiting with kids in April, May or June, when it’s scorching, I’ve included a few indoor things to do as well.

Here’s my top 8 things to do in Bangkok (in no particular order):

1 Take a boat ride along the Chao Phraya River – Children love to take everything in and often while we’re so busy trying to “do” so much on holiday, it’s good to just “be”. There’s five different express boat options (no flag, blue flag, yellow flag, green flag, orange flag). Jump on one depending on where you’d like to go and take in all the sights along the river.

2 Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn) – There are sooo many Wats (Buddhist temples) to choose from and we saw a few but the most famous one along the river is Wat Arun (you can’t miss it, it’s beautiful). It’s worth visiting and taking in the Buddhist culture. The steps up the central prang are quite steep but worth the effort.

3 Asiatique – Famous for its Ferris Wheel, Asiatique is an outdoor Riverside project, combining eating, dining, sightseeing and activities for the whole family. It’s only open from 4pm until midnight. For some great local grub, the perfect gifts for your friends back home and a ride on the Ferris Wheel to take in the Bangkok skyline, Asiatique is well worth the visit.

4 Bounce – Some days you need the kids to burn off energy while you just SIT! Bounce is the ideal place – as the name suggests, Bounce is a trampoline park located in the The Street Shopping Mall at Ratchada BTS station. 5,600 sq. m of bouncing space means your kids will have the time of their life! Book in advance as it fills up quite quickly, especially over the holiday period.

5 Children’s Discovery Museum – We didn’t actually make it there on our last trip but it is definitely somewhere we intend to visit the next time we’re in Bangkok. Located in Chatuchak Park, it’s an interactive learning centre, encouraging children to ask questions about how the world works. Sounds just like the type of place S would love.

6 Siam Paragon – Hands down the best mall in Bangkok. And really, no trip is complete without visiting at least one mall while in Asia. What I love about the malls in Asia are just how much emphasis goes into decorating them. We were there at Christmas and the honestly, Oxford Street has nothing on some of the décor in Asia. The second thing I love about the malls there is the fact that my favourite American stores have a presence – Bath and Body Works – enough said! They also have a fantastic food court, definitely check it out if you’re visiting.

7 Last but not least, check out a show (there are so many to choose from, your hotel should be able to guide you). These are not family friendly (if you have young kids) but I’ve been to one on a previous trip to Bangkok and it’s just one of those things that you have to do – after all, Bangkok is practically known for Ladyboy shows.

8 Get a massage – another thing Thailand is known for are the massages. At only £10-£15 for a one hour oil massage, it’s very affordable and very very good! Don’t be surprised if you end up craving a massage every day!!

The traffic in this capital city is horrendous at peak times. A 15 minute drive could take an hour if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. Where possible, take the BTS. Yes, it gets crowded but it’s super quick, very efficient and even at rush hour, I managed to get on the first train that pulled into the platform, with S in tow. The river boats are also another great way to get from one point to another (along the river of course).

There are some amazing bars (Sky Bar, Maggie Choo’s) and restaurants (Gaggan, Din Tai Fung) worth checking out. I’ll leave them for another post.

Oh and before I sign off, one thing I have to say about Thailand in general which may sound bizzare to many but is very important to me is “toilets”! Having travelled through India and China, I sort of expected similar toilets in Thailand but boy was I wrong. Everywhere we went, the toilets were so clean, I was genuinely surprised. In some places they may have been wet (near the beach in Koh Samet for example) but always clean. That’s a total win for Thailand in my books!

We’re planning to go back to Bangkok later this year – are there any places you’d recommend that we missed?

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

Did you know that Hampstead was recently voted as the No. 1 place people would want to live in London, if money was no object. And I can see why….its gorgeous! With its hidden pebblestone streets, quaint pubs and of course the gorgeous Heath, what’s not to love about Hampstead? I also love living just a stones throw from Hampstead.

I’ve heard a lot about The Wells Tavern  (Gastropub) and when I called up yesterday, very luckily managed to get a table for 4 at 1pm today (Sunday). Thanks to whoever cancelled 🙂

We got to the pub and were promptly seated upstairs in their main dining room. They have a varied menu without too many options (including a selection of roasts on Sundays) and a wide variety of wines as well. Once we’d placed our orders, we were offered a choice of breads to nibble on.

I decided to go with the roast lamb, my dad had the (only) vegetarian main which was a roasted pepper stuffed with mushroom risotto, topped with goats cheese. My mum opted for the grilled sea bass and S had “a” sausage (the waiter was very specific) with chips and a side of broccoli.

The three (adult) mains were really good. The lamb was well cooked, very meaty without being fatty, the right amount of gravy (you could pay for extra) with a few root vegetables and 2 roast potatoes. The sea bass was a boneless fillet of deliciousness sitting on a bed of vegetables with roast potatoes. Hours later my mum reiterated  “I thoroughly enjoyed that fish today!”

The quality of the ingredients really came through in each meal. I have to be honest, I was disappointed by S’s meal. I think it would have been nice if they had a children’s menu or at least had a proper serving of food. One sausage with a massive portion of chips is not what I call a healthy meal for a child. It’s a good thing S loves broccoli and for me that was a saving grace. I thought perhaps they don’t get many kids in there but I did spot a couple of cups of crayons by the till so I guess they do. 

And then we got offered dessert…they had quite a selection of some amazing sounding desserts! Tbh at that point I was so full, I couldn’t even finish my meal (and we hadn’t even got starters). But we decided to get one dessert and 3 spoons (S had his own scoop of ice cream). My dad chose the apple and rhubarb crumble which came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Now I absolutely love crumble and not everywhere gets the consistency of the crumble right but at The Wells, it was mouthwateringly good!! There was a good ratio of crumble to filling, the rhubarb gave it a kick, lessening the sweetness of the cooked apple and the ice cream was literally the cherry on the top.

As you can tell I highly recommend The Wells Tavern 🙂 And to top off our afternoon, we carried on walking up Wells Walk towards Hampstead Heath to digest all that amazing food. 

Where do I even begin with New York? Growing up I always wanted to live there, my imagination had my dreaming of the big apple…so when I visited in 2007 and hated it, I was shocked! Fast forward 10 years and it’s a completely different story. Back in 2007 circumstances meant I didn’t truly enjoy the city as I should. Fast forward 10 years and 5 days in New York fulfilled my every expectation. Here is a concise (sort of) “5 days in New York” guide.
Having arrived on a Tuesday night, I made sure I napped on the flight so when I got to my hotel (1am London time), I was able to stay awake for another few hours and finally fall asleep at 11pm (4am London time). This definitely helped with the jetlag. We popped out to Ginza Sushi (800 Lexington Av.) for dinner. I highly recommend the “yummy roll”. As the name suggests, it was really yummy.
Where to stay
We stayed at the Hilton Midtown (53rd and 6th) and it was a great location. A 5 minute walk to central park, a 10 minute walk to The Plaza, a 5 minute walk to Times Square and a 15 minute walk to Bloomingdales. There is a Starbucks across the street, a Joe and the Juice and lots of carts selling ice cream, chicken rice and hot dogs. It’s also diagonally across the street from the LOVE sign.

Day 1 – Wednesday

We were up and out early on Wednesday. 9am breakfast at Sara Beth’s (opposite Central Park) followed by a stroll through Central Park. I can’t say I loved SB’s…it was good but not amazing. New York portions are so huge, I physically couldn’t eat it all. Although we didn’t get there in the end, I’ve heard Norma’s is amazing and so I wish we’d done that on the Wednesday instead.

Central Park was gorgeous. My friend S and I got to walk through it twice in the 5 days. Next time I intend on hiring a bike and cycling through it. 

We met our friend A back at the Fountain opposite the Plaza to start our “Sex in the City” tour. This is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’d read good reviews and although a few friends mentioned it wasn’t so great, we decided to go for it anyway. With these sorts of things, it’s always about the guide…and our guide was amazing. As a comedian she was naturally funny and although you spend a lot of time on the coach watching clips of the show, she managed to keep us thoroughly entertained the whole way through. We visited a sex shop, Carrie’s stoop, Buddakan and Steve’s bar (for a yummy cosmo). The tour ended around 3pm at Bryant Park. 

I remember spotting a dumpling place right beside Ginza the night before so we decided to head there for a quick bite before going back to the hotel. That wasn’t the best choice unfortunately. When you’ve lived in Asia and you know what dumplings are capable of tasting like (Hello Din Tai Fung), dumplings wrapped in cases far too thick are quite off putting.

After lunch we walked back to our hotel to freshen up and change for our river cruise. One of the things I loved about New York is just how much walking we got done. The city is basically a grid making it relatively easy to navigate. A quick change and we were in a cab down to the piers where we’d booked a 90 minute cruise to see The Statue of Liberty. It was in fact a 90 minute tour of New York from the river – our guide gave us the low down on every Borough of New York as well as Jersey (across the river). It was a beautiful evening and we got to see the sun set behind The Statue of Liberty. 

Once back at the pier we jumped in a cab up to the Flatiron district for dinner at ABC Cocina and ABC Kitchen are Jean-Georges restaurants, both housed in the ABC Home store. It’s a glam restaurant (great lighting) serving Latin American fusion. We started with the pea guacamole and then went on to have the tune tartare, patatas bravas, shrimp with sizzling garlic and chilli oil (which wasn’t really sizzling), fish tacos (great flavours), chicken tacos and beef tenderloin “burnt ends” with chimichuri (this was my favourite – succulent, soft and slightly chargrilled). 

We ended the night by heading to “230 Fifth”, one of New York’s many rooftop bars. Right in front of the Empire State building means you get a bird’s eye view of the building all lit up – beautiful!

 Day 2 – Thursday

In our mission to pack as much as we could into each day, S and I were up and out of the hotel by 9:30am. We grabbed some coffee and then took a cab down to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a gorgeous day to walk along the bridge and it didn’t take as long as we thought it would so we walked back as well. When you get off the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side, if you see some vendors selling mini taxis, buses, etc. buy them for the child in your life. I wanted to buy some for my S (they were $4) but decided I’d get them in the city instead ($10-$15 each!).

We were doing really well for time so we ended up strolling up to The Freedom Tower and visited the memorial where the twin towers once stood. The National September 11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance to all those who lost their lives back in 2001. The reflecting pools are huge and the name of every person who died is inscribed into bronze panels on the edge of the pools. On their birthdays each year a white rose is placed by their name which I thought is a beautiful ongoing tribute. There’s a really strong energy in the area – as you watch the water go down into the ground, you’re lead to thinking about the enormity of what happened that day and how two pools (the same diameter of the twin towers) now represent what was once two huge buildings.

 As we were in the area, we thought we’d stroll across to see the bull on Wall Street but we got distracted by discounted designer sunglasses at Century 21 (as you do!) and spent 20 minutes in the store instead. We then jumped in a cab to the meatpacking district to walk along the Highline. The Highline goes to show what an urban city can do to reuse “wasted” space and add some green to the city. It’s an old railway line, sitting above the streets of New York, which has been transformed into a bridge of sorts. It was recommended to us by a few people and we were expecting lots of food stalls, street performers and art installations (a bit like the Southbank in London). At one point of it there were a few food (mainly ice cream) carts and art installations along the way but it wasn’t quite what we expected. 

We were hoping to end at the Chelsea food market to check it out (we were starving by that stage!) but when we got to the end we realised we started near the Chelsea food market and so unless we wanted to walk back, we’d missed the opportunity. Instead we stopped at a local store with a deli and bought a bagel with cream cheese and jalepeno’s which we shared – delicious!!

We then made our way up to Lord and Taylor (21 W, 39th St) to meet A for lunch at Szehuan Gourmet. While the food was tasty (my favourite was the Chinese spinach in garlic), it had far too much oil for my liking. After lunch we had a quick look at Lord and Taylor (it’s like our Harvey Nichols) and then went across to Charming Charlie. I could do a whole other blog post on that store. It really was quite charming with the cutest accessories. So definitely check it out if you’re visiting New York.

 We headed back to the hotel to start getting ready for our evening out. The great thing about a city like New York is that it’s literally a melting pot of people from all over the world. All three of us had friends in New York and so we rallied the troops and had them all meet us at Vandal (199 Bowery) for pre-dinner drinks. 

Dinner was around the corner at Beauty and Essex. My favourite part of the restaurant was the Prosecco bar in the toilets. Manned by a sweet girl who was happy to chat to us, take our pictures and even listen to our ranting! 

The food for the most part was pretty good – I didn’t think much of the beef carpaccio but the pasta bolognaise was pretty good. The chicken meatballs were far too airy for my liking but I managed to have a fusion salmon cup thing without even realising it was salmon (which I don’t eat). It was flavoured well, completely masking the taste of the salmon (I don’t know if that’s a good thing for people who actually like salmon).

 Day 3 – Friday

Friday was going to be our shopping day. In my opinion, you can’t visit New York and not hit up Macys and Bath and Body Works. A mentioned that the Westfield Garden State mall in Jersey was tax free for clothes so we decided to spend the afternoon there. It has most of the major stores – Nordstrom, Macys, Bath & Body Works, Express, Zara, The New York Company, etc. but I’d say a slightly limited selection. Most of the stuff I bought was from Bath & Body Works (I love their stuff!) but I also got some tops and dresses at Macys, Express & Zara. Given that I live in London and the shopping here is fantastic, I didn’t feel the need to shop a lot plus I thought it was a lot more expensive (more so with the current exchange rate). We got back to Manhattan at about 4:30ish, beating the weekend traffic. S and I decided to go and do our hair so dumped our stuff at the hotel and ventured out towards Times Square looking for a place. Within 2 minutes to entering the bustling Times Square area, we had a flyer for a hairdresser pushed in our faces – sorted! 45 minutes later we walked out looking totally glam and hoping it wouldn’t rain (it had turned pretty cloudy!). On the walk back to our hotel we stopped at Ray’s pizza. We couldn’t possibly leave New York without trying some good ol’ fashioned New York pizza. 

We got a slice of the pepperoni pizza and shared it. Back at the hotel we all got dolled up for a night at Tao. I went to Tao the last time I was in New York but this was Tao Downtown, the new one. It was pretty spectacular. We got there in time for our 9pm reservation but at 9:30pm we were still sitting at the bar waiting for our table. Apparently this is normal for New York although I think you should never have to wait more than 15 minutes for a table, no matter where you go. We got lucky with our table though…we were sat right in front of the absolutely massive status of the Thai goddess Guan Yin. With the magic of lighting they were able to create different looks for her AND get her to actually “look around” the room. The food was amazing and at that stage, my favourite meal in New York.

We arranged for a desert to be brought out for A’s birthday which was a sort of warm chocolate filled chocolate dome. Words cannot begin to describe just how mouth-watering this was. Unfortunately though, due to language differences I guess, this was taken away from our table too early (that may have been a good thing though). A waiter asked us how we were doing and when we said we’re good, it’s amazing, he took it away thinking we were saying “we’re good, we’re done.” Ummm….

We were hoping to go to PhD (the rooftop bar beside Tao Downtown but alas the bouncers wanted to charge us $200 for the privilege). Instead we then ended up bar hopping…first to the Gansevoort Park Avenue rooftop bar and then to the rooftop bar at the Kimberley – we didn’t think much of the vibe at either and ended up calling it a night.
Day 4 – Saturday
This was the only day we didn’t have too much planned in the morning. But only being in New York for 5 days, we didn’t want to waste any time. We were up and out in the morning and headed to Macy’s 6th Avenue to have a look around. While in Macy’s it started pouring and we had brunch reservations all the way downtown at Miss Lily’s (132 W Houston Street), a Jamaican café style joint (no pun intended). S had the Breakfast Roti, A had Jerk Chicken Roti, I had a naked (bun-less) Jamaican patty melt and we got a side of fried plantain. We also made the most of their brunch offer – an unlimited choice of the “Hotstepper” (Bloody Mary), “Lily’s Punch” (Fruit Punch) or “One Love Bellini” for one hour with every entrée ordered – for an extra $15 a head. We were expecting more of a party vibe at this place but I think with anyone in New York (or anywhere for that matter), the more the merrier. 

I was so full after that meal so S and I decided we would walk back up towards mid- town. 40 minutes later (and our lunches barely digested), we got to 6th Avenue and decided to meet some friends at The Refinery Roof Top bar (63 W, 28th Street). It was a gorgeous place (and apparently they have one in London which looks as amazing). The best thing about it was the fact that it was covered and yet that took nothing away. It still felt every bit a rooftop bar. 

We spent an hour there before heading back to our hotel to finally chill for a bit. Although we had dinner reservations at Catch, I couldn’t face the idea of another big meal. We had a couple of drinks at Tanner Smiths, a cool little bar around the corner from the hotel and then had a late bite at a casual Mexican restaurant called Toloache (251 W 50th Street). The raw yellowtail in a sort of ponzu sauce was amazing – we got it twice!
Day 5 – Sunday
Our final day, it came around so quickly! I left the hotel early to see a couple of friends who happened to be in New York from Taipei (what’s the chances of that happening?!). I hadn’t seen them in 4 years so it was a short and sweet catch up. 

I then met S and we headed to Bloomingdales. I’d seen something I liked earlier in the week and wanted to go back and get it. Alas it wasn’t meant to be, they’d sold out. We then walked back to the hotel and met A to head to the Rockafellar Centre. Thankfully it was a nice day as we intended on going to top of the rock. You can also go to the top of the Empire State building but from the Rock you can see the Empire State building. It’s $37 to visit the top. Again, while the view was fantastic, I felt like you could get as good a view of the Empire State Building from a high roof top bar. Nevertheless, I’m glad I ticked it off my list of things to do in New York. I guess you can’t compare a complete 360 degree view of the city to just seeing one side of it. 

​
Once we were done with the Rock we headed to The Plaza Food Hall. For me, this was by far my best meal in New York (it was probably the cheapest and definitely eaten the fastest) – it was absolutely delicious – The Lobster Roll from Luke’s Lobster. The bun was perfectly toasted with the right amount of butter. The lobster was perfectly seasoned and cooked, very meaty and I loved every single bite. It’s the one place I am recommending to anyone who asks me about New York. You could compare it to the Lobster Roll at Burger and Lobster in London.

 A was leaving for the airport early so once we saw her off, S and I went for a stroll through Central Park. We ended our day with coffee with a friend opposite the hotel who was shocked at just how much we fit in. 5 amazing days in New York – where there is a will, there’s a way – we hit up the best bars and restaurants, did all the main sites and walked our legs off!! Tired and weary, we got a cab to Newark at 7pm for our flights later that night. I came home exhausted but very happy.

​​​
​