New York in 24 hours – can it be done? Absolutely not. Did I try? Yes, yes I did.
I had just been on the most amazing once in a lifetime trip. I’d flown from Manchester to Miami, spent time in Florida, and then got on a cruise that took me from America to Cozumel in Mexico, to George Town in the Cayman Islands, and then back again. The trip was phenomenal and I felt so lucky to be able to do it all, but in true Stoker Style… there was more to explore.
And, fortunately, it was cheaper to stop in New York for 24 hours than to fly direct from Miami to Manchester. And as New York has always been top on my bucket list of places to travel to, I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass.
THE ARRIVAL:
The plane landed in Laguardia approximately at 9pm. Although I was shattered, I was ready to finally see New York – and not just on a canvas in my bedroom. But first, we had to get to our hotel, and with it being 8th of January, we had to battle the arctic conditions to get there.
Even though I am known for being dramatic at times, believe me when I say I have never been so cold in my entire life. It was -14 degrees, and as I’d just flown from the 28-degree Miami sun, I was not ready for such change. Wrapped in as many layers as possible, I waited for my taxi next to the big piles of snow pushed to the side to clear the way for cars.
The Uber arrived, and I politely ordered him to crank the heating up before my fingers fell off. And then this was when I got my first look at New York City… and what a look it was.
In the night, the skyline looked so beautiful. The lights from the skyscrapers lit the city to make it look like stars. Our Uber driver was so polite too and found out we had never been here before, so he was giving us a little commentary on what we could see and where we were.
He took us through Times Square and showed us the Christmas and New Year lights, as well as the shops and broadway signs, all before dropping us off at the hotel called The Paramount.
We quickly checked in (this is where I noticed the different between the people/customer service from New York and Florida) and head to our rooms. But before we got our heads down to rest, I couldn’t resist but to go and see Times Square at night. It was about midnight but I only had a matter of hours left here!
THE MORNING:
After a short sleep, it was time to fit as much as we physically could into about 9 hours. As it is impossible to see and do everything, we came up with a plan. We decided to stay and explore fifth avenue, Times Square, and maybe Central Parl as they don’t require queuing. But first, we needed breakfast.
I wanted to explore as many ‘American things’ as possible on this trip. For example, we ate at The Cheesecake Factory in Miami. So I needed something as fitting in New York. That’s how we decided on Applebee’s – ‘the best breakfast in America’ according to Google.
After a short walk, we arrived. I ordered pancakes with fruit and cream. In true USA fashion, I got a side of pancakes with my pancakes – LOVE IT!
With very full belly’s, we began walking. We strolled past Radio City Music Hall, Central Park, and pretty much went in every shop – including Disney and Lego.
But, there was one shop I really wanted to go in… Tiffany’s.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Audrey Hepburn has been one of my favourite movies since I was about 13, so I would’ve never forgiven myself for not going in. And not only that, I bought myself a very small necklace for Christmas too! In that store is amazing – it’s five floors of luxury! Theres a couple of floors for jewellery, one for homeware, and even one for fragrances. I could have spend the whole 24 hours there.
THE AFTERNOON:
With time quickly passing by, we then made our way to Macy’s and around the Rockafella centre. We also had a Starbucks, saw the NBC store, Trump Tower and bought souvenirs for my family.
And then before we knew it, it was time to eat again. This time, we picked Planet Hollywood. There’s only one in London in the UK, and as it was close to our hotel, it meant we could quickly go back get our bags and head to the airport for our flight home.
Planet Hollywood was really cool – it’s full of really nice memorabilia. I even bought a jumper from there with some left over spends. And then once we had some tasty lunch, we lastly had some pictures in the daytime at Times Square and said our goodbyes to this amazing city.
THE EVENING:
The day was over before I knew it, but I wouldn’t have changed it for the world. The cab picked us up around 6pm, and we headed to JFK for a long six hour flight home. Thank goodness it was at night, as soon as I got to my seat I fell asleep because of the hectic day I’d just had!
There were a lot of things I didn’t get to see and do – but there is only one solution for that… going back!
★★ I can’t wait to one day experience New York City for more than just 24 very small hours ★★
24 hours in new york america Audrey hepburn blog blogger blogging breakfast at Tiffanys cheesecake factory featured florida JFK lifestyle blog macy's manchester miami new york New York city planet hollywood rockafella rockafella center tiffanys times square travel travel blogger united states United States of America usa
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