The Girls Hit NYC!

Libby
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Well we went to New York City in January 2005 for 5 days.  This was just after the big snow storm hit and all the airports in and around New York where closed down!  I was so upset because I thought that we were not going to be able to go there!  Anyway the day come for us to go and Laura and i went to Manchester Airport to get our flight on British Airways.

British Airways in my opinion are a fantastic airline to fly with, the seats even in economy are spacious and the service is first class so I can't imagine how the real first class is!

New York will ALWAYS have a special place in my Heart!

Kirsty at NYC Harbour
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We got to New York at about 1pm in the afternoon..... OK read this part carefully!!  When you don't have pre-arranged transport for the airport PLEASE make sure that you get a YELLOW cab!  We kinda got pushed into a private cab and the guy just took our cases and put them in the "trunk" before we could say anything!  Ok it worked out well in the end which I'll get too but for a yellow cab its $35 for any downtown hotel, in this cab it was $90!!  Angel (that was the guys name) was from New Jersey, he was a lovely guy and pointed out all the places of interest to us on the way to Manhattan, I was looking all around to see skyscrapers but all I could see where the suburbs of NY.  Then all of a sudden it hits you, you see towering buildings and they make you feel soooo small!  Laura and I sat there in awe and then we got really excited.  Angel dropped us off at the Bentley Hotel where we were staying, it was so nice, with chocolate and creme interiors and leather couches (very modern)  we tried to check in but they had it down that we hadnt paid.  The girl behind the desk tried calling "Best-at-Travel" the company who we had booked through to get confirmation details but it was closed.... she checked us in anyway and said she would contact them first thing in the morning.  After an hour of sitting around we went to our room.  We were on First/Yorke Avenue and from our room we could see the East River and First Avenue packed with yellow cabs.  We got sooo excited because we couldn't believe that we were finally in New york!

From the top of The Empire State Building
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We freshened up and went for a walk, we didnt know where we were going we just wanted to see some of NYC right then!  We were only a few blocks away from Central Park so we walked upto there, watched people ice skating and seen a little dog in the park dressed in pink with 4 little pink running shoes on ......

Next we went to F.A.O. Schwarz the HUGE toy store, that place is great ... huge stuffed elephants that I got my picture taken with and Laura had hers taken with a stuffed reindeer, we seen the piano that Tom Hanks plays with in BIG and walked around for ages looking at all the different toys and cars that I could sit in but they where toys!  After the toy store we decided to walk back towards the hotel and get something to eat on the way... we stopped at a place called Burger Heaven.. I had grilled Chicken and Mash which I swear would've fed my whole family.  It was gorgeous, I called my mum to let her know that we were ok and I told her the places we had been.  I told her that "I had my picture taken by an Elephant" to which she replied "An Elephant took your picture?"  hmmmm no mum lol

Kirsty & Laura in NYC
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to be honest I can't remember the exact things we done each day that we were in NYC but I will just tell you about some of the stuff we did so that if you are ever going you will know what to look out for...

You know you gotta go to:

• Empire State Building - The journey in the elevator makes your ears pop as it goes up so fast, we decided to to the audio tour by Tony - tony is such a nice guy, Laura and I want to meet him now!  LOL ..... you can see for miles up there and if you go in a couple I'm sure at night time it would be really romantic. 
• Statue of Liberty - We walked the LONG way round to Battery Park where you get the boat from, try not to make the same mistake cause you will be told its 10 mins walk but it took us about 40 mins!  You get the boat over to Liberty Island after going through the security checks and you need to put the things you don't really need with you in a locker where your fingerprint is the key top open it (or not in my case)  there really isnt much to do there except take a million pictures of Libby like we did! LOL  but its something that you HAVE to do in New York, you haven't seen America until you see Libby!
• Times Square - I don't know why but this was my favourite place in the whole of NY - you feel tiny in the middle of Times Square and there are so many shops that you can visit - from the little souvenier shops to Hersheys, MTV Store, Hard Rock, Planet Hollywood and you can get some great bargains.
• World Trade Centre Memorial - Alot of people might not want to go here but it was a place I had to go to pay my respects, the day we went it was so quite and a bit eerie, because 9.11 effected me so much and still does to this day, it was hard to stand there knowing thousands of people died there and remembering what I saw on T.V but in a way being there made me get some closure from it all.
• Walk Walk Walk - Just walk as much as you can and see as much of New york City as possible, forget the tour buses, do it yourself.  It's tiring but its fun!
• See a show on Broadway - I recommend Chicago but don't go the day you arrive like we did because we were exhausted!

Chrysler Building and Trump Tower
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Well I guess thats it for NYC from me, its an experience that i will never forget and I'm just itching to get back there, its one of the best places on earth in my opinion.