We were going to start our day with the High Line but it was still closed this morning due to the snow. So instead we spent our morning at B&H the largest independent Photography store in the US. How I came out of there without buying anything is a minor miracle. After eyeing up all the nerd porn on display at B&H we headed to Greenwich village to visit the Stonewall National Monument, the site of the 1969 Stonewall riots which sparked the US LGBT rights movement. There’s not much to see but it didn’t feel right not visiting the spot as we were in the neighbourhood. We popped into a local dinner for a quick lunch be for heading to the High Line as it had partially re opened. On a small detour I dragged Michael to the Friends apartment building. Only the south half of the High Line was open so we had time to spare to wander round Chelsea Market. Before heading back uptown we stopped off at the Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park. Thankfully today was a clear day so we headed to the Rockefeller Centre and up to its Observation Deck ‘Top of the Rock’ to watch the sun set. We finished the day off with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical School of Rock.

17.84km Total Distance Walked. 96.46km combined holiday distance walked.

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It snowed over night and we woke up to almost blizzard like conditions outside. We’d been saving the MET for a rainy day and today was that day. Because of the sheer size of the museum theres no way to take in the entire museum in just one day so we concentrated on their Arms and Amor, Egyptian, Modern and contemporary art and European Paintings sections. Unfortunately we didn’t get around as much as we’d like to as the museum closed early due to the snow. By the time we got out side the snow had stopped and the sun was breaking through the clouds so we took a little detour through Central Park on the way back to the hotel. We stayed in the hotel this evening as the -9 degrees C temperature outside wasn’t very inviting.

7.92km Total Distance Walked. 78.62km combined holiday distance walked.

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We started our day walking around the two World Trade Centre memorial pools taking our time to reflect upon how the actions of a few changed the world forever. We then spent a good few hours wandering around the 9/11 memorial museum viewing pieces of the twin towers, their excavated foundations, photographic exhibitions, and hearing from the survivors and their families. The Museum is actually under the two memorial pools with the exposed foundations of the twin towers framing the exhibits.

With the last of the days sunlight we walked over the Manhattan Bridge. Its not as much as a tourist trap as the Brooklyn Bridge but offers the same views with the added bonus of the Brooklyn Bridge being added to the picture. We made it over to DUMBO for sunset so had a walk along the river taking in the sunset before heading back uptown.

To finish the nigh off we watched Dear Evan Hansen. This is the musical I’ve been looking forward to the most as it was something I wanted to come and watch even before we had plans to come to New York. It was amazing, Ben Platt blew me away and deserves a Tony for his performance.

We rounded things off with a meal at Juniors finishing with a massive wedge of cake that I wouldn’t of been able to finish even if I hadn’t had a main course. Lucky they offer boxes to take your unfinished cake out with you for you to finish later. I think its going to last me a couple of day at least.

16.32km Total Distance Walked. 70.7km combined holiday distance walked.

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Today was the day of the guided tours. We were planning on starting our day at the top of the rock but as there was zero visibility at the top we were advised to re book our tickets for later in the week. So instead we started our day with a short stop at St Patrick’s Cathedral before heading to the Lego store to build our own lego people. Our first Tour of the Day was the NBC Studios Tour which took us round their facilities at the Rockefeller Centre. Unfortunately no photography was allowed. The 75 minute tour took us round their two biggest studios and all there production facilities, the tour ends with your group creating there very own mini show, Obviously Michael and I took up roles in the control room. Our second tour of the day was the Rockefeller Centre tour which was a guided tour around the centres 19 buildings with an in depth insight into its creation, history and art. Our Third tour was the Radio City Music Hall Stage Door tour which took us round the theatre exploring its amazing Art Deco design with many of its original features still intact, architecture, history and backstage areas. Our hosts and tour guides on all three tours were amazing, truly engaging, informative and had answers to every question but most importantly knew how to make us all laugh. After a day of being bombarded with facts ‘In Transit’ the A cappella musical was the perfect way to unwind and escape. We had a post show Meal at ‘Don’t Tell Mama’ followed by cocktails and show tunes sung by their multi talented bar staff in their piano bar to finish off the day in style.

12.16km Total distance walked. 54.38km combined holiday distance walked.

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Today we spent the majority of the day on Liberty Island and Ellis Island exploring the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island Museum of Immigration. We caught the second to last ferry back to New York and then walked round the peninsula to the Brooklyn Bridge. We managed to time crossing the bridge with the sunsetting which was just magical. We spent a little time wandering round DUMBO in the dark before heading back uptown on the subway for some food.

18.50km Total daily distance walked. 42.22km combined holiday distance walked.

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For our first full day in New York City we decided to hit Central Park. Starting with Central Park Zoo which for such a small zoo manages to pack in a surprising amount of different animals and a 4D Ice Age experience #bigkid. After grabbing a hot chocolate at the zoo cafe we started exploring the rest of Central Park. We got a third of the way up Central Park and decided to head into the American Museum of Natural History. By the time we left the museum it was dark so we decided to head back to the hotel to watch the super bowl and Lady Gagas half time show at the bar. I have a feeling we’re going to need a couple more trips during the week to fully explore the entire park.

13.70km Total daily distance walked. 23.72km combined holiday distance walked.

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A trip to New York has been on my “things to do before I’m 30” list for some time and as I turn 30 this year, time was quickly running out. Timing the trip to coincide with mine and Michaels six year anniversary was all the excuse we needed to make the trip, plus Michael was able to arrange to be working in Washington the week either side of the holiday so he’d only need to make an internal flight from Washington DC to New York leaving me to fly by myself. This is my first ever time out side of Europe and my first long haul flight. You can imagine I was a little anxious to be making the journey myself.

14 hours after leaving home I finally arrived to check in to our hotel after an uneventful journey and meeting Michael at the airport.

Coming out of the metro station and walking to the hotel I was struck by the shear height of the never ending buildings and all of a sudden felt very small.

After checking in and getting settled in our room we went for a stroll to Time Square and back stopping off at TGI Fridays on the way back for dinner.

10.02km Total daily distance walked.

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