This was one of the best trips I've ever been on.
It's not surprising really, since I've been dreaming of visiting New York since I was about 9 years old. I had a list of things I wanted to see and do as long as my arm, and Mr Maggie May very nobly agreed to join me in cramming in as much as we could in 4 days. As a result, this is quite a big post with lots of pictures to peruse, so grab a cup of tea and put your feet up while you have a read!
We flew out at the end of September, hoping to catch NYC in the early autumn with the changing leaves but not freezing cold weather. It was a holiday to celebrate our first wedding anniversary {can you believe it's been a year already? Because we certainly can't!} and it was jam-packed, fun, busy, romantic and exciting all at the same time. Kind of like a good marriage then, eh?
Having flown into JFK on the Saturday night {note - we waited 3 hours at security to have our fingerprints/passports etc. checked. Apparently this is very normal behaviour for JFK, but nobody had warned us about this! So if you're planning a trip, I'd suggest looking into Newark or La Guardia airports instead, as they are supposedly a lot quicker}, we went straight to bed, looking forward to the days ahead.
The Sunday was beautifully sunny and warm, and I was practically bouncing down the sidewalk like Tigger, dragging Mr MM along as I pointed at random buildings shouting, "LOOK!" Mr MM would then say, "What? What is it?" to which I would ruefully respond, "I don't know, but it looks so New York-y, doesn't it?"
That was until we reached Grand Central.
Just a few minutes walk from our hotel, we were suddenly stood in front of the world-famous landmark. I positively sprinted towards it, eager to be stood inside the Main Concourse and gazing up at the ceiling.
It was strange when over the next few days, it became the norm for us to walk to the terminal and hop on to the subway, without pausing to ooh and aah at the ornate architecture. Is this how New Yorkers feel? Do they find it strange that so many tourists come flocking to their commuting hub - the NYC equivalent of London Euston? A lot of those tourists are probably, like me, huge fans of Gossip Girl and therefore seeking out locations from key moments in the show...
"Spotted at Grand Central, bags in hand..." Admittedly trying to find a gap on the stairs to take a snap is quite a battle, but I couldn't resist pretending to be Serena van der Woodsen for three seconds.
We had one last visit to make within the terminal before setting off - I'd heard rave reviews about Doughnut Plant, and keen to have our first taste of authentic New York doughnuts, we found them down in the restaurant concourse.
I chose Brooklyn Blackout, while Mr MM went for Apple Cinnamon Crumble. We stowed them away carefully in our bags, planning to eat them when we reached our next destination.
There were other fun spots too - another Gossip Girl reference...
{I got a bit emotional at that one}
And then suddenly, we were walking past the place I had been counting down the days until visiting.
But we didn't have time to go in! Don't worry, of course we didn't go all the way to New York without going to The Metropolitan Museum of Art - we went the next day, and there will be a blog post all about it soon!
I did sneak in another quick GG shot, even though I knew we'd be returning the next day.
And that's the last time I'll reference it, I promise! {Well, today that is...}
On we walked, until finally we were at Central Park.
With huge grins on our faces, we walked around hand in hand, getting lost several times but not really minding at all.
{If you've read The Keeper of Lost Things, this is the Alice in Wonderland sculpture that she talks about}
We had a sit down and gobbled up our doughnuts before exploring even more - and they were really delicious.
And then it was time for our late lunch at The Loeb Boathouse, a gem nestled away in the middle of the park.
We ordered cocktails {we had to try the Boathouse Manhattan, what with being in a boathouse in Manhattan} and went straight for mains - we'd had starters in the form of doughnuts after all...
Mr MM chose the Eggs Benedict with spinach.
And I went for the warm quiche lorraine, made with applewood smoked bacon, gruyere cheese and leeks.
Both were delicious!
It was such a gorgeous day, and looking back and writing about it now brings back such lovely memories. Often when we build something up in our minds, it can be a bit of a disappointment when you eventually get to see or do whatever it might be. This day, however, reached all of my expectations.
I've got so many more things to share from our New York adventure - the Guggenheim, The Met, the Empire State Building, Brooklyn and more. Coming soon, I promise.
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