If You Don't Have Cards, Improvise!

Central Park on a Saturday is a great place to be. You can people watch until your heart's content and there's always something going on to entertain you. We saw people painting which was pretty cool (and I was highly jealous that I have no artistic ability so couldn't join them) but we were more content with drinking the very VERY strong sangria that Holly had made for us! We ate the fruit afterwards and I nearly passed out from it! Apparently it had been soaked in brandy for over a day ha! We had Peanut with us and he was loving life when he met his match in a tiny Toy Poodle. She was adorable and we couldn't believe she was actually smaller than Peanut but was three years old! We then went to check out the roller disco that was taking place in the park (lots of rather interesting characters there I can tell you). We were just about to leave when someone came up to me and went 'Jo??' and it was two guys I went to Secondary School with!! I couldn't believe it! One of them now lives in New York and the other was just visiting on his way back from 10 month's in Whistler - what are the chances! Just goes to show what a small world we live in. That evening we went over to the meat packing district to a bar called Brass Monkey's which was great. As soon as we walked in they were playing Fall Out Boy so I knew I was going to like it. Holly then suggested we play a drinking game so I thought we should play Ride the Bus! But the only problem was, we had no cards! So I suggested we make a deck out of napkins!! So that we did! We managed to lure in the rest of the people on our table into playing and managed one round before the 'cards' got soaked and we realised that they were going to be mighty tricky to shuffle.....anywho, we then played none card drinking games and they ran a lot smoother! The following day avec mild hangover, we went to see Ashley's friend Brenna for brunch then went back to her apartment which looked over Ground Zero. The view was amazing and we also taught Peanut how to swim on her roof garden. It was so funny and it's safe to say that he wasn't a fan of the water!

Can Anyone Say Green Card Wedding??

Today was the day for walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. After cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge, a gentle stroll to Brooklyn was easy peasy. The view was awesome as we could see the Statue of Liberty and some of those little islands that go off New York (you know the ones....erm....the little ones....). Got some great shots of the surroundings from the bridge then we went for a little wonder around Brooklyn. It was more of an unintentional wonder as I was mainly looking for a ferry as I was desperate to get on one but all to no avail. We popped into a restaurant for a slice of pizza (as is mandatory in NYC) and I managed to lure a cute guy into a drivelling mess with my British accent! That was pretty fun! We went down by the river/sea (I'm not too sure which one it is - as you can see from this post my geography is pretty crap) and saw the BEST example of a 'Green Card' wedding I've ever seen! Look at the wedding pic above. Don't they just scream genuine romance! Anywho, that night was Leah's last night in NYC (booo!) so we went out to this place called the Boat Basin which was really cool. We met up with Dani who is my friend from London who recently moved to New York and it was so great to see her and find out what her new life is like (to sum up, it's pretty fantastic!). We drank the night away and I was happy as there were frozen cocktails on the menu AND Kopperburg pear cider. So it's safe to say that night I was living the dream!

CBGB No Longer Exists FYI!

I decided that I wanted to do a bit of shopping so headed over to Canal St to mooch around Soho. The area is really cool and everything is so much cheaper over there than anywhere else. I went into one shop and had a Russian sales girl try to force me to buy some Levi's and she was trying to get me to purchase some skinny jeans but I had to tell her that we were not all blessed with the legs of a supermodel like what she was!! After I'd distracted her and legged it, I stumbled across the TopShop of America. Word on the street was that it was far pricier than the UK ones and not as good and I'm confident in saying that the street was right. They had loads of 'British things' everywhere (flag, saville row sign, British bulldog etc) and it was layed out like they were at home but definitely wasn't the same. We (Leah, her Mum and I) tried to find CBGB's at Leah's Mum's husband is a huge Ramone's fan but it had turned into a shop now and they weren't allowed to sell any CBGB memorabilia even though it had all the reminisce of the place inside....all very strange. Anyways, I got some great shots from inside including an immense chandelier and an ACDC amp which was cute! In the evening we went to an off-Broadway show called 'Fourplay' and it was soooo funny! It was these four guys who were incredible jugglers and were also a comedy act. Sounds odd but it really worked! So good and I'd defo recommend it. Afterwards we went for dinner and I tried deep fried ice cream! It was bizarrely amazing!

Tourist Day

So first things first. When I saw my friend Keith the other day he said that my hair resembled a jaffa cake so I'd decided that it was about time that vanity kicked in so went to get my hair done! I went to Oscar Blandi which is a really posh hair salon (it's featured on the reality show 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey') and I had a great girl called Vanessa give me some highlights and low lights. As she was an apprentice it only cost me $40 which was awesome! So now my hair looks ace and less jaffa like! The following day I did all the touristy stuff so went to go see the Statue of Liberty. Now, I was desperate to get on the ferry but the queue was reallllly long and it would take me 2 1/2 hours to get on a ferry to get over there so I thought sod it and just took a pic from the distance!! Ashley had given me these great walking cards of New York City so I did the one that took me through Wall Street and showed me all the facts. So the pic above of the cobbled street is Stone Street and was the first cobbled street in NYC! I then saw the New York Stock Exchange which was really cool - loved the big American flag on the front. The Trinity Church was absolutely beautiful and there was a sermon going on so only took a pic through the door! Was too scared to go in! I then ventured over to Ground Zero and I felt surprisingly emotional looking at the memorials. They are now building a big memorial on the site which I'm sure will be incredible when it's finished. I then went through the World Financial Centre and got a better view of the sight. The Winter Garden was inside which was beautiful and had great views of the water. Definitely an eye opening day.

Start Spreading the News - I Love NYC!

I think it's safe to say that I love New York City. As soon as I got off the bus I was like 'I'm gonna love it here!'. The night I arrived my friend Ashley (who has kindly let me stay in her apartment with her adorable dog Peanut) took me on a little tour of Times Square and we ended our night at a comedy show. The following day we met up with Ashley's friend Holly and we headed over to Coney Island. The weather was glorious but so ridiculously hot. We went to the museum to see the history of the area before and after the fire there. That was followed by laying on the beach and splashing in the sea (it was freezing in there but great for cooling us down). The heavens then opened so we headed back to Manhattan and went over to Holly's apartment for a night of wine and movies. I was chuffed as I'd found a bottle of Oyster Bay that was actually cheaper than in the UK! So we polished that off nicely/quickly! The following day I went for a stroll up Lexington and just so happened to stumble across Bloomingdale's! What a stroke of luck! Central Park was just across the way so I went for a wonder and it's just beautiful there. Took some lovely shots of the park and then met up with our Aussie friend Leah for some happy hour fun! We ate some pretzel m&m's then joined Ashley at doggy playgroup! It was soooo cool and very American! There were some beautiful dogs there including a Labrador/boxer cross called Ella who was gorgeous. I love the pic I took of Ashley with curly Clancy and Peanut!!

Oh Say Can You See!

Today, Paige and I were true tourists in Washington DC. Firstly, I picked the WRONG outfit to wear as I decided to wear jeans in 1000 degree heat! But once I'd gotten over that fact *clears throat* we headed to the White House which was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be. I was far more impressed with the Treasury Building next door! There was a scary looking fellow with binoculars on the roof of the White House but I'm presuming he was legit!! I hope so anyways. We then walked in the sweltering heat to the Smithsonian Museum and saw the many many many years of American History......ok, that was a slight exaggeration on my part but it was still pretty cool. I took a pic of the 'star-spangled banner' (which I wasn't supposed to as there was a 'no photography' sign...such the rebel that I am!) and finally saw the lyrics to the American National Anthem! I've been singing something completely different all these years! We then headed to the Washington Monument which was pretty good but I chickened out on recreating the Forrest Gump moment, however tempting it was! We then crawled over to the Lincoln Memorial (I say crawled as it was noooo cooler at 5pm!), posed for some pics then headed straight back to the pool! Now I must say, I love the pool at the complex we're staying. And I've never needed to get in a cold pool so much in my life. Definitely cooled us down. Perfect end to a perfect (all be it boiling) day.