So as a part of my summer travels on the USA's east coast I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in the town no one ever stops talking about, New York City.
Growing up on Friends and Ugly Betty, it's a place I've always longed to visit. I was driven up to Westchester county (about twenty minutes from Manhattan by train) from Rhode Island so I missed the big glitz you must get by arriving in on public transport, but it was sort of nice to be staying just outside of the city. As a tourist, I got to see the part of America that a lot of people wouldn't. I got to go to house parties with College kids, go for reckless drives down highway 64 to the Bronx at 2am blasting Carly Rae Jensen, sit in Ihops that I swear had been plucked straight out of an episode of Teen Mom and really soak up 'Small Town America' life.
But one thing I wasn't prepared for was the view as you fly in, the Manhattan skyline really is incredible. As you zoom into the airport, it's not the US signs, (and the aircraft driving on the wrong side of the track - lol) that you marvel at, it's the cloud of fog which you can just about see through (isn't pollution marvellous!?) and the sheer volume of skyscrapers, offices and well just about everything that you can see! It really made my jaw drop and gave me quite a warm feeling as I realised after all the saving, and waiting, I was finally here.
So that feeling of being on the edge of the universe that Manhattan gives you, here are in my opinion, the top 5 places to experience that. Whether you're a tourist, a regular visitor, or a New Yorker, do it now, and wow yourself once again.
1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR. They will not tell you this, but that fee? It's a donation which you choose the amount of, when I was seriously in debt, boy did I regret the $12 I spent there, no but only joking! Seriously it's the most amazing museum, in Londoner terms? It's like combining the V&A and the Natural History Museum but it goes on for five floors. The content, the history (and the fact that Gossip Girl was filmed on the steps) makes it one of New Yorks must sees. But the best bit for me does have to be the roof garden. They always have exhibitions up there (which you usually have to book in advance for - so always look on the website first!) It has one of the best (free) views of the Manhattan skyline around, you can see everything! Plus it overlooks Central Park giving it that extra awe of being in the centre of the upper east side. One question I do have though, is where those Gossip Girls got their morning Fro Yo from because I just know it wasn't from the dodgy looking cart outside the museum, and it's the only food place around! Hmm plot flaw?
2. The Hyline
The hyline really amazed me, located in the lower west side's Meatpacking district, which to New Yorkers in nicknamed the British section of the city (of course I felt at home!) is a world above the city. Down one of New York's less visually pleasing alleys you walk up a fire escape of roughly six flights and enter a home of the creatives which goes on for a mile and a half. It's like they took London's South Bank and put it in the air. Live poetry readings, organic street vendors, used book stalls, people sun bathing, reading, drinking. Walking down the hyline on a sunny day is inspiring, it reminds why New York is such a beautiful city, not only for the view but for the people that gather with you to enjoy it.
