Last few days in NYC

Well, our time in NYC is coming to an end.  I'm currently in the Lobby of the Hotel just doing some final updating before the ride comes, wishing that I hadn't had fish for dinner last night.  

I'm feeling a couple of pounds heavier around the waist and a couple lighter in the wallet, but NYC is absolutely fantastic, nonetheless.

Anywho... the below is pretty much just a quick update to let everyone know what we've been up to.

High Line Park

Thursday 
Thursday started with purchasing some lunch from Westside Market (Highly recommended - delicious li'l deli-style supermarket on the Upper West Side - recommended over Whole Foods any day of the week, then a wander through Chelsea Market (finally a good coffee!), a foodie's heaven.

Then we went up to the High Line Park - an old raised rail line that has been converted into a city park.  This was beautiful, they've put a lot of work into this and it's paid off, a great way to spend a morning chilling out.

Then off to the Museum of Natural History.  Once again, this is a massive museum, you probably want to give yourself a whole afternoon for this place.  The highlights for me were the African Mammals hall, with a huge stuffed elephant display, and of course the Fourth Level - dinosaurs.  These amazing skeletons give you an idea of how huge these creatures would have been.  Highly recommended.

Dinner from Westside Market - delicious American cheesecake for dessert!

From where you'd rather be!

Friday
Friday started with some Coney Island goodness!  It's a bit of a train ride out to the Park (about an hour from our Hotel) - end of the line.  But once you're there it's old-school carnival-ey goodness!  

Make sure you have a hot dog from Nathan's - these are the BEST hot dogs we've tried since we've arrived in the US.  Amazing.  However, make sure you get a small drink, even the mediums were huge!

Then we watched the rides (didn't really feel like taking any on ourselves) and walked along the boardwalk and the beach.  It's been amazing weather here, and it was a great day just to walk in the fresh air.

After the ride back into town, and we caught up on a few things we hadn't seen - the Ironside Building and the front of Grand Central.

Then dinner at an old-school diner, complete with striped leather booth seating and back to the Hotel.

Saturday
Yesterday was pretty much just a shopping day.  We started off with breakfast at an IHOP.  The pancakes are good albeit a bit sweet for my liking, everything else just avoid.  The eggs are rubbery, the meat is tasteless, coffee is weak - best to just go to a local diner or breakfast spot instead.

Then shopping - more to experience the New York retail world than anything else.  We went to Macy's (the world's largest store, apparently...), nine floors of shopping goodness, fantastic.  Although the problem with living on the road is anything you buy you either have to use or carry, so we can't really buy much.

Quiet dinner on Broadway, then back to the Hotel.


So that's it, New York is done!  We've had an absolutely fantastic time in the City.  Some tips for future travellers:

• The Subway is your friend.  The services run frequently and quickly throughout the city and they're not as scary as you might think.  Purchase a multi-day pass (say, 7 days) and you'll save yourself money and time.  Still do a little research beforehand.
• Don't try to fit too much into one day.  The city is huge and many of the attractions do take longer to get to and to take in then you'd expect.  Give yourself plenty of time
• With this said, don't do too much planning.  Set yourself one thing to do per day, then once that's finished make a decision about what you want to do from there.  Do attractions by location however.
• Talk to locals - bar staff, wait staff about what they'd do on a free day.  Locals might have suggestions you might not think of.
• Comfortable shoes are your friend - you will be walking a lot.

Finally, give yourself at least a week to see the city.  We've had an absolutely amazing time.  This city has something for everyone - we didn't really attempt to see the night life, as we got so much done during the day, we were often very tired at night.

Next step on the Epic voyage - Frankfurt for four hours, then Paris.

Europe here we come!