New York! New York!

I bring you the great New York City! Lots of firsts here, this is my first holiday in a year, my first trip out of the UK which isn't work related which also means my first trip where I can actually walk around the city instead of being cooped up in an office!

I absolutely love New York City. I don't know what it is, but the vibe you get from the city that never sleeps is amazing.

Now I am an avid fan of lists, I like my lists and they act as a safety blanket for me. So in respect of this, my posts will be list-driven. I'll try to keep my lists short (max of 5 points - I went to some course which says readers lose interest or can't retain more than 5 ideas, I wonder who came up with this rule...) but as I have a habit of digressing (which you may have already notice at this point) the list may well spiral out of control.

Things I love about NYC:

• Shops open till late
  
  This is great as it means you get to pop into the shops for a little pick-me-up after work.
  
  
• Great food
  It is so easy to find great food in NYC. There are plenty of restaurants, diners, cafes, bakeries and it is affordable!
  
  
• Air conditioned subway
  Unlike the Underground which has been likened to the moving oven in the summer months.
  
  
• Duane Reade
  The "pharmacy" which can be found at every street corner, stocked full with Reese's Pieces and celebrity magazines. =)
  
  
• Petite Sizes
  They have a huge range of sizes in the States which means the shops carry a good petite range (much better than the UK anyway)! Yay! This means there is no discrimination against women who are 5'3" and under!

NYC always offers interesting architecture!

Top Tips for NYC:
Now as I'm not much of a touristy type, I can't say very much of the sights to see around NYC. I went to that city with 2 things in mind....FOOD and SHOPPING. So these tips relate directly to those pursuits.

Empty looking street with TIme Square at the horizon...
there was a benefit run or something

Shopping:
Shopping is absolutely amazing in NYC. Sure there is sales tax, but as you will see below, they scratch that for visitors to the city, but the wealth of shops on offer is to die for. I guess it was a good thing for us as the exchange rate was working in our favour when we were there! £1 = $2! Now that is the type of maths I love!

• Discounts
  If you are an out-of-towner, bring your driving license/passport to the visitor centre of Macy's or Bloomingdales and you get 11% off all purchases in store (they will even tkae 11% off discounted items!)
  
  
• Jeans
  If you are a jeans aficionado, don't miss the jeans department in Bloomingdales. It is filled to the brim with every imaginable brand. It is a bit daunting at first, but the sales assistants are ready to help. All you have to do is look a bit lost, and someone will be there to the rescue. Tell them your size, type of cut you are looking for, and they will scour the department bringing back their hot picks. You don't even have to leave the changing room.
  
  
• Abercrombie & Fitch
  A&F is ridiculously overpriced in the UK. Fly across the pond, and the jeans are automatically half priced (with current exchange rates). Sales assistants aren't as friendly though and they all have that inevitable model pout...which is what you expect when you employ store models rather than sales assistants I guess.
  The flagship store in 5th Avenue does get *very* crowded and couple that with the pounding music and potent perfume which they generously spray (you can smell the store from a distance) things can get very uncomfortable. Head to the other store downtown in Pier 17. The women's jeans collection isn't as good, but am told the men's department is very well stocked there.
  
  
• 5th Avenue
  Great for all your designer needs and there is a huge Banana Republic shop there. J Crew also has a shop there but you'd have to make your way towards the Rockefeller Centre. It does get hideously crowded as the day progress though. The Apple Shop is at the bi
  
  
• SoHo
  Unlike Soho in London (where it is a gentrified red light district), SoHo (and it actually means something there: South of Houston Street) in NYC has tonnes of shops which fits more comfortably in my price range than those in 5th Avenue.

Food:

Yummy French Toast from Malibu Diner!

Eating out in NYC is quite an enjoyable experience as it is so easy to find good food and they don't have to break the bank. These are some of the places we went to which we'd highly recommend (and where I start to break the 5 points a list rule!):

• Malibu Diner ( 163 W 23rd St, Btwn 6th & 7th Ave)
  We were here for breakfast and it was delicious! It is unpretentious diner serving up pancakes, French Toast and the like. Lots of locals go here and it feels very New York (I know, I'm such a tourist). Portions are big (as they usually are in the States) so I'd recommend sharing your meal.
  
  
• Nobu Next Door (105 Hudson Street, next door to you guess it, Nobu)
  The acclaimed Nobu chain - it costs an arm and leg in the UK - but is more affordable in the States. This has the same menu as Nobu - but you don't need to make reservations. Restaurant opens at 5:45pm and you should aim to start queuing at the door a little before 5:45pm. Diners come early and we were the first in line. =) Food we amazing, some were a little too subtle for me, but I guess that is fine dining for you.
  
  
• Brooklyn Diner (212 West 57th St - near Carnegie Hall...and Hooters)
  I was here for breakfast in my previous trip to NYC and they serve the best pancakes with fresh strawberries I have ever had. Again portions are huge - so if you aren't a big eater, be prepared to share. We were here for lunch this May and again, pretty good food. More expensive than Malibu Diner though and it does cater more for the tourist.
  
  Please do not be tempted to go to this "singing" diner near Times Square. We were there early on a Saturday morning and having not-so-good Broadway hopefuls singing their lungs out at 9am on Saturday while you try to hold down pancakes and eggs is not an experience I want to inflict on others.
  
  
• Serendipity (225 East 60th Street)
  A quirky cafe that serves up mouth watering desserts. Check out the $1000 Golden Opulance Sundae. We went for the more affordable banana split and Frrrozen Pineapple Lime. Great atmosphere and waiting staff. Could do with better music though. Was told that a queue forms in the evening - but we had no problems getting a table when we were there. Great for celeb spotting.
  
  
• Asiate (Mandarin Oriental, Columbus Circle)
  This sits on the 34th Floor of the Mandarin Oriental, overlooking Central Park. Another fine dining place, and one which I think is worth booking a table for as it gives you breathtaking view across the park. Try to get a seat by the window. We walked in without any reservations on a Sunday and they had no trouble sitting us (though we were a bit removed from the window) - eventhough we had our trainers on. =P We had the brunch which was yummy. As with all fine dining places, portions are more manageable. It looked like it was going to be pretentious, but they are very accomodating.
  
  
• Azusa (3 E 44th St)
  This is a great little Japanese place tucked in a corner off 5th Avenue. It is quite authentic (during the both times I was there, the place was filled with Japanese - so I assume it is authentic) and the food is quite cheap (about $10 per person) and portions are generous though by no means huge.

Things we'd like to have tried but never got the chance to:

Empire State Building, doesn't look that impressive in real life!

• Go on top of the Empire State Building
  We came a bit unprepared and did not book tickets in advance. The queue snakes around the block, so it would seem like poor time management if we were to spend half the day queuing up when we can go explore the city!
  

• Soul Food
  mmmm...I love my fried chicken with mash and gravy! And instead of eating KFC, I thought it would be great to try some authentic soul food. Having looked through the guide books and references from friends, good soul food places are found around the Harlem area, which was a bit too far given we only have 5 days in NYC.
  
  
• Korea Town restaurants
  There were loads of restaurants round this area and also a fried chicken joint (hmm, another KFC - Korean Fried Chicken) - but again didn't get a chance to savour this.
  
  
• Gossip Girl Walkathon
  It is sad, I know, a grown woman watching Gossip Girl...but I watch it for the fashion..honest! I would have loved walking around the Uppe East Side going "Gossip Girl!" while visiting all the haunts featured in the movie, but another one of those things that we didn't have time for while we were in the pursuit of food and clothes (yes, we are running out of those things in the UK, so we have to stock up whilst in the States).

And there you have it, my guide to NYC. Not sure who will find this helpful, but at least it helps me remember what I got up to when I was there! But i think this city is excellent to explore on foot, we walked 20+ blocks and it is amazing to feel how the vibe changes as you go through different parts of the city. The post may be several months late....so perhaps it is time to visit it again to refresh my memory!

The Naked Cowboy! The icon of Times Square!
We only saw him on the way to the airport, so this is a shot through the window of the taxi!