America - New York City, Boston and Milford

Since I have been living in the UK, my family in America have been asking me to visit them - so I finally took the opportunity in October/November 2009. On Thursday 29 October, I flew out to New York City on my own - Dane unfortunately couldn't make this trip with me.

I made my way through the NYC subway system, and met my lovely friend Golda at Columbus Circle, where she kindly helped me drag my bags to her dorm room in Julliard. The next morning we started off bright and early as I wanted to get some sightseeing in before catching a bus to Boston where I was meeting my family. We headed straight for Central Park, and took a lovely stroll through the Autumn trees, stopping for photos at the fountain that appears in the movie One Fine Day. From there we headed to Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Plaza, where we saw all the horse drawn carriages waiting to pick up the tourists with money :) Sadly that was all we had time for that day, and Golda helped me find my way to the bus stop where I caught the bus to Boston.

My family - Angus, Cindi, Sophie, Betsey and Tessa - all met me at the bus stop a few hours later. I hadn't seen them in quite a few years - Tessa was a new born when I last saw them, and now she was turning 5 in a few months time. We headed for dinner at their favourite Italian restaurant, and then made the drive back to Milford, where they live in suburban bliss.

I spent the next week getting to know the girls - going to school with them, going to their brownie/dancing classes and generally spending as much time as possible with them. They are such precious children, and I really appreciated this time. I also needed the quiet time with family. After the sudden death of my friend Mel a week before, this family time was good for my soul.

Angus took some time off to show me the sites - we went into Boston and went to a museum, and saw the Cheers Bar. He also took me to Harvard University and we took a wander through the campus. On the weekend we took a drive to Plimoth Plantation, which was really cool. This is a living museum where the people play a character all day, reconstructing the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony. We then went to see the Mayflower - a reconstruction of the boat that the settlers came over on. It was a really beautiful day.

Another highlight was spending Halloween with my cousins! Little Tessa dressed up as a pumpkin, Betsey as a vampire and Sophie as Sarah Palin. We carved pumpkins in the afternoon with the neighbourhood kids, and in the evening went walking around the neighbourhood trick or treating. The girls got so much candy!

Later in the week Angus drove me to the next state, to visit my friends Shu and Myra at Dartmouth. It was a great drive through the countryside, and a lovely afternoon of nachos, beer and catching up with old friends.

All too soon it was time to leave the family and head back to NY for my last few days there with Golda. It was all tears in the morning, as Betsey begged me to stay and not go to 'stupid New York'. But, I did - Angus took me to the bus stop and the girls went to school, and I was off back to NYC.

That afternoon I took Golda's guide book and made my way through NY on my own. It is so easy to find your way around that city - everything is clearly marked and there are street names everywhere :) I went to the top of the Empire State Building, visited the United Nations building and found the South African flag, saw the Chrysler Building, took a stroll through Grand Central Station and its amazing food hall, watched people ice skating at Bryant Park, and finally walked through Times Square in the evening when all the lights were on. It was an amazing day. NY is so easy to walk around and sight-see yourself. That evening, Golda and I went to a new hotel for drinks - this hotel has become quite popular with celebrities, and we got to visit the room that Mel Gibson stayed in the week before :)

The next day I got Golda up early and we headed out for an incredibly full day of sightseeing. We started with the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, and then we took it back and strolled around Battery Park. Then it was on to see the New York Stock Exchange and a quick trip to Tiffany's. They gave me an empty Tiffany's box, so at least for a day I felt like I had bought some expensive jewelry. After our girlish indulgence, we went to Trinity Church, and then the site of the former Twin Towers and the memorial for it. There is still such a heavy atmosphere around this area, and the memorial was very moving. It was kind of unreal actually being there. At the end of the day we went to get Magnolia cupcakes (WOW) and see the 'FRIENDS' apartment :) Even though they didn't actually shoot any of the show there, it was still the apartment that is shown from the outside and it was pretty cool.

Golda and I were so knackered after our day out that we decided to have a nap and then go for drinks. Needless to say, that was a big fail. We were so sleepy after our nap, we just decided to go to the cinema across the road and watched 'Men who stare at goats'.

The following day was my last day in NY, and Golda unfortunately was all booked up with school work, so I said my goodbyes and headed out sightseeing on my own. First stop was John Lennon's apartment (very cool) and then another stroll through Central Park. I could definitely see myself having a morning jog through the park everyday :) Afterwards I went to see Carnegie Hall, Radio City and the Rockefeller Centre, followed by lunch in Little Italy.

All too soon it was time for me to head to the airport, so I gathered my belongings and made the loooong train ride back to the airport, got my flight back to London and on Monday morning went straight to work from the airport.

I absolutely fell in love with America on this trip, and I will definitely be back to see more one day!!!