Trip Report Part 4

Day 10 - January 1st - New Year鈥檚 day

Lazy morning again due to the late night. Eventually got up and got a cab to Grimaldi鈥檚 in Brooklyn. We鈥檇 enjoyed our visit there so much we decided we had to try it again and it didn鈥檛 disappoint! We had great pizza followed by spumoni and cannoli - gorgeous! We decided we would walk back over the Brooklyn Bridge - the only problem was the weather. It was really damp with very fine rain which ruined our view as we walked over the bridge - we鈥檒l just have to do it again another time.

Took some photos of the bridge, City Hall, Municipal Building, US Court House and the supreme court. We walked for what seemed like hours just taking in all the sights, we saw Chinatown, Little Italy and SoHo. I eventually gave in to my aching feet and we hailed a cab at Astor Place. We went straight back to our room and ordered room service. We both had a burger and fries and it was easily the best burger we鈥檝e ever had!

Day 11th - January 2nd

No breakfast today - got up and headed straight down to the heliport at W30th Street. We did the 10 minute Big Apple helicopter flight and saw The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, SOL and Brooklyn Bridge. We were both hungry by this point so decided we would find somewhere to eat. We came across a place called the Victory Diner on 9th Avenue (30/31st St). We had chicken noodle soup, I had a chicken salad sandwich and my husband had meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy. It was quiet in there (didn鈥檛 look like a typically touristy place) and the service was really quick. It was fantastic value and the food was delicious. Well worth a visit. We continued walking past Penn Station and Madison Square Garden and went into Macy鈥檚 where we spent the rest of the day. My husband bought Calvin Klein and DKNY tops which were a fraction of what they would cost back home. I bought handbags, handbags and more handbags - I LOVE this shop! We stopped for cake and a drink in their caf茅 before carrying on shopping. Got chocolates as souvenirs for friends and bought loads of great Christmas cards that had been massively reduced in the sale. We eventually finished shopping and sat outside in Herald Square before heading back to our room via Subway which we ate in our room

Day 12 - January 3rd

We had an early start today - picked up outside out hotel at 7am. We were driven to JFK for our Jet Blue flight to Buffalo. We were then driven to Niagara Falls which was lovely. We saw the Canadian side of the falls first, took loads of photos and were then taken for a buffet lunch in The Sheraton Hotel. We then saw the American side of the falls and then it was already time to be taken back to the airport where we had an hour delay. We enjoyed Niagara Falls but now we鈥檝e seen it and it鈥檚 not somewhere I鈥檇 rush back to see again. The trip was booked with Empire Vacations and whilst we enjoyed the trip it was all a bit rushed. We eventually got back to our hotel around 8pm and we were so tired we just ordered room service (had the delicious burger and fries again). Then, sadly, we had to do our packing because tomorrow is our last day L

Day 13th - January 4th

Finished our packing and had breakfast at Oscar鈥檚 in The Waldorf. Lovely breakfast but nothing like the value at John鈥檚!. We left our luggage at the hotel and went to collect tickets for our bus tour. We got off the bus at Greenwich Village and went to Rocco鈥檚 which is one of the most fantastic bakeries we鈥檝e ever seen. We couldn鈥檛 believe the amount of different cakes and pastries here - gorgeous. I had some lemon meringue pie and a hot chocolate and hubby had strawberry cheesecake and a latte. It was gorgeous and somewhere we鈥檒l definitely be going back to next time! We got back on the bus and saw Little Italy, SoHo, NoHo, East Village, City hall, The Woolworth Building, Flatiron Building, Ground Zero, Wall Street, South St Seaport and Chinatown. The Waldorf was actually one of the stops on the bus tour which was really handy for us. We hopped off and decided to have a couple of drink in Sir Harry鈥檚 Bar. We collected our luggage and waited for our car to collect us from outside the hotel. We made our way back to Newark airport and I was so upset to be leaving that I started crying - how embarrassing! Our flight back to Manchester was uneventful but the food was really bad again. It was very similar to the food we鈥檇 had on our way out but I couldn鈥檛 really tell you what it was!

My husband was back at work on January 11th (I still had another week) off. He got home and we were discussing how fabulous our trip had been and within half an hour we had booked our next trip for December 1st 2007

This was my trip of a life time and I%26#39;ve never enjoyed anything as much in my life. It was my dream come true and the memories will stay with us forever - roll on December 1st!!

Trip Report Part 4

Which bus tour are you referring to?

Rocco%26#39;s - my favorite, a great place on Bleecker street off 6th Avenue. (Italian pastry shop).

Your trip really does sound great, and I am happy that you are coming back, you have a lot more to see %26amp; do (although you sure did a lot while here, very impressive).

Thanks for posting such an informative report.

Trip Report Part 4

Fantastic. I%26#39;ve loved your report. I completely agree the tears at the airport, as I%26#39;m sure many other readers will.

What bus tour was it you did on your last day?

We did the Downtown loop tour with gray line. It%26#39;s a really good way to get around and you can hop and off as you please - excellent value for money

The tears going to the airport is still very embarassing!

What a fantastic report.You seem to have remembered every little detail which was fantastic. I cant wait for my trip...30 sleeps and counting!

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us....

Annie

Brilliant trip report with lots of great detail and ideas - I%26#39;ve been clicking away at the little ';Save Post'; buttons to make sure I don%26#39;t forget anything important! Thanks so much for sharing!

Hi

Great report, I am glad that we already have booked our next visit because your report gives me such a longing for NYC again.

Thank you

matte75

Outstanding report. It does sound like the trip of a lifetime. Any photos?

Thank you for a great report, reading it makes me so anxious to get back to NY.

I would also love to see pics if you have any to post

we took about 350 photos altogether but i%26#39;ve no idea how to add them to my post!

Well done!

I%26#39;ve just read through all 4 parts of your report, and I love it! Thanks for posting.

Mez.