New York, New York - May/June 2016 - Day 2 - Hop On Hop Off Bus Tours

[Erial]

New York, New York
Sunday 29th May
Day 2 - Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour

Previous: Travel Day

As is always the case on the first day of an America holiday we were awake from around 5am. I think it’s a mixture of both the time difference and the excitement of having your whole holiday ahead of you.

We were pleased to be awake early though as we wanted to be on the first open top bus tour at 9am and wanted to have had breakfast before then. So by 7:30am we were up dressed and out of the door into the “City The Never Sleeps”! Except it does! At 7:30am on a Sunday morning it’s actually quite difficult to find somewhere that’s open for breakfast even around Times Square! Not even Starbucks was open!

We wandered around taking a few photos and by 8am a few places were starting to open.

At 8am we found a small café just above Times Square called ‘Roast’ that had just opened. It wasn’t the best breakfast but between us we managed a combination of breakfast bagels, muffins, coffee and water and it was enough to keep us going for a few hours.

We’d pre-ordered our open top bus tour tickets through Attraction Tickets Direct and thought we could just swap them for the bus ticket at the start of the tour in Times Square. Apparently this isn’t the case and we had to go to their main office on 8th Avenue to swap them there. We were faced with a huge queue but fortunately it moved quite quickly. The lady printed of a massive wodge of vouchers as we each had a bus ticket that was about 3 foot long plus a load of other discount vouchers – we really did just have a handful of paper. I’m sure in this day in age it’s possible to put the entire lot onto a little plastic card? .

Anyway, tickets sorted we picked up the downtown loop at 9am just across the road from their offices. It's a great way to take in the sights!

It was turning out to be an incredibly hot day and so at 10am we decided to get off the bus at Battery Park to get some ice creams and have a cool down. Again, we managed to get a comparison photo of Abi from the last time she sat here eating ice cream!

The girls spent ages watching the squirrels who were very tame and then discovered a fountain where they played for ages cooling down. We didn’t mind them getting wet as we knew they’d dry off so quickly but we did tell them not to get their shoes wet! 10 minutes later Izzy had sopping wet feet!

They played in the fountains until about 11am when decided to walk up towards Century 21 to do a spot of shopping.

Continued below...

[Erial]

I'm not sure if we went the wrong way or it was because it was hot, but it felt a much longer walker than it had in the past!

We stopped for drinks near to the One World Trade Centre on the way as we found a lovely shaded courtyard area with lots of street carts. I’m sure mid-week this is packed with office workers but today it was really quiet and peaceful.

Whilst we were sat having our drinks Abi spotted a Sephora across the road. I’d never heard of Sephora before this but Abi was practically hyperventilating. Apparently, it is ‘the’ place to go for make-up. I have to admit once I got inside I was pretty mesmerised too! A suitably ridiculous amount spent (and a very happy Abi) we made our way over to Century 21.

By now Izzy’s soggy trainers were starting to make her feet sore so the shoe department was our first port of call. We managed to pick up a very cute pair of Ralph Lauren pink ballet style shoes for a massive $15 (back when we got $1.5 to the £1 too) so we were all happy about that, especially if it meant no blisters and no moaning!

With a few other purchases made (handbags, clothes etc) we decided to stop for yet another drink and some cookies this time too. We’d only eaten an ice cream since breakfast so were a bit peckish.

We found a cute little café tucked away in the corner of Century 21. We all had cookies, the girls had milk and Jeff and I had a coffee.

We started to walk back towards midtown but we were starting to feel a bit tired and so by 3pm we hopped back onto a bus to take us back up towards our apartment taking in more sights as we went.

Once of the things Izzy had been looking forward to the most about New York was getting her own American Girl doll. We’d bought Abi one when she was younger and had always promised Izzy one if we ever got to New York. Of course, she couldn’t wait beyond the first day to go and make her purchase so we got off the bus by the Rockerfeller Centre and walked over to the American Girl place.

We managed to loose and hour and a half to two hours in here looking at all of the different dolls and deliberating over outfits. Even Abi at 13 was mesmerized by it all again and her American Girl Doll hasn’t seen the light of day for years!

How excited is this face?

We purchased much more than the doll which I guess is what they rely on and we even managed to sneak in a couple of items for Izzy’s birthday without her seeing them.

By the time we’d finished doll shopping it was almost 6pm and we were absolutely starving! We’d only eaten an ice cream and a cookie since breakfast. We knew the girls would be getting tired too and so didn’t want to send ages deliberating over where to eat. Across the road was a TGI Fridays and so despite saying that we didn’t want to eat in chain restaurants this holiday that’s where we headed.

Rule number 1: Chain restaurants in New York are not a patch on Florida!

We doubted it was a good decision from the second we walked through the door and headed upstairs. Our feet stuck to each step as we went! We were also followed in by a Spanish speaking family who didn’t speak a word of English but stood so close to us that the waitress showing us to a table assumed we were all together and sat us at two tables that were practically touching. I had to quickly explain that they weren’t with us but she didn’t move us. I didn’t want to be billed for them too!

The service was absolutely terrible and we waited an age for our food. The Spanish family who had ordered after us had practically finished their main courses by the time ours arrived! We had to constantly ask for drinks and just gave up in the end. However, when the food did arrive it was lovely and we all ate well – although I think we were just all so hungry by that point we’d have eaten anything!

By 8pm we were all down and made a slow walk back to our apartment.

By 9pm we were all tucked up in bed and soon snoring our heads off!

Tomorrow: Statue of Liberty

Thanks for reading.
Claire
x

[dozy]

i love it . i am going with DS1 at the end of the month so enjoying reading

[SarahJayne]

Great day!

I remember that trek over to 8th Ave to swap our bus tour tickets and the huge amount of tickets, paper and crap you get in return! There must be an easier way!

Love Izzy's excited face with the doll

Shame about TGI's though

[Bubble123]

Another great day!

[hross42877]

Fab photos!

[MrsBC]

I'm enjoying your pics ready for our trip soon

[Disney4Three]

Thanks for sharing I am looking forward to reading the rest :-)

[disney owl]

a good first day, brilliant photos

[Erial]

Originally Posted by dozy

i love it . i am going with DS1 at the end of the month so enjoying reading

See more...

Oh I'm so jealous. Our week went far too quickly!

Originally Posted by SarahJayne

Great day!

I remember that trek over to 8th Ave to swap our bus tour tickets and the huge amount of tickets, paper and crap you get in return! There must be an easier way!

Love Izzy's excited face with the doll

Shame about TGI's though

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Izzy loves her doll. Apparently she's coming to Florida with us and 'needs' a trip to the Florida Mall store!

Originally Posted by Bubble123

Another great day!

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Thanks!

Originally Posted by hross42877

Fab photos!

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Thanks!

Originally Posted by MrsBC

I'm enjoying your pics ready for our trip soon

See more...

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Disney4Three

Thanks for sharing I am looking forward to reading the rest :-)

See more...

Thank you! I'm on a bit of a roll, should hopefully have it finished by the end of the week!

Originally Posted by disney owl

a good first day, brilliant photos

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Thank you!

Thanks for reading!
Claire
x