Family Travel: New York Must Do List!

Our New York Must Do List!

Our first trip to New York was just over 7 years ago and while we loved the visit we left thinking it was just another big city. This time we were meeting family and taking Annabelle who was almost 8 months. We knew the trip would be different but we didn't expect to come away LOVING New York as much as we did.

Our past trip roundup can be found here.

We arrived on a Saturday evening and left on a Saturday evening so had 6 full days to maximise our trip and we did just that. By the end we had walked over 60 miles, seen most of Trip Advisors Top 10 things to do and discovered new places we never knew existed! Oh and most of it was with bright blue skies until our last two days when we got snow, Annabelle's first experience of it. It was an amazing trip packed with memories of a lifetime.

Can you spot the Statue of Liberty!

So without further ado here is our list:
Top of the Rock
Last time we visited we were gutted that we didn't do this attraction and we were right to be gutted. You have to visit! Honestly Top of the Rock was a highlight of our trip. We timed our visit to head up at 4pm, enough time to see the view in the day but to also catch sunset. It's well worth doing it that way. If you time your ticket so you go up in the last daylight time slot you don't have to pay the extra sunset fee but you will be waiting a while at the top (it's worth it in our opinion).

From the moment you enter your senses are greeted with lights, sounds and pictures. From a film explaining the building of the 'Rock' and explaining how the Rockefeller Christmas tree gets put up to the light-show in the lift as you ascend you are entertained. By the time you step out to see the view you already feel like you know New York better.

We spent our time at the top spotted all the other sights and admiring the stunning skyline as the sunset. For us though the lights starting to twinkle as the buildings lit up was breathtaking (or maybe it was the wind :)) but seriously it was unbelievably beautiful.

Annabelle was mesmerised. From all the lights to the people wanting to talk to her to looking out at the view, she was squealing with happiness and laughing a lot. While waiting for sunset she even managed a nap in the Ergobaby as we were walking around admiring the view.

Brooklyn Bridge / DUMBO
If you haven't walked Brooklyn Bridge you need to do it at least once. On our last trip half the bridge was under construction and we had really missed out. This time with a bright day and no scaffolding and the view was amazing. The further we walked across towards Brooklyn the better the view of New York got. Taking in the financial district featuring the one world trade centre all the way up towards the Empire State building and beyond this walk gives you a great perspective of the city.

The walk itself took about an hour, Annabelle started off asleep and woke up to join us as we crossed under the impressive arches.

The reward at the end was a visit to the Brooklyn area under the bridge where you can find Julianna's pizza which tends to be queued around the corner or wander a little further for a Greek cafe where we enjoyed gyro's for a reasonable price. From there we headed to the carousel which is a must if you have young kids. For $2 per person you get to ride the carousel overlooking New York. Annabelle loved it and so did we.

Next stop was DUMBO (Downtown Under Manhattan Brooklyn Underpass) to see 'that' view and then check out the quirky stores and find Jacques Torres (have you seen 'Nailed It?!) chocolate shop for some of the most delicious cookies we've ever had!

The High Line 
Last time we visited New York this wasn't even a thing and to be honest we weren't sure it was a good idea with the freezing weather and the fact that it is meant to be a garden type of area. We were surprised though, it is worth checking out whatever the weather! We actually did the walk as dusk started and it was great. The High Line itself had a lot of dead shrubs BUT at the that time of day the views are worth the walk alone. Winding through buildings and warehouses you get a unique view of the bustling city without the crowds.

There is also plenty of artwork to see both on the High Line and on the surrounding buildings and you can 'drop down' off the High Line in different parts of the city. Although a point to note is some exits only have stairs so aren't buggy/stroller friendly!

Stardust Diner / Times Square
After a day exploring Central Park we headed towards the Times Square area and found Stardust a diner where the waiters and waitresses sing while serving you. Not like in your face but on the stage in the middle of the restaurant and we loved it. We all loved it especially Annabelle. And the food was amazing too!

After the diner Annabelle was so exhausted she slept while we wandered around Times Square taking in the sights and lights. It's amazing how we spent our new years eve sat on the floor in freezing temperatures there (our experience post is here). It has barely changed at all.

Also make sure and check out:

• Mood Fabrics if you have ever seen Project Runway and/or love fashion and fabrics
• The Flatiron building and 5th Avenue - there's a great Lego store there too
• Starbucks Reserve opposite Google offices - amazing new concept store and interesting for us even though we don't like/drink coffee
• Magnolia Bakery for Banana pudding (featured in Sex in the City)
• Crif Hotdogs for Please Don't Tell Speakeasy (not child friendly)
• World Trade Centre Station for amazing architecture and shopping if you don't want to go outside
• Song de Napoli for great pizza
• Chelsea Market for cool food places
• The Nugget Spot for captain crunch covered nuggets
• East Village for great street art
• Katz Deli for Reuben sandwiches

And finally we felt that we should stop by Gay Street.....

As we had done 7 years ago:

New York, New York - We Can't Wait!

Six years ago we headed to New York for New Years Eve and a ton of unforgettable experiences. It was our first time visiting and when we left we vowed we would be back. After all have you ever 'completely done' New York?

Finally 7 years later we are heading back! This time we are hoping the weather is a little warmer - our New Years Eve in Times Square was spent in below freezing temperatures - the forecast at least is giving us hope.

Our post about our new years eve experience is here. We even did a Vlog while sat on Times Square!

Thanks to two friends we met through blogging we got to enjoy a thoroughly gay day in New York heading to Gay Street, the Big Gay Ice-cream shop (where we got to try weird flavours - see our reaction in the Vlog) and the Sex Museum. We also got to check out Grand Central Station and the American Girl Doll store (so Laura could live out her childhood dreams). Details of the day are here.

This time we are meeting one of Laura's school friends who appears in off-Broadway plays and a friends husband who is a photographer. Both have planned days to see us parts of New York we missed last time.

Not all of our last the trip went to plan though, it turns out Laura had planned to propose to me on the trip and had involved our blogging friends to help. The only thing that ruined the plan was weather.....well the hurricane that hit not that long before, leaving the area Laura had planned to use under water. Will we hopefully get to visit the area this time, without the water!

Proposal details are here.

New York had actually been a gift for my 29th birthday from Laura, she had planned a surprise party and delivered the gift in the form of a handmade book. The whole trip had been planned out and was one of the best presents I have ever received. Details are here. 

It's amazing looking back at this post and seeing how much has changed since that birthday. Some of the people there we don't see any more, we don't live in the flat - or London, we have moved to Birmingham, met some wonderful people, got married, added Bisbee to our family, had our wonderful daughter and fitted in plenty of travelling. It's been a busy 7 years! One thing hasn't changed though and that is us. We are still as excited for the future and our up and coming trip as we were then!

This will also be our first trip abroad with Annabelle, wish us luck on the 7 and a half hour flight. We have read so many blogs for tips on travelling with a baby - we have snacks, new toys, changes of clothes, we are flying early, we have an airport bag that we could survive a week on. We just hope we are ready......and that Annabelle wants to sleep for most of it :)!

Any last minute tips you swear by for travelling with a baby? Or when visiting New York?

Are you #TeamHarry or #TeamMeghan?

Okay, okay so it's not really a team thing - after all whenever love is involved don't we all just want the happily ever after?!

What did make us smile though was being sent this quiz:

The content was created by language study specialists, LSI. 

The reason it made us smile was because it brought back some funny memories from past posts when we identified the differences between UK and USA weddings here

Or when we acknowledge the trails and tribulations of being a transatlantic couple here

And how marrying an American made me consider how aggressive the letter Z can be here

Anyway which team did you end up on? Even after 9 years together S is still Team Harry and L is a mixture of the two. 

Review: Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo, CA

Have you ever been somewhere that you thought only existed in dreams or in other peoples worlds?
Santorini was a moment for us, we were in the pictures we had seen and it as a dream come true. But before Santorini there was Madonna Inn (http://www.madonnainn.com/).

A recent Buzzfeed video reminded me of our visit.

Madonna Inn was like nothing we had ever seen or will be likely to see again. This hotel is like every kids fantasy except it's for adults and it's not fantasy. With 110 rooms and each room individually decorated with a different theme this place is special. Add on the bright pink tennis and basketball courts and the amazing pool complete with jacuzzi area's, oh and horse trails and this place is out of this world.

Check it out here:

We spent the night at the Madonna Inn on our California Road Trip after driving Highway 1.

Our room of choice was the pink glitter room - that's right a room covered in pink glitter wallpaper, with pink door frames, pink bedding, pink robes, a very pink bathroom and pink accessories. It was delightful. The room itself was called the 'Merry' room and was part of the Merry Go Round set.

After checking in and getting over the excitement our first stop was the pool, we had it to ourselves and it was the perfect way to wind down from our Highway 1 drive.

Our romantic swim was briefly interrupted by a couple with a boom box but we took that as our cue to head for dinner. Everything at the Madonna Inn is opulent. The rooms, the doorways, the public areas, the restaurant, even the goblets they serve dessert in. You can't fail to feel special here. It's like a fairy tale.

After dinner we danced, the in house band was playing a mix of swing and slow dances and the other hotel guests were already getting down. We ballroom danced (kinda) and then sat and people watched. With the grand chandeliers and dance floor we were transported back in time. 

There are actually four different restaurants at the hotel each offering something different but don't leave without checking out the bakery! The cakes are famous and delicious - although we had to share a slice.

Madonna Inn has been open for over 50 years and is described as a resort-like retreat. With an onsite spa as well as the facilities mentioned before you can see why it would be easy to escape here for longer than a night. You can eve hike, bike (yes the bikes are pink) or do onsite wine tasting! We were sad to leave. 

madonnainn.com

Add in the amazing service and this place will provide you with memories however short your visit. 

You can check out all the rooms here or see a few in the Buzzfeed video shared on our Facebook page. Here's some to get you started:

And in case you are wondering this place has nothing to do with 'Madonna', it is named after Mr Alex Madonna the guy who built and designed the hotel. A brief history can be found here but the bits I found most interesting were that it sits on over 1,000 acres and the surrounding rocks were used in the construction. It started as a much smaller hotel and the rooms have been added over time but the original suites were actually destroyed in a fire in 1966.  

Alex Madonna was quoted as saying "Anybody can build one room and a thousand like it. It's more economical. Most places try to give you as little as possible. I try to give people a decent place to stay where they receive more than they are entitled to for what they're paying. I want people to come in with a smile and leave with a smile. It's fun'

In case you needed any more reasons to visit San Luis Obispo was also voted as the happiest town in the USA. Buzzfeed checked it out here! The article also looks at tips to keep you happy so it's worth read. 

So if you are ever planning to do Highway 1 and fancy spending an unforgettable night in an amazing place check out Madonna Inn. Even if you just stop by for dinner, a game of tennis or to admire the stunning location.

How did this happen America? #imstillwithher

America, America, America.....

What can I say that hasn't already been said.

It's terrifying, shocking, disappointing, sad, upsetting......

The world in which Trump is president is scary.

Hate won. Anger won. Those who want to 'take back their country' (although i'm not sure who has it) won. The bigots, racist, sexist, homophones won. The biggest bully won. And not by a small margin. Trump got his message out loud and clear to the white, male voters who made all the difference.

The devastation is pouring out on Twitter, on Facebook, on the news - it's everywhere. It's worse that Brexit. It's way worse that Brexit. This isn't just a European tragedy this is a worldwide tragedy.

On a side note isn't United States a somewhat ironic name now right?! I mean if the #CalExit in 2019 is a real thing then what is the USA without California?!

And yet when Trump took the stand to give his acceptance speech was I the only one shocked to hear how....how democratic it was?

He spent the first few lines praising Hillary. He spent the next few lines stating that 'Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people' (Sounds rather like 'stronger together!!!')

Then he went further.... 'It is time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be President for all of Americans, and this is so important to me. For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people, I'm reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country......It is a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds, and beliefs, who want and expect our government to serve the people -- and serve the people it will.'

And he finished with 'No dream is too big, no challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.'

If you want to read the who speech it's here: Donald Trump victory speech

Who knows if the promises made in the speech meant anything. I challenge his and Pence's beliefs - I dream of a world of acceptance whomever you love, whatever religion you believe in and whatever the colour of your skin. Lets hope my dream is not too big and my challenge too great!

So can love still win? Can the changes and developments we have seen in recent years still move forwards?! I hope so. I hope that Pence idiot gets no where near gay marriage. I hope that the number of people who have seen the light and realised that a world where individuals can love whomever they want ONLY creates more love increases. I fear that I am naive when reading articles like this.

I hope that those in minority communities integrate further rather than isolating themselves. Whether Donald believes it or not the evidence is clear that immigrants are not bad people. In fact all as Americans are immigrants and they built a GREAT America I think history shows that America needs them.

As Michelle Obama said we have to go high when they go low. America is at a real low so hopefully those who don't share Donald's opinion can take the high road and focus on making a difference locally. The time will have to come when love, kindness and acceptance trumps hate again. It just has to.

If anything hasn't this campaign shown that ANYONE can become president? That it doesn't take a lifetime of dedication, that if you have a few solid ideas that appeal to the masses you are good (a few million $$$$'s would also be beneficial). It's a scary thought but if an idiot can be elected then surely that opens the door for someone with commonsense and decency to sweep in when 2020 rolls around.

Our condolences America. May Trump's version of progress be slow (Brexit style) and may the greater good trump this evil.

And if all else is failing today and you are need of a smile these are my favs from today.....

We're With Her #VOTEHILLARY

Laura voted for Hillary. If I could vote, I'd vote for Hillary. If I had no clue what was going on purely based on everything that has come out of Donald Trump's mouth, I would vote for Hillary.

As a British/American couple we couldn't let this American Presidential Election pass without adding our thoughts to the millions, nae billions of articles written about what is possibly the scariest election in our life times.

I know you're sick of it, we are all sick of it, and so be warned - this is a ranty post.

THIS IS TOO CLOSE!!!!!!

The fear of Trump possibly becoming president is too much to bare. The thought of a man who hates anyone who is not like him leading America is terrifying. It's not just that we support Hillary - which we emphatically do - it's that the alternative option could be devastating. We want to make sure that anyone who see this and can, VOTES - and here's why.....

In the words of Lewis C.K. 'If you vote Hillary you are a grown up, if you vote Trump you're a sucker, and if you don't vote at all you are an asshole.'

It is fair to say the media we have seen is pro-Hillary, we are friends with mostly Democrats, we follow Democrats on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. We don't follow them because they are Democrats though, we follow them because we like the way they think. They see the world the way we do.

However besides everything that makes us Democrats, we have been watching and reading everything and anything we can on this election and even if we were not Hillary supporters before, we are now. Check out the video on our Facebook pages for many of the reasons we believe she will be the right choice for president.

Common sense says you can't vote for Trump:

Yep Trump riding a donkey, a bull and a wall!
He was shooting himself in the foot (with the lies)
Wearing a coat of may bills and the wall has Mexicans on one side!

We live outside America and can confirm that pretty much EVERYONE hates Trump. The media can't find anything to support him with. In a small East Sussex village we, alongside 80,000 other people, attended the annual 5th of November Bonfire Night parade. The parade includes effigies of hated figures in the world that year being taken to large bonfires to be burnt at the stake (like witches way back in the day). The six societies who create the effigies can pick anything to depict and through the years we have seen politicians, footballers, TV figures - this year four of the societies picked the same figure - DONALD TRUMP! As the effigies were taken through the streets the crowd booed on a level I have never heard and chanted 'burn him'. A bit literal, perhaps, but if this crowd of 80,000 hates Trump I can only imagine it to be representative of the UK and quite possibly Europe.

The world we live in does not want an individual who can so easily group individuals together only to insult them. It's derisive and it is the world that most decent people have fought to move away from. The fact that his Vice-President is an anti-LGBT, anti-woman's rights supporter is just as upsetting. While Hillary may be 'corrupt' - who in politics isn't - she has proven time and time again to be qualified and capable to do this job. While Donald throws a tantrum when insulted, she goes high. While he lies, lies and lies again she stick to the facts. While he has spent his career running beauty pageants, building hotels, firing people and becoming bankrupt numerous times, Hillary has dedicated her life to politics, to charity and to 'doing all the good you can, for all the people you can, in all the ways you can for as long as ever you can'. I may not like the email scandals, the payment for support (payments made by Trump in the past) and I may not think she is the most clear conscience person BUT I am in no doubt that that she is a capable president.

I don't even see this as a vote between Republicans and Democrats anymore - I have forgotten the policies, the politics and indeed what each party wants to achieve, all I know is that a world where Donald Trump is president scares me.

Our final plea to anyone who hasn't voted is please get out and do so - your vote counts. The below graph shows the % of people in each age range that vote and as it stands our age range 18-39 has the lowest % of voters. Here's why that makes it SO important to vote....

Less than 6 months ago the UK voted on Brexit - when broken down, the majority of voters under 50 voted to remain in Europe and yet Brexit won. The reason -  the voter % of over 50's was significantly higher and over 50's wanted Brexit. Therefore the population most likely to pop their clogs have voted for us to leave Europe, so the impact will be felt less by them while those who will continue to work, grow up and want to be part of the European community will feel the greatest impact. The older people screwed us. Don't let that be the case in the USA.

Don't let bigoted, close minded, 'it was better back when' people win this election. America is GREAT, Donald's statement of 'Make America great AGAIN' is a nonsensical slogan - it means NOTHING! In summary get out and vote. If based on the younger vote this election wouldn't even be close! If you are an older voter think of the world you would want your kids growing up in. Make your decision for them.

We experienced first hand the negative impact an old, rich, homophobic white man can have on our lives when Republican Butch Otter put up €1million of his own money to stop gay marriage in Idaho in June 2014. Had he not done that our wedding would have been legal. The ceremony that we put all our savings into, the commitment that we declared in front of our friends and family would have legally meant something. Butch Otter took that chance away. Don't let Trump/Pence take that opportunity away from others.

America has come so far and made such progress. The nation of immigrants is a world leader. It wasn't built with walls, it was built on the collaboration of many different types of people. WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER.

Please don't forget that.

Join us: https://www.iwillvote.com/home/ 

Oh and please don't vote for a third party candidate - this election it really is a WASTED vote.

So in summary

And truthfully

To Canada the USA and back again!

It's been a whirlwind 2 weeks - how are you?

We have managed to get to Canada and the USA and back again in little over a week and racked up some 7000+ miles in doing so. It's fair to say that we are feeling a little tired last week but hey ho when there are memories to be made whats missing out on a bit of sleep.

Our whirlwind tour highlights look a bit like this:
Saturday - arrive in Toronto and meet Victoria and Emily, two girls we met via twitter / Instagram and have been looking forward to meet for the 4 years we have been corresponding. That evening we met up with a further two girls Patricia and Court that we also know via social media for a wives night out. It was a great way to spend our first night in Canada.

Sunday - a day we will NEVER forget. After a 2 hour drive we arrived a Niagara Falls. We had stocked up on Tim Horton's delicious doughnuts en route and arrived ready to go. The area was a strip of entertainment - think mini Vegas or Blackpool - and at the bottom of the road was Niagara Falls in all it's glory.

We REALLY recommend seeing this extraordinary sight from the Canada side as you get a full perspective of the size and scale of these incredibly powerful waterfalls. We also did the Maid of the Mist (now called Horn Blowers) and got up close to the falls. Thankfully the boat trip provides ponchos as it is true - you get soaked! As you approach the falls the mist starts but as you get closer the rain gets heavier until you feel as if you are standing in a shower. It is incredible and must be on anyone's to-do list. It was everything we had hoped for and more.

After the soaking Victoria and Emily felt it only fair to warm us up by introducing us to Poutine - essentially chips, cheese curds and gravy - and it was SO good. We each ordered a different type of Poutine so we could indulge in the different flavours - I went for Thanksgiving dinner, Laura for bacon cheeseburger, Tori for chicken, bacon, ranch and Emily went for the original. Can you figure out which is which?

For dessert we started with dippin' dots and finished with Beaver Tails with maple syrup - so so so good! To 'balance' the indulgence we walked off a few pounds with a game of pitch and put / crazy golf and a tour of the strip. It was so much fun.

The evening was a highlight Laura had requested - a Jewish feast courtesy of Emily. We dined on latkes and matzo ball soup and ate until we collapsed stuffed on the sofa to review the days photo's.

Monday arrived too quick and while Tori headed back to work Emily gave us a tour of the rest of Toronto, the docks, Yonge-Dundas square and the old brewery district where we grabbed breakfast. Then a quick stop to get Jewish bagels and that was it. On to Boise.

Tuesday, after arriving late Monday night and having a hellish experience with the Dollar rental car representative (we both left practically in tears and wising we hadn't bothered renting a car) we had driven straight to the Air BnB and fell asleep. Our first day was spent with 2 of Laura's oldest and dearest school friends Sarah and Julia. Sarah was leaving town the next day to start a new travel nurse assignment in Montana and Julia had started work at 6am so she could get finished in time to join us for breakfast and then a drive to the mountains. Which ever way you drive in Boise the scenery is stunning and Tuesday was no exception except that our drive and plan for a hike was curtailed when we realised that the forest fires were still burning higher up the mountain and the whole area was a no go.

We had to settle for a wander around Idaho city - a once thriving mining town that is now a is collection of ramshackle houses and museums - and a visit to Trudy's that does the BEST tater tots and pie we ave EVER had. Seriously we'd have driven the 2 hours just for them.

The evening was then spent chilling out on the deck at Sarah's parents house, enjoying a drink and indulging in the warm evening - it was perfect!

Wednesday we shopped and I got my fill of Panda Express. The highlight was catching up with Laura's friend Tina and her fiance Jared. Laura is part of their wedding next year and so we wanted to meet Jared beforehand. We are so glad we did he was brilliant. Although slightly too good at mini-golf / crazy golf for my liking, we had met then at a fun course and he made my victory a close one! Although his hole in one at the end set of a fire ball which was impressive, my miss had me soaked by a water cannon! Crazy golf in Idaho is CRAZY! We then caught up over dinner at the Village shopping centre that has fountains to rival the Bellagio - they dance to music and everything!

And yes we WERE that happy to be playing Crazy golf :)

Thursday. Wine day. Well wine tasting day - not something Laura and I are a fan off but as it was a hen party we made an exception. It turns out Idaho has quite a few vineyards out in the mountains and after boarding a coach with the rest of the hen party we had a 90 minute drive into the country to arrive at Ste Chapel. Next stop was Hat Ranch and finally Sawtooth. The first vineyard was sat among rolling hills providing a stunning view. The second, at Ranch, was exactly as I had imagined an Idahoan vineyard, small and with guys in cowboy hats. The third one was hard to describe having only really seen the vats inside.

Friday and our last free day in Boise. We caught up with another of Laura's school friends for breakfast and spent time checking out all the pumpkin spice food supplies that we needed to bring back. Then it was home to pack before heading out to welcome drinks for the wedding. We actually ducked out fairly quickly as the bar was rammed and it was boiling with no where to stand. We decided that as we had caught up with most people at the hen party that we should spend the evening checking out a local corn maze.

We met up with Tina and Jared (I didn't trust that just Laura and I would survive) and it was the right decision. They were great team mates and Tina single handedly got us out of the maze. Jared was making us try corn straight from the cob (don't try it) and Laura was taking pictures. I was just concerned about getting out before dark! We also indulged in a corn dog and got a free fireworks show. The night ended at a bar called Motel that used to be a motel but is now a bar with outside seating and toilets that play records - you have to check it out!

Saturday - wedding day! Well firstly dog walking day, we were up super early to get to a local park for See Spot Walk, a charity dog walking event for Idaho Humane Society. We will do a post on our full experience but in summary we got to walk a super cute puppy called Rudy, an enthusiastic collie mix who just loved everyone. It was so hard to give him back. We walked with another of Laura's friends (she has so many) Kelcie and her dog which made it even more fun.

After the walk it was home to get ready and then a 45 minute drive up to the mountains for the wedding of two of our wonderful friends. The wedding location was a private house with amazing views over Boise. It was a little windy but all in all a lovely wedding and a great chance to further catch with everyone before we left.

Sunday - travel day, 3 stops and a race through Toronto airport to find Tim Hortons before our final flight.

And that was it. We're back as if nothing happened. It all feels like even more of a dream as I had to be on an early train into London this morning.