New York City – Page 3 – ThePassportPrincess

Day 38 – New York City (Day 5)

September 20, 2015November 28, 2016SarahLeave a comment

Friday morning, I woke up at a semi respectable time.
I organised to meet a few of the girls from my hostel downstairs after breakfast so we could go to Coney Island.

Coney Island, from our hostel is like a 1 hour journey walking/subway – ing.
It’s in the south Western part of Brooklyn. It used to be an outer barrier island, but kind of became connected to the mainland by land fill.
They have a community of around 60,000 people in its western part, with Sea Gate to its west,Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach to its east, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and Gravesend to the north.

When we arrived at Coney Island we soon came to realise that all the rides that they have on the boardwalk were closed!!
Apparantly with labour day the other day, and there being another Jewish holiday they kept the park open so decided to close it on Friday. We didn’t even know :|:|

Usually they have 2 amusement parks on Coney Island where they have The Wonder Wheel ferris wheel, The Cyclone Rollercoster, The B&B Carousell and also other boardwalk games that people play. *sigh*
They had a beach at least.

We walked the boardwalk for a bit and then decided to chill out on the beach. We did dip out feet in and it was freezing haha, even though the weather was so warm.

Once we’d sat in the sun for over an hour (and me not getting burnt which is great over here!)
We went down the boardwalk to get something to eat at this diner/type place. The other NZ girl I was with Alicia – we both orders sweet potato fries and normal french fries with cheese.
It was so average.
They don’t have Aioli here which is always a disappointment, and the sauce tasted disgusting for some reason.
The shakes we got were good though but went down too quickly.

When it was time to leave, the owner took us up to the rooftop area and we took some nice pictures of Coney island from up there.

Around 5pm we ended up in Times Square and decided to go up and buy tickets for Top Of The Rock. The line was so long and the earliest tickets we could get to the look out were for 8pm. Mine & Alicia ‘s cameras don’t take very good photos at night time so we wernt really keen to do it.

The other 2 girls agreed so we all headed on our way and stopped at Saks on 5th Avenue to have a look.
Aka. The rich rich version of smith & caugheys or Kilkaldies. I ended up going to the MAC counter (what’s new) and buying my Volcanic ash exfoliant!

When our feet were aching we went back to the hostel and got yummy Ben and Jerry’s on the way home.
Ahh, I just love that place. Triple Caramel chunk is my absolute fave.
We felt like the biggest fatties afterwards.

We all decided to go out that night so went across the road and got some alcohol after we’d dolled ourselves up a bit.
You’re not meant to drink at the hostel but we all sat at a table with a few others and drunk our Smirnoffs haha.

The hostel recommended a club out in Chelsea for us to head to so we took the subway and ended up there. I can’t remember exactly what the club was called but it was pretty fancy.
You didn’t have to pay to get in, but since there ended up being 11 of us (6 guys, 5 girls) they tried to get us to get a table for $1200. I was not keen! And so wernt the other girls.
Some of the guys we were with actually were so I think they ended up paying a bit less and getting one for themselves.

As it was a rooftop bar, the views were amazing. Not that my camera did it any justice again…
The Californian girl Amy who was with us took some amazing photos though. She has one of those Samsung Cameras that’s like a phone as well but it’s got the lense and everything like a camera.
Her night photos were just amazing! And she said she got it for like $250 so I’m desperate for the same camera now.
I dont have any of her pictures so I can’t show what she took 😕

We had a drink (coz that’s all we could afford haha) And then headed off to another pub that 3 of the others went to. Alicia is 20 so she couldn’t get in with her ID. 😧 And my old mate Rob from my Contiki (who’s staying at my hoatel) went with her and this German girl Maria.

The pub they were at was alright, it was real casual so me and London Andra had shots of Tequila and the rest of us decided to call it a night.
I was going to go home with 3 of the girls but then decided to stay with Robert as he messaged me and said he was at some dive bar.

I left the girls to go and meet Robert but couldn’t find him in the end so took the subway home by myself again!
I met up with the girls when I got off though and we all headed back to the hostel together.

So yeah, that was my Friday in New York!
Without my daily bus naps these days are getting more and more tiring.

Day 37 – New York City (Day 4)

September 19, 2015November 28, 2016SarahLeave a comment

On Thursday morning I had a bit of a sleep in because I got home so late the night before.
I missed out on breakfast because of the time I take to wash my hair and do my make up 😅

When I was eventually ready, I took the subway downtown to see the 9/11 memorial in Tribeca.

I stopped and saw the North and South pool which was built in memory of the twin towers.
Everyone who died on that horrible day has their names engraved around the pools which is nice.

I was considering getting the New York City Pass where you get unlimited visits to all these places around NYC for 2 days for $140 and get to the front of line but I didn’t.
I was actually faster in the normal line than the people that bought the pass.
I also took like 3 hours at the museum so I don’t know if it was actually worth it in the end. Like, how many places can you actually properly experience in 2 straight days by buying the pass?

Anyways, it cost $24 to get in to the museum which was worth it. There was so much to see!

The museum is about 21 metres below ground and houses two tridents from the Twin Towers. One of the museum’s walls is an exposed side of the slurry wall retaining the Hudson River, which remained intact during (and after) September 11th.

Other stuff that I saw in the museum were wrecked emergency vehicles like this fire engine

There were also pieces of metal from all seven World Trade Center buildings and recordings of survivors and first responders (including 911 phone calls) which are quite sad to listen to. Ecspecially the recordings of people on the plane that knew they were being hijacked who called their loved ones.

They also had a room with pictures of all the victims and an audio telephone where you could click on a person and listen to a snippet of audio from their loved ones describing what they were like.

I also saw photographs from the wreckage and other media detailing the destruction (including the crashes, collapse, fires, those who jumped and the clean up)

You walk out of there feeling pretty sad and you really feel for America. Like so many people lost someone and that day was so horrific. The people on the street who thought they were going to die from inhaling so much dust is even scary to think about.

When I had eventually had a good enough look around, I left the museum (partly because I was freezing in there. They really blast the air-con!)
And I went outside in the warmth and headed to an ice cream truck for my first meal of the day. A sprinkle cone…

Please girlfriend, I’m on vacay!
😋

I wasn’t sure what to do with myself after that. I wanted to see the statue of liberty but didn’t know when the ferries were running and couldn’t really be bothered walking down a few blocks #lazy

Instead, I went to Chipotle and had some proper lunch. Chicken tacos for like $8

And then I headed to a nail bar and paid $10 for a basic manicure haha. (Plus $4 tip)

It was nice at the time, but I’m currently writing this the next day and 4 of my nails are already chipped. Average!!!

I was also in desperate need of my eyebrows being done so I Googled the nearest Benefit Eyebrow Bar and it turned out there was one like a 15 minute walk away.
I walked the few blocked and got my eyebrows waxed for like $25. (Not that cheap I know but they always do such a good job)
Now my make up looks heaps nicer when I out it on without all these stray hairs!

When I was done, it was literally like after 5pm so I headed back to the hostel.
I changed my clothes and topped up my make up then headed downstairs for the $7 dinner they had.
To be honest, I don’t know why I bothered. It was another BBQ and since I’m so picky with the meat here, I got a burger but basically pulled out the pattie and just had a bit of bread and some salad.
At 9pm there was a pub crawl going on so I joined up with that.

We all took the subway and hit up 3 different pubs.
I tried to drink and get into it but I think I was just way too tired. I couldn’t really be bothered making conversation with anyone and even playing beer pong I just wasn’t enjoying it.
I guess every night I can’t be a party animal! Haha.

I ended up heading home with another girl who lives in Cali and is here for a Wedding – Amy.
And a couple of the other guys.
We did a McDonald’s stop where I got fries and then we headed back to the hostel. Very Un exciting night for me then! Haha.

Day 36 – New York City #2

September 17, 2015February 10, 2016SarahLeave a comment

I’m writing this blog as I sit on the Subway at 3am in the morning. Gaaah, my Contact lenses are just so dry.

My morning started off at 9.30am, all showered and dressed ready for my morning run at Central Park.
I went the right way this time and was at Central park in under 10 minutes.
It’s honestly such a pretty place to go to. There’s so many different areas to explore you could be there all day.

I didn’t really know where I was going, I just ran (mostly walked) for the next 3 hours or so.
I know! I sat down once that whole time. I really wish I had a pedometer so I know how many steps I’ve been taking exploring NYC.

I had a walk through the garden part of the park which was quite pretty if you’re into that sort of thing. I saw that they do free walking tours of the garden for like 75 minutes. I really don’t know what you could talk about for over an hour 😴

I headed off in search of the Bow Bridge which is always shown in movies or pictures of Central Park.
On the way I stopped for a cheeky chocolate magnum for breakfast as well. (Health freak I know)

And I also had to take pictures of this amazing view!
I wish I had a selfie stick or something so I could take a picture of me in front of this landscape.
The downfalls of solo travelling…

I did eventually find the bow bridge but I didn’t walk across it. I more just took lots of pictures of it from afar haha.
There were a few people in boats rowing around the lake as well which was pretty cute.

After taking pictures I went and sat down in one of the grassy areas.
I was pretty much surrounded by children and what I assumed where all their nannies.
I then decided to sign up for a nanny agency while sitting there for New York haha.
That’s what I’m really wanting to do at the moment, move to New York and become a nanny for a year at least. It’s just finding the right family and the right company to go through! Anyone got any ideas?

Or maybe any other ideas on how I can work in New York without becoming a doctor or something they desperately need?

Once I was finished at the park, I was txting my friend Harley organising dinner for later tonight when he mentioned about going to The High Line. It’s basically a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side.
I took the subway there (which I’m getting pretty good at I might add) and walked some of the high line.
It actually goes from around the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street but I was getting too hot and had walked way too much already I thought it’d be time for some food.

I walked down to the popular Chelsea market complex to get something to eat.
It’s all inside and fills an entire city block with a connecting bridge over Tenth Avenue to the adjacent 85 Tenth Avenue building, which was also part of the Nabisco complex but is now separately owned. (This is the place that invented the Oreo Cookie!!)

It has so many food places inside, a bit of shopping, office spaces upstairs for tenants and also some TV production facilities for companies like Food network and EMI Music publishing.

I also found out that more recently, Google has moved into some of the second, third, and fourth floors along with YouTube on the fifth.

I wasn’t sure what to eat so ended up just grabbing a lemonade and a slice of Italian Pizza.
While I was eating, my friend from Contiki messaged me and we decided to meet up in Times Square.

I took the Subway again and met her in the centre of times square.
We did a bit of shopping and grabbed a juice and some M&M’s from m&m world together 🙂
I also got 2 pairs of new gym pants to wear back home.
I’ve been to my fave gym store Lululemon here but i actually don’t like any of the patterns/styles they have out at the moment. It’s all really disappointing so I’m hoping my Forever 21 gym pants will do the job.

By the time I left Times Square it was about 7pm so I headed back to my hostel to have a shower and get ready to meet my old flatmate Harley and his girlfriend Monica for dinner in Brooklyn.

I took 2 trains to get there but it was still pretty easy.
We went and had some yummy thai food and then went out to Harley’s friends house a 15 minute drive away.

There was about 5 of us sitting around drinking (me – not so much) I was knackered!
We didn’t end up leaving until about 2.30am and so I took the subway home.
It was a little bit dodgy but I was probably just over thinking it.
The first subway that came I didn’t think was the one I was meant to be on so I didn’t get on.
Turns out it was the correct one so i had to wait 20 minutes for the next one.

Eventually it came, and then we had to stop for like 6 minutes for some problem on the track. The whole subway ride was about 40 minutes and when I did eventually get to my stop it was at a different entrance that I usually exit out of so had to walk 10 minutes to my hostel trying to figure out where I was!
I’m not doing very good on the safety front am i…

I am now currently in bed at my hostel and thought I would finish this blog off.
I was really quiet so as not to disturb the other 3 girls in my dorm room.
1 is snoring right now. *sigh*
😴😴

Xxx