TRAVEL | New York, New York

This was my fourth time visiting New York, and it was certainly not the last. 

Jet lagged, we spent our first day not in Manhattan, but in upstate New York to visit my great aunt in Tarrytown. She’s a retired nun at Marymount, and she got to show us around and introduce us to the other nuns. A nice, easy day to start off our USA trip.

That evening, we headed out to see Jerry Seinfeld at the Beacon Theatre, and I never thought I was into stand-up comedy. My parents are fans, you could say, of him and his 90’s sitcom Seinfeld, so they booked tickets for us all a while ago; I was scared I’d go and not laugh at a single joke but I was pleasantly surprised. Even though I was more than likely the youngest being there, I’d say I laughed more than others. I was loving my outfit, which included my favourite pink top from Bershka, and makeup that evening too, and the Japanese we had after was delicious. I’d honestly go there again for those Pork buns in a heartbeat.

We were staying in Affinia Gardens near Central Park on 64th street in the Upper East Side. Gossip Girl! I know! Call me Blair Waldorf! But the next morning was spent in Greenwich Village at Washington Square Park. Dad and I booked a Bohemian Culture Walk there, which ended up taking place the next day. Yet, it was still lovely to explore this area of New York. I really liked the park, with the Parisienne arch and the picturesque fountain.

Reunited with the others, in the scorching heat we walked along the High Line. I really recommend this walk; it’s such a cool, different park, and the ice cream sandwiches sold there are lip-licking good. 

Of course, I had to look around a few shops on Fifth Avenue. I quickly browsed Victoria’s Secret and picked up a grey hoodie that says ‘New York’ on it fives times, then treated myself to Adidas Superstars in the insanely huge store. I also appealed to my aesthetic and swooned over the beauty of & Other Stories, and reminiscently, almost reluctantly, walked past the American Girl store. 

We all went for dinner in a restaurant near Central Park called Sarabeth's. Before heading for food, I popped into the park quickly to get a few pictures taken of my outfit - look out for it in the next few days. Later on, my brother, sister and I walked to the big, bright and wonderful Times Square. Those lit up advertisements will never cease to amaze me.

The Bohemian Culture Walk the next morning was super fun; we walked around Greenwich Village learning about the area during the Beat generation and about writers and poets that resided there (I’m a sucker for literature). I’ll be talking about it in an upcoming next blogpost.  After the tour, Dad and I joined the family again for a big lunch at the B Café, where we met up with my second cousin Megan who lives in New York. Check out her amazing life and style blog Not Quite Made; she’s living the dream, working in the beauty industry and being a blogger… in Manhattan!

We were then on our way to New Jersey for the USA vs. Ireland match at the Redbull Arena. An easy win for us, yet the atmosphere was amazing. But that wasn’t it oh no… We got to attend the afterparty and met Simon Zebo, Gary Ringrose and Ronan O’Gara. Like, what? It was pretty surreal being there.

New York was our first stop of our America trip, and these past three days were exciting - next is New Orleans. I’m currently writing this 38,000 feet above the ground on our flight to New Orleans. After New Orleans is San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. 

Stay tuned for my USA adventure blogposts for the next few weeks and travel diary videos on my YouTube channel. Since it's summer, I'll be getting back on track with Queen of Quirk, and I mean it this time (especially since it's my last few months of 'freedom' before the Leaving Cert)!

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