I was going to call this post Empire State of Mind but then remembered you could sue in this country and Kanye West is a scary man. So maybe just say it in your head, listen to the song and know my intentions were good.

We arrived at 4am after a hellish trip, I hadn’t eaten properly since leaving Japan and waiting in an hour long queue for US customs was the icing on the cake, that’s until we got up to the desk and heard this exchange between the officers.
Officer 1: “Yo, Tommy your families really cool ay man”
Officer 2: “Thanks, so where are you ladies from?” to us
O1: “Bro those guys were so drunk the other night”
O2: “Bro I know, I don’t even think they slept!”
Oh hallelujah! Stereotypical American chat, “Tommmyyyy” we’ve made it to the U.S of A!
Time to hail and pile into a yellow cab from the organised taxi stand and venture into the snow lined streets.

Most people would head to bed, and it sure did look delicious but we had other things in mind.

These other things included delivered bagel and granola breakfasts and sunrises. New York has delivery everything, even your morning coffee. It’s amazing and I’m happy to announce it may be love.

Our NY pad, well my sisters pad but same same, has a whole gym (that we will not be using), a grand piano and pool table as part if the complex. Not bad, not bad.

As opposed to wollering away the day waiting for the jet lag to set in we decided to head out into the cold to broadway- OH MY GOODNESS! Chicago, here we come! Chicago has to be one of Elise and my favourite musicals and we were very excited and all that jazz!!
Insiders tip: Buying tickets at the theatre is cheaper by $20… So we bought the more expensive ticket 5 rows from the front. When on Broadway!

The performers in the show were incredible. However, you couldn’t help but feel sorry for the actors and actresses as they had about quarter a stage to perform on due to the orchestra being present too, cosy. The theatre was also a lot smaller than the grand stage we had in mind, five rows from the front was rather unnecessary.
By act two Elise and I were very weary, damn jet lag, so we were pretty thankful for the chilly outdoor air when the performance concluded and as luck would have it our internal GPS honed in on Times Square at last light. Oh big city lights you’re so pretty!

I’ve managed to pick myself up an piece of art (some to give away) from every country I’ve been to so far and the USA is no exception. We’ve all seen the videos of speed spray paint art and if you haven’t you should probably google them. This man could make a picture of the New York skyline in under 4 minutes and to ice the cake he loves NZ! He asked me my favourite colour and freedom or twin towers, I went freedom for reasons I can’t explain and off he went… And off our jaws went plummeting to the ground, he’s amazing.

A brilliant token if our first day in the Big Apple.

WARNING WARNING NYC BLIZZARD ON THE HORIZON!!
Elise and I were present for history I tell ya, history. The largest snow fall in New York history, dun dun dunnnn!
Monday morning was anyone’s game as to what would happen so the only logical reason other than to sit at home and snow gaze, is to go shopping! 5th Avenue here we come.

The storm/blizzard/blizzardystorm was meant to be full swing by 1pm. So, naturally we were still out at 4 as the wind and snow increased having fake flat whites from Starbucks and getting nostalgic.

We really poorly planned this. The subway was nuts and the wind was cutting, it was unpleasant and I hope that translates through this selfie (I really need to stop hanging out with Elise and her selfie obsession).

Thankfully when we got home Bridie and Harry had gathered all the necessary blizzard supplies, wine and spagbol for dinner. The horrible horrific storm had all but cleared at 10pm allowing us and our other cabin fever prone neighbours the opportunity to venture out to the local bar for a blizzard belly warmer or two.

The bar was called Achilles Heel, it had low lighting and a wood fire and is where I’d imagine someone would retreat to if there was a blizzard in a movie and they would awkwardly get stuck there with their future handsome lover, they just didn’t know it yet. I on the other hand was with family, a reasonable compromise.

We woke the next morning to the biggest SNOVERREACTION in New York’s history. Awkward for the mayor, fun for us, as Bridie and Harry got the day off.

First stop, breakfast at Bakeri.
They bake all their breads on site, I know this because I’ve seen it and it smells divine.

Late breakfasts lead to Harry and I collecting Rabbit (the dog) and venturing down to the local park. We couldn’t help but notice that Rabbit was the only character without a coat (of the polar fleece variety, she has hair) or booties or both. This promoted the questions I imagine all parents ask, are we bad people? To the response, nah our Rabbits just tougher! The city views from the pier were worth it. Rabbit couldn’t be asked for comment.

That afternoon we booked in for a movie at a Brooklyn staple, Nitehawk Cinema. It’s old fashioned in the best possible way and beats Hoyts gold class without even a second glance. Every two seats share a table, there’s a full menu and you can order anything, anytime before and during the movie. Elise and I got a little food happy and ordered 4 items; corn chips, popcorn, tater-tots and roast vege salad. All were delicious, none of which we could finish. Aside from the food the cinema makes all the trailers that appear before the film themselves and it wasn’t till after the film we realised that the trailers were snippets from other films the movie characters had appeared in all expertly stitched together- magnificent! We saw Birdman by the way, an incredible psychological drama set on Broadway (Hey, we just went there, oh my gosh!) and a must see.

These first couple of days were the perfect re-introduction to New York. Brooklyn, I’ve concluded, is much like Wellingtons cooler cousin and is far more effortless about it. I like it but it’s a pity about the $3000 plus a month rent… A girl can dream.

L x