I’m back!
I have no idea what I've missed whilst I’ve been gone and I have started doing the rounds catching up on blogs so if I’ve not stopped by already I’ll try to soon. I’ve got my own blog comments to catch up on too so I am going to be busy! I haven’t even really had time to properly sit down and write up some blog posts so this might be the only post for about a week while I play catch up. I make no promises for being totally back but I’m getting there.
As anyone who has stopped by lately will know I’ve been on holiday! I got back from New York Thursday and let me tell you I was tired after that trip. It was just my mom and me, we travelled up to Manchester last Thursday and flew Friday morning. It was such a wonderful trip. The weather was not brilliant for us. The first day and a bit were probably the best days we had weather wise. We arrived exhausted on Friday, New York is five hours behind us so mentally we were in the middle of the night whilst it was light out. Our flight out was a bit meh, the food sucked (as airplane food always does) and I forgot how ridiculous security is in the US. You feel like a criminal when you get there! We queued for an hour to have our photo and fingerprints taken. It’s my least favourite part of visiting the states because you do feel like you’ve done something wrong before you’ve even got there. We ended up grabbing a taxi to the hotel as we were exhausted. It took forever and it was pricey, we, unfortunately, got there during a busy period I think. It was worth it, though as we were both far too tired to contend with people and figuring out where to go next. We just about managed a stroll around Times Square and grabbed food at the Irish bar next door (also, what’s with all the Irish bars in NYC?) and we crashed out for about 10 hours.
Our first full day in the city was spent walking. Turns out it was the Labor Day Parade the Saturday, neither of us had a clue what it was but I liked the music some of them played. Still not totally sure what it is, though. We also had a long wander around Central Park and along the Avenue of the Americas and Fifth Avenue (until the barriers up for the parade started to annoy us). We ended up walking over 18000 steps that day just strolling about. I was excited to see the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park and just to take a stroll around the place as I’ve obviously seen it on TV a lot but it’s totally different to be there. I think if the weather was nicer I could have spent far longer there another day just relaxing but sadly that was not to be. We also took a stroll down to Macy’s that afternoon and looked around the shops. So many shops! We didn’t shop too much that first day, though.
The Sunday was a day of shopping and exploring. It began to rain that day so we decided to take a stroll up to the shops at Columbus Circle. We stopped in a whole bunch of gift shops while we wandered. We got confused as to why TK Maxx was called TJ Maxx and had fun browsing the shoes and clothes there (purchases were made). We then finally got to the shops at Columbus Circle and we were a little disappointed. It was fun browsing the Amazon Books shop and looking around Sephora and that but we weren’t impressed. We eventually wandered back down another street and ended up back in Times Square before taking a stroll around a lot of shops there. American Eagle is my new favourite shop, they need to open over here. Their clothes are so soft and comfy looking! We also discovered our love for the US Urban Outfitters. The clothes may be pricey but they are so nice, and they look much better than the UK ones. I may be trying to figure out shipping and customs duties in my future. We also went to Barnes and Noble and I discovered my hatred of US paperbacks. Guys, you have these adorable little paperbacks which are just awesome (I think you call them mass market paperbacks) and then you have the more expensive horribly floppy paperbacks which are extortionately priced and they get damaged so easily. It makes no sense! I’ve never been so appreciative of UK paperbacks, they are far sturdier and cheaper. You guys need to seriously sort it out. I also went to the place which serves the most epic cheesecakes. We ate at Junior's and let me tell you, that place was rammed! We ended up eating outside, despite the rain, and the service was slow but when it came to dessert I had a chocolate brownie cheesecake and it was amazing! If I was less full I would have demolished the whole thing. I would love to go there again, even if it is a tourist trap.
Monday was the day of culture. It poured with rain and we (smart British folks that we are) decided to walk to the Natural History Museum and we were pretty soaked from that walk. It was a long walk from our hotel, but we wanted to keep our steps up and we hadn’t seen the west side of Central Park and we got to see the Dakota building as my mom had said she would like to see it (it’s fancy looking). I have to say, our expectations for the American Museum of Natural History may have been a touch high. More Night at the Museum and less actual museum. I’m not a huge fan of stuffed animals in general so the nature sections did not appeal as much and that is a large chunk of the museum. The people sections were interesting, though. But there’s also a slice of a giant sequoia tree which was cut down and that was upsetting to see such an old tree (it was like 1400 years old before it was felled) and it was cut down for the railroad! Seeing the destruction we as people cause in history is upsetting. Same as seeing the skeleton of a dodo, a bird which is extinct because we hunted it to extinction! That was horrible to see and to see other animals in danger of extinction too. I think my favourite part of the museum was the space section and the dinosaur sections. Also the mammals and their extinct relative's section. It was so interesting seeing how different animals evolved and how some mammals are linked as well! That was the best part for me by far. We then had the bright idea to walk back in the rain as well. Turns out that was a terrible plan and we were soaked by the end. Rain in NYC is no joke, especially when the wind picks up too. We finished our day going to Cock and Bull home of the best fish and chops in NYC (it was alright, they definitely had a thing or two to learn).
Our final full day in New York we again walked, this time heading down Fifth Avenue until we eventually reached the Flatiron Building, which was pretty cool to see. And then we carried on to the Strand Bookstore and whilst that place was cool (so many books!) I bought not a single one because the place was just too hectic and I didn’t know what I was looking for so I came back with nothing. Also, I learnt US books are kind of expensive, how do you guys do it over there? I much prefer UK books, I think. Hardcovers may bankrupt you but paperbacks are cheap like they’re meant to be and way more durable. It was a nice walk when the rain stopped, though. We also visited another location of my favourite store, American Eagle, and let me tell you that shop could make me poor! We then strolled back to the hotel and had dinner at the other Irish bar next to our hotel (like I said, a lot of Irish bars) and we found the most reasonable priced cider we'd had anywhere. I mean, why is cider not a bigger thing in the US? And why is it called hard cider? I don’t understand. I know we’d had a few imports while we were there so they were going to be pricey but our drinks were always expensive. I did like the Angry Orchard I drank, it was very fruity and different to UK ciders. It was interesting. It wasn’t as sweet as the cider I had on my first night but it was nice.
We finished our trip in the city walking around basically every gift shop in Times Square hunting for a gift for my stepdad and both of us trying to find reasonably priced I
NY t-shirts and an NYPD hoodie for my mom. We took a last tour around Times Square, popped the Hersheys shop for too much chocolate and then got ready for the long trip home. I didn’t sleep Wednesday night at all and we then travelled back from Manchester when we landed. I ended up getting home and was wide awake. My dog was thrilled to see me (sort of, I feel like he was a little angry we left) but he greeted us at the door ball in mouth and ready to play (and slobber all over us). After lazing around the house with him all day I went to bed Thursday night and slept for over 12 hours. It’s safe to say I was sleep deprived.
And that was my trip to New York guys. That is literally the only exciting thing I’ve done this week. I do have a giant bouncy castle obstacle course I’m doing next week so I’ll try and take photos and have an update of that for you guys.
What I’ve Been Reading
I can’t claim to have been reading much lately. These are literally the only books I’ve looked at in the past couple of weeks and I’ve not even finished Prince's Gambit! And they’re both rereads! I guess New York sapped my reading energy completely. I am going to finish my reread of the series as I know I enjoyed it but I am still lacking reading energy while I try to get back into the right timezone.
New To Me
Yes, I have acquired a small number of books in the past couple of weeks. I had to get the next book in the Bridgerton series as I slowly power my way through them (I think I’ve been working my way through those books for the past two years). Next Year in Havana, A Study in Scarlet and A Conspiracy in Belgravia are my Nw York purchases. They were slightly cheaper to buy over there and they are the three books which motivate my hatred for US paperbacks. I’ve had a US paperback before and disliked the feel of it but I forgot how strong my dislike was for them until I bought those three as I feel genuinely cheated by the price when I know they are going to be destroyed after a couple of trips with me to work. Why so flimsy books? Why??? I also had to get Crazy Rich Asians when it was part of a Kindle daily deal. I may not have seen the film yet but I know I will (eventually).
I also got a few ARCs over the past few weeks so I seriously need to get reading (and By Virtue Fall is a finished copy, thank you Piatkus) so I am going to knuckle down and get some review copies conquered (maybe). Mostly romance and I don’t know why I requested Nightblood apart from the fact I’ve read the rest of the series but now I realise I don’t remember the last two books so I don’t want to start reading. Ugh, I need to just crack on and finish a book.
And that is how my holiday went and a recap of everything. What have you guys been up to? Can you explain why US paperback are the worst? Or why cider is not more widely drank in the states? Or why I keep requesting ARCs when I’m meant to be on a ban from Netgalley? So many questions and so little time!
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