Last day

Today was really a day to do any last minute shopping. We decided to stay local to where the hotel was and not venture too far as we had a plane to catch!

We first went to Times Square. This was different to the first time we visited it as it was now daytime, it was nice to see it from a different perspective and got to see things that we hadn't during the night time. Our first stop was the Disney shop. The displays and in store environment was magnificent!! I felt like a big kid lost inside a Disney fantasy. To stand there and take it all in was incredible. Forever21 was next to the Disney shop so we also had a quick look here. Once again, the in-store experience was amazing. The way the accessories were arranged in a tier of a cupcake was very inventive. The shop catered for very different markets. It offered casual wear, business wear, lounge wear, everything! This was my favourite shop in New York.

Having finished our shopping we still had some time to kill. As a source of warmth, (and to rest our feet) we decided to visit the Public library of New York. It didn't differ much from the ones in England. It was very big in size and had the same technology. Although, our bags were searched as we left the store. After this we grabbed a bite to eat. The pizza slices were very popular in America and were huge! Certainly one pizza slice was enough!

It appeared that our time in NY had come to and end. So much to do so little time! If I would of had more time that I would of visited Boston, and Greenwhich Village. Other parts of NY which tourist destinations. My time in Ny couldn't of been any better. It is certainly a place I would like to re-visit in future years!

American Eagle

Times Square ball drop!

My NY purchases

Day 4: Soho

Today was our last full day and we ventured down to Soho to see what it had to offer. 

Our first stop was boutique Brandy Melville. It offered really fashionable clothing and cool accessories. It was the first proper boutique I had been in since arriving in New York. The visual merchandising in the store was of a high standard, one which England can look up to and try to imitate.

Many stores were the same that were seen on 5th Ave including a Bloomingdales, Victoria Secrets, Forever21 etc. What was interesting about Soho was that it is the only place in American that has British store, Topshop. It was interesting to see its presence in a different country. Topshop has a strong brand image, which was maintained in their New York store. The store was big in size and had the same layout as the one we see in England. The store seemed to be doing good trade, proving that British fashion is a very sought after style in NY.

It was interesting to go in to shops of a different style. I went in sports shops such as Adidas, Nike, Footlocker. It was apparent that their sports style was slightly different to the style in England. It offers a more casual approach to the sport style but offering it as a fashion item as well. 

Brandy Neville boutique

Adidas shop

Victoria's Secret

H&M

Cool shop window

Big bottle of Chanel perfume

NY Topshop store

Day 3: Central Park, Upper East side

Today was quite possibly the coldest day of the whole trip! The snow didn't stop falling all day, beautiful as it was, it made shopping and walking around Central Park almost unbearable. However the cold weather was worth the beautiful views that Central Park had to offer. 

The day started off with a trip on the Subway to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Of course, a popular tourist destination and often film destination for popular TV show Gossip Girl. Sitting on the Met Steps, fulfilled one of my dreams to become alike the cast from Gossip Girl. The Met museum had beautiful architecture with a contemporary edge to it.

From here, we went on to explore Central Park. A man made park opened in 1857 and covers 843 acres. The park was stunning, especially in the snow. In the middle of the park was a quaint little cafe. A much needed place to stop where we got a hot drink and sat by the fire. We then continued to look around Central Park taking in the breathtaking views. 

We then went off for a spot of shopping on the Upper East Side. This is where more luxury shops are including Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Dior etc. Of course it is also home to Tiffany's. Looking in the Tiffany's shop window reminded me of the scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn. The building was huge, with each floor focusing on a particular style of jewellery. I went to the third floor which was sterling silver. Having looked at various different necklaces, I finally chose the Tiffany notes heart tag charm and chain. Another one of my dreams was fulfilled, to own a Tiffany necklace. The service in the store was exceptional. Even in the lift I didn't have to lift a finger, I simply stood and told the door man which floor I wanted to go to. The staff were very passionate about their job and willing to help. This shopping experience was something that I felt I could get used to! 

Louis Vuitton certainly captured my attention with its beautiful window displays. NY is a place for creativity which is reflected through this. The styling of the window fitted in well with the current collection and emphasised it, putting it to its best potential. Owls were enclosed in a glass capsule along with the Louis Vuitton products. This highlighted each product individually and was a great way to showcase them. Another stunning building was Dior. This time instead of using window displays to capture its customers, the store itself acted as a window display. Decorated in lots of tiny LED lights, making it appear as if the store was encrusted in diamonds, certainly an eye capturing feature. Above this was the silhouette of a girl which was animated, which provided visual entertainment for its customers.

For lunch, we stopped off at Primeburger, a classic American style Diner. The diner is famous in NY as Sarah Jessica Parker is often spotted eating there. The diner was authentic and had a rustic feel to it showing off the traditional side to America. The food was of a good quality. The seating area had little tray/tables which you would unfold and put back in to place when seated, which was a cool feature. 

After this we visited popular shopping stores such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Diesel, Ralph Lauren. Of course, all are traditional American brands that are available in the UK, but it was interesting to see how they performed in their own territory.

Me at the Met Steps, reacting Gossip Girl

Me in Central Park

Beautiful snow covered tree

Fountain in Central Park

Louis Vuitton window display

& again

Owls in glass capsuels

Me outside Tiffany's

Dior 

Dining in Primeburger

My Tiffany's purchase

Day 2: Fashion institute of technology, shopping and sight seeing!

This was possibly the most tiring day, as we covered a lot of shopping, with sight seeing which involved a hell of a lot of walking!

The day started off with an authentic styled breakfast at a classic American dinner. Short stack pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, chocolate chips and strawberries. Just thinking of it now makes me hungry! The diner was quaint and very Americanised topped off with great service seemingly like a family run business. The atmosphere was great, as we were made a fuss of and quizzed about the upcoming Royal Wedding.

We took the subway down to the Fashion Institute of NY. Here, we saw two exhibitions. The first was entitles "his and hers". It features over 250 years of history in fashion. A range of designers are featured including Versace, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent. It explored the relationships between gender and fashion, attempting to test these boundaries. The exhibition is a celebration of the forefront of fashion.

                          

                                                                  

 The second exhibition "Japan fashion now" focused on both the culture and fashion of Japan. Their fashion is cutting edge and constantly growing. The cultural fashion of the "Harajuku girls" is in particular a street styled fashion. This exhibition was very insightful and expressed Japan's culture and fashion in a modest way.

             

It was then time for us to hit the shops of the famous 5th Ave. Of course, Macy's was our first point of call! The largest store in the world, certainly was a girls best friend! Spread across 7 floors, Macy's fulfilled a shoppers paradise. On the top floor was even a food mall with various dining places. The store was unbelievably huge and so very easy to get lost in. It catered for any type of fashion and considered all ages. It was great to take a look at the worlds most famous department store.

Other American stores visited were American Eagle, Forever 21, Victoria Secret's, The Disney store and so many more. What became apparent today was the fact that America was so much better at visual merchandising. Each store was decorated in a way that enhanced and developed the brands image. Particularly Forever 21, which had a taxi inside it and accessories arranged in a cupcake! Technology was also a main difference in the sense that it had been developed more. Ipads were used in store to go through their collections, interactive screens were displayed on the outside of shops and screens on the inside displaying catwalk collections.

Of course we managed to squeeze in some sight seeing. Two of the tallest buildings in the world, The Empire state building and Rockefeller centre. However too afraid to go up, I stood and took in all that they signified both culturally and in terms of wealth and status.

Our last stop of the day was Times Square. This was magnificent as it had now become dark so all the lights were shinning bright, the sight really was breathtaking. There was as screen where you could stand in front of it and you would be projected on a big screen. This was really innovative and a great way to interact with people.

Day 1: Statue of Liberty, Ground zero/ Century 21

After getting up at 1AM, yes 1AM I was on my way to Heathrow Airport to board my American Airlines plane to JFK, NY!

The journey took around 7 hours to complete, which seemed like nothing as my excitement was starting to kick in. After arriving in New York at approx 10.30 (NY time) we went straight to the hotel. The hotel, Eastgate tower, was like a little apartment! It had its own kitchen, dinning/lounge area, bedroom and bathroom. Having dumped our cases for all of two minutes, we were ready to start sight seeing.

From the wonderful Grand Central station (One of many Gossip Girl filming destinations) we got the subway down to Bowling Green. From here, we got on the ferry (which went past the magnificent statue of Liberty) to Statan Island. The view of the Statue of Liberty was immense, so good up close and personal! The water was calm, and the journey was pleasant, apart from the freezing cold we felt once stepping outside to the balcony. The ferry gave us a great view of Manhattan, and the Brooklyn bridge!

Having got back to the island of Manhattan, we then went for a little shop. Reminiscent of Tkmaxx (But a hell of a lot bigger and more crowded) was century 21. The store had no real kind of a layout, with different designers mixed in and clothes everywhere, so in other words a jumble sale! There were some very high designers there like D&G, Vivienne Westwood, Givenchy. It was however, so disheartening to see the clothes just "shoved" on rails, without a thought of their beautiful designs and handmade embroidery! There shopping bags were very interesting though, they folded down the handles, and stapled the receipt to the outside of the bag, not quite sure if I like the thought of people seeing how much I'd spent, or the fact that they could see my credit card details just hanging on the outside of the bag. 

Across from Century 21, was Ground zero. A feel of sadness came over me as I saw literally just a hole going down in to the ground. What once stood there represented status, and wealth but now there was just rubble. They were however building a memorial in respect to all those that lost their lives to the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Having done all of this in just one day, had left me exhausted. Much in need of some well deserved sleep,I went to bed early in preparation for the next days events!

The plane

Grand central Station

Me on the ferry

Brooklyn Bridge

Statue of Liberty

Manhattan