(And this is a long post, sorry).

What another crazy visit it was. After the 9/11 Memorial we headed to our new found local (pub underneath our fabulous hotel, which was only a block or two back from Central Park). Where we chatted with both bar staff and locals – it’s where we met Rob, who would later invite us out to Long Beach Long Island for a day at the beach.

The next day was a trip down 5th Avenue – hello Tiffanys, a stop at Grand Central Station – hello Grand Central Oyster Bar, Campbells Apartment – speakeasy in Grand Central Station, Times Square – did the obligatory Bubba Gump Shrimp Lunch, Rockefeller Centre – Top of the Rock high above New York City. It was a pretty big day, followed by a night out discovering the amazing Speak Easys in NYC with a friend we met 2 years ago visiting Chicago. Now I’ve lost what day I am up to – I think I just described Wednesday, it’s been a BIG week :-).

Thursday was a late starter and we headed off to discover Central Park, thinking it would be best to see on wheels – pushbike style, well, that didn’t pan out so well. Apparently you can only ride on the roads through the park, not on the paths, but we did enjoy a little bit of it, and a couple of drinks at the Boat House. Then we had a mission to find Shake Shack – a burger and shakes bar that is a chain through some cities of the US, but extremely popular in NYC. DELISH and worth what could now be called the most expensive bikes to rent in the city – still waiting for a charge to be refunded back onto my credit card – oh well, live and learn, fingers crossed it works out for me.

Thursday night we headed onto the subway (only to get lost again) and trying to get to Soho and later Little Italy for some dinner – yet another funny night in this city that is completely exhausting in the BEST possible way.

Friday, early start, we’re off to the beach – Long Beach, Long Island with Rob, our new favourite local tour guide. An hour’s train ride (and me feeling a little bit fragile from the effects of holiday lifestyle for a week), we made it to enjoy an overcast day at the beach, which then turned into a day of betting on the horses, drinking and generally enjoying the local lifestyle, Long Beach is amazing and such a different feel to being in the city. So much fun, great seaside town and so many friendly locals. Late train back to the city.

Today, last day in my favourite city :-(. Great day, we headed down to Williamsburg, checked out the very hipster and funky Bedford St, then onto Brooklyn waterfront and over the Brooklyn  Bridge, jumped on the Subway (which we are now handling like a couple of tourists that have been here for a week, better than day 1 but still so much to learn).

Few quiet ones at our local to say goodbye to our new found friends, then it’s off to Washington D.C. – hope Barrack has some coffee.