Upper East Side

NY has always been right up there for me in terms of bucket lists, driven largely by the curiosity to find out if what I'd see on TV & in the movies for the last 30 years, was in fact, really so.

So besides the obligatory tourist attractions that one simply must do when travelling anywhere new, I wanted to know things like....
Was there always a Chinese person running the laundry? Are there really Mexicans peddling wares in the streets? Do diners really serve jumbo food portions? Do cab drivers ever stop talking if they're Italian? Are there hotdogs stands outside the courthouse? Do cops really say "ma'am get out of the vehicle".... ok, maybe not that one.

So this is a peak into ticking a wishlist of on-screen moments, where the big screen becomes a reality...

First though.... I mean this address!! Our hotel is on the corner of 5th Avenue and 61st street, Upper East Side. It's right opposite Central Park and yes, has a Doorman. So spoilt 😍

OMG, how tall are these skyscrapers??? I was convinced they used green screens in the movies to fill in the gaps.... but noooo!

Also had to pay a visit to the 911 memorial before heading out in the Hudson River to meet the lady herself. A huge highlight for me is that NY skyline. Spectular! And that's only during the day!

Ps did you know the original statue of Liberty is actually in town (zero tourists) before it was cast 16x bigger and placed on Liberty Island.

Sweltering hot and humid day, realizing that we were both jet lagged and still physically on SA time, we pushed through to the second highlight of the day....Dinner reservation at Daniel, a Michelin star restaurant where you may need to consider taking out another mortgage 😑 We won't be doing any more of these during our stay.
Lol, just realised our dinner reservation was for midnight SA time 🤣

But WOW just WOW! For those that know me, I'm on a quest to find the best Cosmopolitan cocktail ever. The Connaught Bar in London is in position 1, followed by Harry's Bar in Paris and then Tintwsalo in Camps Bay. So when the Maitre D suggested I try their signature "White Cosmopolitan "
I was skeptical. Made with very rare to find white cranberry juice and elderflower and a frozen orchid ..... I'll just say this. It went straight into position 1 💜

Stumbled back in ro the hotel at around 3h30 after a visit to the 24/7 Apple store, where Karl could play 😊Read more