Celebrating Danny's 30th in the Big Apple (NYC)

Flight Route: Aer Lingus - Total Flight Cost = £460

Edinburgh --> Dublin

Dublin --> JFK

JFK --> Dublin

Dublin --> Edinburgh

Air BNB: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/799530813091808684

Closest station: Canarsie - Train goes to Manhattan - Takes approx 30 minutes

Bus Stop: B6 - Goes to Coney Island - takes approx 1 hour

Needless to say I shall not be flying with Aer Lingus again. This was my first time flying with them and the experience couldn't have been worse.

We were over an hour late due to the ground staff delaying adding baggage into the Hold for whatever reason, meaning that we almost missed our connecting flight from Dublin to New York. After some intense running through Dublin Airport we actually made our flight but goodness knows what would have happened if we had cases to put into the Hold.

But after almost 10 hours, we finally arrived in New York and our 6 days of shenanigans could begin. We made our way to our Air Bnb in Brooklyn and just stayed somewhat local to get our bearings. We found a bar in downtown Brooklyn where you get a free accustomary pizza with every drink you buy but the bar staff weren't exactly very welcoming so we decided to do what every british person abroad does and found an Irish Bar a little further down the road for a few drinks and called it a night after the long day of travelling. We ended the night in Barcade, playing a variety of old vintage Arcade games such as Super Arcade Racing which was our go to game throughout the whole holiday in NYC.

Highlights:

Statue of Liberty & Staten Island Ferry

Even though it wasn't the sunniest days of our trip, The ferry takes you pretty close to the Statue of Liberty for some lovely photos, although in my own opinion, it's pretty underwhelming as I expected New Yorks most iconic statue to be bigger. But you can walk around Staten Island pretty easily, they are developing the Ferry Port complex so there are plenty of restaurants, stalls and coffee shops to choose from whilst you stroll around the Island.

Price: FREE

Freedom Tower/ 911 Memorial

If you want to go up the tower - it will cost you around $44 including the 360 degree view of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens & New Jersey however if you want a budget friendly experience, you can walk around the 9/11 Memorial and pay tribute to the lives lost during the terrorist attack. There are twin reflecting pools, a human made waterfall and gold panels inscribed with the names of everyone who lost their lives. Another unique touch they do is when it's one of the persons birthday they put flowers next to their name. A heart warming tribute.

Price: Walk around the Memorial: FREE

230 Fith Rooftop Bar

This bar is probably my favoruite out of all of the bars in New York.

With both indoor and outdoor seating. During the summer months, you can sit outside at the top where they have many booths and tables facing the oconic Empire State Building. They even have swings with a stunning backdrop. I've read a lot of reviews online saying that the service is averange or under par but our experience was great! The handmade cocktails were delicious and the bar staff were very friendly and polite.

Price: Dependant on cocktail or drink, prices range from $5 - $100

Times Sqaure

A place scattered with high energy, billboards, bright colours and many many tourists and a heck of a lot of souvenir shops. However, you will spend most of your time looking u and around you instead of where you're actually walking. Be prepared to bump into some people whilst trying to take in everything going on here.

Ellens Stardust Diner

Known as the "Home of the world famous singing waiters". The Stardust Diner can be found down Broadway and is somewhere I had been to during my day trip in New York whilst I was at Summer Camp. You can go here for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner and enjoy some music and dancing whilst enjoying your food and drink.

Empire State Building

One of the tallest buildings in the world, the Empire State Building is a

102 floor skyscraper with an observatry platform where you can get a 360 degree view of New York's Skyline.

American History Museum

Used in the Night at the Museum films featuring Ben Stiller, they have exhibits for all kinds of weird and exotic things such as dinosaurs, Blue Whales, continental animals, a crystal garden of gems and minerals.Definitely worth doing on a rainy day and not too far from Central Park.

Central Park

No NYC Adventure is complete without at least visiting the inconic Central Park, getting lost wandering down one of the many paths. Just remember your sun screen if it's a hot day because you could find yourself wandering around for hours. There's a number of spots you can sit and just watch people rowing on the lakes and you may even see some wildlife such as fish and turtles swimming around bobbing their heads out the water. The place is truly spectacular!

Brooklyn Bridge

One of the best budget friendly things you can do in New York is walk along the Brooklyn Bridge taking in the city's iconic skyline.

You can also head to pebble beach which is one of the most popular spots to get an iconic photo with the skyline and the bridge.

Axe Throwing

Originally, we wanted to find a Shooting Range but it seemed that it would be a bit too out of our price range and seemed that most of the places required you to have a firearms license. So instead, we found a place called Hatchets & Hops near Wythe Avenue to throw some axes at a target and get some free pizza. We both managed to throw some 5s onto the target and generally this was a fun way to spend an evening. The staff were very friendly and the pizza was delicious. Just don't overdo it on the booze as your vision will be impaired and you may throw some loose axes in the wrong direction.

Price: $40 per person

Grand Central Station - The Whispering Gallery

One of the most iconic pieces of NYC architecture, there have been been countless movies and TV Shows that have featured at this iconic station. It's free to visit and if you're visiting with another person, if you head towards the four corners of the station and whisper into one of them, the way that it's been designed you can hear each other speaking. It's a strange but entertaining thing to try.

Spyscape - Spy Experience

We stumbled across this by chance as we were looking to do something for a few hours to kill some time that wouldn't involve drinking or eating, after a bit of walking around, we found Spyscape, a unique and interactive spy experience so you can feel like an MI5 or MI6 agent for a couple of hours. This isn't just for kids either! There are interactive quizzes and activities to partake in to see what kind of Spy you would be. It also has some unique exibits and props from famous movies such as James Bond's Car. Definitely worth giving it a try.

Price:

$72 - Child

$79 - Adult

See a Broadway show - Chicago

Now I'm not the biggest fan of musicals however, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching Chicago down Broadway and we had pretty decent seats for the price we paid. The shows are typically around 2 hours 30 minutes with a 15 minute interval between acts so you can have a stretch of your legs.

Price: $84 per ticket - prices differ per show and seat options.

Coney Island - Beach & Amusement Park

For our final day in NYC, we decided to head down to Coney Island to meet Bersu (my turkish friend I met in LA during my 2018 USA adventure) to spend some time on the beach and to try out the amusement park rides. We had some food, an ice cream and some drinks and even went on a couple of fun rides. The Ferris wheel however, was a bit scary especially with my fear of heights and the wind didn't make matters any better when our cart was rocking from side to side.

Minor League Baseball Game

We even managed to snag some free Minor League baseball tickets as I knew a friend from camp who worked as a cheer leader for the Brooklyn Cyclones. We had some decent seats to watch the action, met Batman and the Joker and had some pictures taken. I also even had the oppurtunity to go down onto the field to attempt to win $25,000 by trying to throw a ball through a very small hole in a wall but obviously, I failed miserably. I did get to keep a unique Baseball where they had only made 250 of them for my travel collection.