Christmas eve.... It's the most magical time of year

They rain had finally stopped, I had a goodnight sleep and was getting much more human as I set out on the adventure of Christmas eve.
First stop was the Christmas spectacular at radio city music hall, I had to pick my tickets up using Will call the process turned out to be really easy and much quicker than if I had already got the tickets.

Once I was in I stupid stupid thing in the beauty of the space and how wonderfully decorated it was. I decided that popcorn was a good enough breakfast better than cotton candy or a hot dog. The popcorn came in a flashing container......which how could I resist.
My seats were pretty good first balcony and front row it was nice to have no-one in front of me. The show was spectacular.The highlight for me would have been the toy soldier act. The precision the rockettes have in this act is mind blowing..... try you tubing it might come up.

After the show I hit up the Pandora shop for my Christmas present or presents to myself...A few new beads add my new bracelet and i was on my way.

My amazing friend Kasey had sent me a package before i left with the instructions to take with me and open it some where special. After thought and consideration I decided that needed to be near the Disney store, given how much Kasey loves Disney and that we shopped there together last time in NYC. It was a perfect present for me a beautiful Mary Poppins pendant that I love so much.

After a little more shopping and wandering a bite to eat it was back to room to Skype the family for Christmas day.

That night I headed for the tree i wanted to see it all lit up and it didn't disappoint.... I spent a lot of time looking at the tree from different angles. I had a couple approach me and ask me to take there photo front of the tree,I said i would they would return favour. After all the photos were taken the guy asked me to take one more him as he down on one knee and proposed.

On the way back wandering through times square I went into the visitor centre they had a new years display with a huge bottle of Moet, a replica of ball that is dropped at midnight and coolest part for me was the new year wishes. They had a wall with wishes visitors to the centre had made on confetti, you could then add your own wish on confetti that will be dropped from the ball over times square to bring in the new year.

After my night at the tree I headed back to my room grabbing a slice the way before last family phone call for Christmas then sleep.

The Christmas tree in Rockefeller fuhgettaboudit

As sleepy as I was I knew I wanted to make the most out of my Christmas time in NYC so tonight I had booked a tour to go see the Christmas lights at Dyker Heights. They are the lights you see on the American Christmas light special shows. It started with one person named Lucy she decorated her house one year and when her neighbours complained the next night she added a marching band. The neighbors apparently then joined in, the crazy thing I found was they actually pay professionals to come in out put up all the lights maintain them throughout the holiday period and then take them down and store them.

Anyway before the tour I had to make my way to union square, this was pretty simple just a subway ride I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the subway and the interesting people and sights that come with it. There were also Christmas markets on st union square so I had a wander through those before making my way to the meeting point. Having your streets numbered and going higher or lower depending on the direction makes perfect logically sense.....unless your are me who starts to jumble up numbers and have no idea where I actually am.

I boarded the bus and tried my best to stay awake. We had a reporter on the bus who was interviewing people about why Christmas lights and what made them do the tour.  It was a slow start with traffic heavy to make or way across to Brooklyn but once we got through the main party of traffic things started settling down.

The title of this blog is the first thing they say to you to start the tour. The lights were really pretty they are meticulously put up row upon row it really is impressive. I know I wouldn't have the patience to do it. Not much more I can say except let the pictures speak for themselves.

Next up my Christmas eve adventures...........

Bound for New York

Well the journey has begun,I am currently sitting the floor in Honolulu airport waiting to board the next 10 hour leg of my journey.
I just checked the forecast and it's meant to be snowing in NYC when I arI  ive so that's a little exciting.
My flight over was very full but I still managed to get a few hours sleep though am looking forward to more sleep on this flight and not to mention a shower when I can finally check into my hotel.
So far things I forgot about since last time
* the weird way the toilets flush themselves
* the huge sizes note to self only order small everything
* remember to call it sprite not lemonade

My second leg from Honolulu to NYC was just as fun not much sleep happened i had a 1 year old sitting next me who liked kick and poke me....I less than impressed. Once we arrived at JFK things went smoothly i rugged up but didn't really need to it's been pants and hoodie weather. I arrived at the distrikt where I am staying and the girl got me straight to a room so I could sleep. I didn't sleep though I showered (so good) then went on my merry way exploring.

The first thing I ran straight into was Carlos cafe that he has opened up near Times Square I went in to have a look. Looks ok one of the sisters were there i think Mary the loud one , I didn't bother with getting anything but I will probably go tomorrow and get something.
I was on a mission which was find the nhl store but i had a few stops along way.
Firstly the tree is beyond breathtaking if it wasn't pouring rain i could have stayed there for hours I am excited be having Christmas lunch overlooking it.
I eventually found my way to the nhl store i may have spent nearly an hour just looking at everything. I ended up buying a hoodie since three only one i have is drenched.... did I mention it's raining at some points pouring

I also tracked down five Guys burgers for my first official meal the USA. It was good as always I then named to wander myself lost trusty Google maps helped find way back though.
Tonight I am off to look at the Christmas lights in Brooklyn so stayed tuned for that

USA take two

Well I am just 9 days out from boarding that plane again. I am so excited to be going back to some of the places I fell in love with, exploring some new places, ticking things from the bucket list and getting to experience posts of it with some amazing friends.
I am starting this adventure of with a dream of mine and top of the bucket list Christmas NYC. I have no idea what to expect but I am certain I will love the magical experience. I have planned some Christmas light looking, some ice hockey and a few shows  kick off the trip style

Walmart, cotton candy, bowling and more…

We left Washington on our way to Raleigh, we were heading towards the little southern towns I was super excited about. However our first stop was at a cemetery, not just any but the Arlington National cemetery.

The first thing that stood out about the cemetery was how precise and neat the headstones are placed, in straight lines and the fact that they go on for as far as the eye can see.

There is a feeling you get when you are at the cemetery not only are you at a place where great respect is required but there is a feeling of peace that falls over you. The changing of the guards was like nothing I have ever seen before.

The changing of the guards takes place at the tomb of the unknowns, the tomb guard marches 21 steps along a black map, before pausing and facing north for 21 seconds then east for 21 seconds, this is then repeated throughout the hour. The reason 21 was chosen is that it is the highest military honour for example the 21 gun salute.

We were also very honoured to see a full military funeral in progression, including the coffin being pulled by horse and cart to the final resting place. Our tour guide said in all the visits she had made to the cemetery she had never once seen what we got to see.

The cemetery also is the final resting place of JFK, seeing his final resting place was eerie yet I couldn’t help but be in awe of seeing this place. 

On our way to Raleigh we stopped at a walmart, this was my first experience at a walmart and I have to say it didn’t disappoint. We stopped with the purpose of people finding things to wear for Valentines day the following day, but it didn’t stop us just looking at everything and anything.

One of my favourite and funniest memories happened at this stop, with the girls trying on boots we found on sale, however Carly had hurt her ankle and it was swollen she couldn’t get the boot off, this lead to me dragging her around walmart trying to get the boot off but just laughing way too much.

Raleigh was our first buffet night, I am not a huge fan of buffets and was a little apprehensive, but the buffet offered some food which my US friends had spoken about often such as sweet potato with marshmallows. By far though my favourite part was they offered Smores and Cotton candy as part of the dessert selection in the buffet.

After dinner we headed to a bowling alley for a few games, this was also a good mingle and mixing kind of activity. I have a fairly short attention span so only really played one game before loosing interest, but it was a fun night regardless.

The what house? The White House?

We had two full days to explore Washington after the first evening, so the next day began the exploration of the Smithsonian museums. First up was the air and space museum. We signed up for a free guided tour, which whilst informative was probably a little too informative for my liking, and it took me less than 10 minutes to decide this tour was not for me, and I opted to sight see for myself. 

We also explored Washington by finding the shopping area – the girls were after red clothes for our Valentines day evening that was coming up in Savannah. We ventured into the subway system in DC and managed to make it back to where we were staying, though going into the subway when its sunny and coming out when its snowing was a new experience.

We headed to Georgetown for a night out grabbing dinner then meeting the rest of the group at a bar for some drinks and mingling to get to know people more. By chance we ended up at Serendipity (I didn’t even know they had one in DC). I did walk to explore the DC cupcakes Georgetown Cupcakes, but even in the ridiculously freezing weather and at 8pm at night the line up was still around the block, so I opted to not wait in the snow and thus didn’t get to see inside or try one of the famous cupcakes.

Day 3 was sleep in day, we decided to skip the bus into the city centre and use our street smarts (asking for help) and catch the metro to the white house . This adventure provided much humour after a conversation of being misunderstood when asking how to get to the white house being replied with the “what house” “the white house” “the what house”. Eventually we had our directions and set off, making a stop first for a hot caramel and some food.

The cold ended up being too much for me and I chose to go back to the hotel and warm up this was the -11 day and as much as I love seeing the sights I also enjoy being healthy and knowing I still had 2 months to go I really didn’t want to be sick.

Tonight is the night is the night that were losing control

Contiki for me it meant throwing out any preconceived ideas and stories I had heard and just going with it. When I was planning my trip Contiki was one thing I wasn’t 100% sure of, as I got to know some of the people I was travelling with I became more excited about it, after doing it I would highly recommend Contiki to anyone considering it.

Day 1: We had to have bags to coach in NYC at 7:30 am to hit the road, this was also the first time really meeting a lot of the people on tour. So simply put let the adventure begin. I was sitting with Lisa on the bus and we got to know Darsh, Amanda, Nick at our first stop which was Philadelphia.

First thing on the agenda, running up the Rocky Steps – well walking quickly and of course photos with the Rocky statue. The view from the top of the steps was looking back over the city before stopping by the liberty bell before lunch of a Philadelphia staple.

The Philly Cheese steak aka heart attack on a breadroll, we went to Sammys famous steaks for this experience, the boys got the meal, us girls opted for the cheese steak with provolone not cheese whip. The verdict whilst enjoyable way too  much food, and I don’t know how people could eat them often. 

It was back on the bus with our next stop being our first optional on our tour it was a tour of the Annapolis Naval Academy, we started the tour by walking through the streets and it felt like we had stepped into a set of a movie, prim and proper gardens, grand houses, each house with a flag out the front.  We got to visit the chapel which was beautiful, the gymnasium to see recruits in training.

We also got to see the Herdon Monument which each year is used during graduation where freshmen try and climb to the top, however it is usually greased up and the freshmen struggle to climb the monument. 

Washington DC was our final destination for day 1, we arrived to a very cold Washington – the coldest place I encountered on my trip it was -11c  and once again we got to see snow!

The first night was dinner and then a night time tour of DC, we got to see the Pentagon, White House, Capitol Building, Library of Congress and the Washington Monument, as well as visit the memorials of Lincoln, Jefferson and the Vietnam one. Whilst the weather was at the forefront of our mind, we braved the cold and got to see some fabulous sites the monument and capitol building of a night are spectacular. 

Seeing the Lincoln memorial was mesmerising, I have always had an interest in history, and it was surreal to see these iconic sights in real life and not just as part of a tv show or movie.