Justina 's Blog

Our third day in New york and its time to go sightseeing, the last time we came here we jump on a open top tour bus so we decided to do the same again. You get to see the whole of New York on this bus and it allows you to get off the bus at any stop and explore all the exciting attractions. We left the bus at downtown Manhatthan and exlpored the finanicial district, this is were ground zero is, the area around where the trade centres were is so so quiet and very moving, we only read the boards about the timeline of the twin towers then we moved on to Century 21 which is a department store that sells cheap clothes from last season. I had already spent quite a bit so i skipped on the purchasing! After our brief shopping spree we headed towards the south heliport where we were booked for a helicopter flights, after a ten minute walk we were told by some guy that the heli-port is closed so we had to head for the north heli-port. On the map the distance didn't look too far so we thought we'd walk it, how wrong could we be???!!!! The port was at least 7 miles walk and it was very cold walking along the Hudson river and after a while my feet started to hurt, :-( Still the flight was amazing and because of the long walk the sun had set and the city lights were on, definitely something to remember. After the long walk and achy feet we headed back to hotel............i was pleased about that!

On my second day in New York we took the chance the chance to go into the Empire State building. The views at the top were amazing but very cold and very very windy!!! I got my luggage......finally! It turned up at the hotel at 5am! I was very pleased since i didn't want to walk the streets wearing the same clothes, ewwwwwwwwwwwww! I took a long look around Macy's department store, its the largest department store in the world. It covers a whopping 9 floors, the bottom floor was deicated to handbags and cosmectics..........i was in heaven. I brought 2 handbags, a Kathy Van Zeeland and a Liz Claiborne and the total cost was only $74! Wow thats about £50, what a bargain! I also found out that you gain get a international shoppers discount card that intitles you to 11% off nearly all the merchandise, even sale and clearance stock. That gave me even more incentive to buy.................not too sure whether thats good or bad!!!!??

Check out Day Twos Pictures

I'm just starting my two week holiday in the U.S.A. The first leg of the trip is 3 nights in New York, then i'll be moving on to Illinois to visit my brother for ten days and finally to Chicago for 2 nights.
So i was up at 5 on Friday 21st October to leave for Heathrow airport, i really hate waking up in the morning but for a holiday i don't mind. The traffic was terrible on the way to the Heathrow which meant that we had to rush to check-in and after security we had to run to the gate. It was the first time we that we never had chance to look around the designer shops that Heathrow has to offer. I suppose it was not bad because i didn't feel tempted to buy anything! So we run to the gate and make it in time, me and my brother had to sit in the middle aisle and my seat was bang in the middle of the row. This meant that everytime i wanted to go toilet everyone had to get up! Oops! The in-flight meal was disgusting, smelt really bad, i didn't even attempt to eat the green stuff in the meal. Over all the flight was pleaseant and very smooth. We landed at 12:30 New York time, and had to queue for ages at u.s imigration, one couple was complaining constantly because they had another flight to catch. I wasn't going to let them pass! He he! We then arrived at baggae claim, i waited and waited for my case but it never turned up (its bright pink so it can't be missed!) I had to report it to baggage services and the lady behind the counter said that the case was put on another flight and would arrive at the airport about 7:30. i was so annoyed, i wanted to change my clothes at the hotel since a flight make you feel very unclean. We then had to make our way to the airport and a very nice cab driver took us to our hotel and gave us a guided tour on the way. The hotel we are staying in The Edison Hotel, is comfortable but nothing special. The location of the hotel is excellent, two steps from Times square! We headed out for dinner once we had rested and unpacked, we decided on TGI Friday's, Yummy! At about 9:30pm i went to check if my bag had arrived, the man in check-in at the hotel said that bags don't get delivered to the hotel till after mid-night! This meant i had no clothes for bedtime, i was fuming at this point. Still being in New York made me feel alittle better, i'll have to check in the morning! Fingers crossed!

Day One Pictures

Last night i went to School Disco.com at the Hammersmith palais in London. It was Jo and Steph's 22nd birthday, There was 22 of us bus and the club was wicked. Best club night i've been to in ages! Definately have to go there again. The atomosphere was amazing, everyone was on a high and the music was pure cheese............brilliant!
Check out the school pic's! enjoy!

On Wednesday 14th and Thursday 14th, Matthew and I went to Alton Towers. I was up at 4:00 am in the morning to make my way to Matthews house then we departed for Alton Towers. The route was clear all the way (really surprising since we had to travel on the M25!)
Both days in the park were absolutely brilliant and we went on all the rides, Matthew was a little unsure about Obvilion but he managed to pick up the courage on the second day to ride it. I think that it is the best ride in the park, you get such a rush when you go down the drop!
The park had hardly any queue's which is always a bonus!! The coke refill that Matthew brought was also a bonus, £3.99 for a unlimited coke bottle, he must have had it refilled at least 4 or 5 times, hence the many trips to the loo!!

Check out the trip photos
We also stayed over night at Heywood Hall, we had our own suite which consisted of a bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen. The owners John and Louise were very friendly and offered advice on Alton Towers. We'll be staying there again next time.