NYC | Bucket List Ticks

My first big holiday abroad was when I was 9 years old and my parents took my sister and I to New York, where I celebrated my 10th birthday, how spoilt am I?

Obviously my memories are a little blurred because this was such a long time ago (I’m now 22) but I still look back on the trip fondly and feel so thankful I got to visit NYC with my family.

Funnily enough, one of my most prominent memories of the trip is of me and my sister sitting on the bed in the hotel absolutely howling of laughter as I kept mimicking what she was saying and she got more and more wound up by the minute. I would just not stop repeating everything she said and I remember so clearly how funny it was! It just goes to show that sometimes it’s the simple things in life that count the most, I was in one of the most incredible cities in the world and the first memory I mention is purely of my sister and I being silly together.

Opening my birthday presents in our hotel, this was the day I wound my sister up endlessly mimicking her.

Of course I have a ton of other memories too. I remember my Dad buying me a countless number of hot dogs off the street, I didn’t really like them but I hadn’t the heart to tell him so I just munched them down. For some reason he was so obsessed with the hot dogs, he took so many photos of me by the vendors which is just so amusing, the guys serving must have just been like wtf!?

I also remember walking through China Town with my fam and this random man walks past me and wags his finger in my face saying ‘gotta go to school tomorrow’ (it was a Sunday) and I was just like well jokes on you because I’m on holiday mate. I mean, I didn’t actually say that to him, but we all thought it. What an odd one!

Whilst in New York my family and I did so much together and as I write about it now, more and more memories are coming back to me. I remember searching high and low in Toys R Us for Mary-Kate and Ashley merchandise and unbelievably there was none to be found, bare in mind we were there in 2005 when they were in their prime and merchandising everything under the sun, but somehow in that huge Toys R Us big enough to house a Ferris Wheel, there was nothing M-K and A! Baffling.

Along with making beautiful family memories in NYC, we were lucky enough to tick off many bucket list experiences together including

• Admiring the views of New York from the top of the Empire State Building
• Ice skating in Central Park (my Dad and sister sat that one out)
• Taking a horse and carriage ride around Central Park
• Visiting Ground Zero
• Seeing the Statue Of Liberty
• Seeing a show on Broadway
• Visiting Times Square
• Shopping in Macy’s (I didn’t actually buy anything but still)
• Going to Hershey’s World and taking home lots of chocolate

The Broadway show we went to see was Good Vibrations, a musical based around The Beach Boys songs. I didn’t really know anything about the Beach Boys at the time but I loved the show, we saw this at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre which I remember being quite small! My favourite part of the show was when they sang Wouldn’t It Be Nice because I loved the song and the Fun, Fun, Fun number was really fab too. Fast forwarding 12 years later and I consider myself a huge fan of the Beach Boys, their songs are so feel good and happy and remind me of my trip to New York.

I would so love to go back to New York City now I’m older and in a position to appreciate it and embrace it more. I do really hope I get the chance to visit this vibrant, magical, lively city again soon. Next years plans?

Have you ever been to NYC? What show would you most like to see on Broadway? Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading,

love,

Jennie

♥