New York - My Trip in Pictures

As you'll know from my previous post (New York - My Top Tips) we went to New York a couple of months back. It was a brilliant week, we got to see and do (and eat!) everything on our list. Whilst I'm so glad we went and did really enjoy it, I wouldn't chose to go back. It didn't quite have that magical/overwhelming/exciting feel that I thought it would, it definitely wasn't as cheap as everybody would have you believe and the majority of people were pretty miserable/rude. It didn't put me off returning to America though, there are plenty more places we will visit over there without a doubt :)

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! xxx

New York - My Top Tips

Back in November/December we ticked one off our bucket list and went to New York for a week. It was one of those places everybody raved about and I thought I'd never get to see for myself but in February last year we booked it and now a year later I'm able to write this post!

When is the best time to visit New York?
Summer time can be really hot and sticky but your pictures will be cracking, Christmas is expensive and busier but more magical and February is the coldest time to go but also the cheapest. We were divided between going in February so it was cheap or before Christmas so we could see all the Christmas lights and window displays. In the end we decided to go right at the end of November into the first week of December, it was much cheaper than a week or so on and Christmas was in full swing too so it was a win win.


Where is the best place to stay in New York? And how can I get a good deal?
If you book your flights and hotel separately, it works out far cheaper and means more money for shopping! I always use compare sites to find the best deal. We flew with Norwegian Air, our experience was very good and I would definitely use them again. We knew we wanted to be within walking distance of as many of our must-see places as possible but didn't want to pay through the roof. It is cheaper to stay further out but then you need to take into consideration taxis and the subway to get around, with those added in, is it still cheaper? I didn't find there was a lot of difference. We stayed at the Hyatt place, Midtown South which I booked through TripAdvisor and I'd definitely recommend it. Times square was a few minutes walk, we were 2 streets away from the Empire State Building and had the perfect view of it out our hotel window and our room was modern, the bed was the comfiest hotel bed ever, we had a huge TV and free WiFi.. and free breakfast.


Things to do in New York?
Walk over Brooklyn Bridge - the views of manhattan as you look back are Inst-worthy!, stand in the middle of Grand Central station, take a yellow cab just for the experience, ride the subway - also an experience, go up Top of the Rock - it's cheaper than the Empire State and your pictures over the city will include it. Winning!, go shopping in Macy's, take a stroll (and tons of pictures) in central park, take the Staten Island ferry for pictures of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty - it's completely free!, wander round Times Square, visit a Target store for cheap goodies - we went to the one in Brooklyn after walking over the bridge, find the Flat Iron building just to take pictures of it, same with the beautiful Chrysler building and walk the high line for some different views over the city.


Where to eat in New York?
Have a burrito from a market (we went to Herald Square market, twice, for ours and it was the best burrito we've ever had!) - we also tried Chipotle for the first time there but their burritos weren't quite as good.
Have donuts! I done research before I went and we walked quite far to a little place called Dough, sadly the service was poor and the donuts ended up in the bin but Tim Hortons, wowzers. Go in the morning when they're most fresh.
Bubba Gump is a must. I know we have one in London but apparently it's not as good? We had a window overlooking Times Square, the food was delicious and service fantastic.
Pizza duuude! The best pizza place we found (and ended up in 3 times, oops) was The Big Slice near the flat iron. You definitely should try a dollar slice somewhere too, we tried one near central park and it was actually much nicer and tastier than I'd expected.
iHop gave me mixed feelings, I had a small fry up that came with a couple of pancakes on the side. The breakfast was really good and the pancakes were fluffy but not as sweet as I'd have liked and came with a salty lump of what I presume was butter on top. Service was brilliant though.
If you've tried Five Guys in the UK and didn't think it was all that (like my other half!) you probably wouldn't try one over there but trust me, it's far superior. You wouldn't think they were the same company. Mmmm!
I also recommend Chick-fil-A, Wendys and bags of Dove chocolate promises in peanut butter flavour!


Anything else?
-  Take comfortable shoes! - We walked over 50 miles in the week we were there.
- It's not as cheap out there as people say. $4.99 for a bag of crisps Dorito size.. $4.50 for a large bag of M&Ms.. And forget bringing home a suitcase full of Reeces Cups, they're cheaper over here!
- People in New York just aren't that friendly. Apparently everyone knows this - I didn't. Unless they're working for tips in general people are pretty miserable.
- Create 'My Maps' on Google. Pin all of your must-see places on a map for when you get there. It doesn't need data either as it uses GPS so it's free!
- Don't worry about not being able to use your social media accounts without running up a huge bill, almost everywhere has free wifi.
- Toilets.. I never saw a public toilet?! We had daily Starbucks pit stops to refuel and use the loo (and wifi!). Most of them have codes on the door which you need to get from staff.
- The subway is £2.50 per person per ride. We used it coming back from Brooklyn (we walked around 9 miles that day, there was no way I could have walked back!) the staff are really helpful although we still found it a little intimidating to use, definitely wouldn't have used it at night.
- Prices on items in shops/restaurants etc don't usually include tax - this is added at the til when you pay.
- If you find yourself being pestered by people trying to sell you tickets, try leaving the hotel not looking like a tourist.. The days I didn't take my bag or have my camera out we were left completely alone which we both found highly amusing!
- There are a lot of homeless people and beggers, especially at night and around main train stations. We visited Penn Station one night as we had planned to get the train back to the airport but it put us off.
- Don't go to the airport any earlier than you need to coming home, trust me. For a main airport, the facilities were very lacking. Coming in was pretty quick and easy and the staff very friendly.


In my next post I'll share some of our pictures from our trip :) xxx

Why I don't want children..

Some people were born to be mothers. I was not.
From a young age (I'm talking middle school age) I've been adamant I don't want children and I still feel that way now, if not more so. I always said I want cats, not children!
Before I carry on, please remember all of this is my opinion and how I feel, my aim is not to annoy anybody but just to explain why I feel the way I do. 
I'm not entirely sure why I was so sure I didn't want children when I was just a child myself but I'm older now and have several reasons and it isn't just because I don't want to push one out my lady parts!! Thankfully I'm with someone who shares these views and also does not want children.

My mum always told me I'd change my mind. I'd put money on it that she's still hoping I will.

Put simply, children annoy me. There, I said it. Not all children of course (I mean, I love my nieces and nephew to bits) but the annoying ones that are just relentless, too loud and too grizzley - I'll try to avoid those ones where possible. Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first to point out a family with well behaved children.. But I'll also moan when a child is screaming, playing up, whining, crying and so on. I can't bear the noise, it goes right through me - how do mothers look like they can't hear it?! - What's the secret please??

I enjoy being able to do what I want, when I want. This one is pretty self explanitory but I/we just like to be able to come and go as we please and if you have a child or children it's not always feasible. Plus any money we have is for us, no children means more money for us to do with as we please. Taking children out is so expensive!! We definitely wouldn't be able to go out half as much as we do now.. Sometimes when we're bored, we'll just jump in the car and go for a random drive to the coast or wherever - even if it's really late at night. It's times like this or when we go for peaceful walks that we have great chats about anything and everything, with no interuptions.

As I mentioned above, I love my nieces and nephew to bits and do genuinely enjoy spoiling them and taking them for fun days out.. But that's just the fun stuff isn't it - that's the easy part. As much as we love them all, not having to deal with the bad stuff and getting home to a quiet house afterwards is priceless. My mum's always said we'd be great parents, we are both really good with children and we'd give a child a great life but it's just not what we want, we enjoy our peace and quiet!

I/we just don't want to give up the life we have because we're so happy as we are and don't wish for it to change. What do you get out of being a parent? I asked my mum and all she could say was she wouldn't change me for the world.. But what does she get out of being a mum? What would I get out of being a mum? Pooey nappies, sleepless nights, grumpiness, snotty noses (gag), a messy house, bickering with Aaron, less money, less 'us' time, fewer holidays/weekends away, much less peace and quiet/down time, headaches, constant worry.. and the odd good day with the odd 'I love you.'

Will I ever regret not having children? No. Why? Cause I'll have had freedom.

Our Holiday to Crete

Our holiday to Crete is my favourite holiday that we've had so far. Would I go there again? Yes! There are so many beautiful places to see - I'd definitely recommend hiring a car/quad bike and seeing as much as you can.

Where To Stay In Crete.
When we went, we stayed in Platanes, just outside Rethymno on the north coast. Although we thoroughly enjoyed where we stayed and liked how we were quite central, if we were to return then we'd definitely stay in Chania (west of Rethymno) as it's one of the nicest cities I've ever visited and most of the places we fell in love with were that side of the island. The north of the island has a main road running right along which makes getting about a lot easier and quicker. The roads on the south of the island leave a lot to be desired! Many of the ones we ended up on were rubble which made journeys take a lot longer but don't let that put you off, it's less touristy and the beaches on the south are quieter and there's gorgeous deserted coves too.

Dipping my toes in the sea :)

We travelled as far east as Malia (around 1 hour 15 mins away) - out of curiosity really - and unless it's soley nightlife you're looking for, I wouldn't recommend. We travelled as far west (south-west) as Elafonisi lagoon (just over 2 hours away) which is the most beautiful place I've ever seen in my life.

Top 5 things to do in Crete.
 
Elafonisi beach lagoon

As I mentioned, this is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. I'm not sure the pictures do it justice, it was just bliss. The sand is pinky white and the water is clear blue and in many parts very shallow, we were able to go out so far and it never got any higher than my knees. It was well worth the 2 hour drive each way but as I said, I'd stay closer if I were to return. We were told about 2 lagoons, this one was the best of the 2 but I've decided to do a comparison post where I'll really go into it as they're very different.

Chania

We really enjoyed visiting Chania, it's a city so there's plenty to see and do but what sold it for us was the promenade/port area. There's a lot of places to eat and drink right by the water, we really enjoyed chilling out with drinks and the sound of the water gently lapping the wall but we ate dinner in the old part of the town. We found a pretty little 'old Cretian style' restaurant with outside seating in a little courtyard. It was really difficult to choose where to eat as there were so many great little places.

South of the island

We only saw a small part of the south island as it look over an hour to get there and the roads weren't great. We visited Preveli beach which looked gorgeous online but unfortuntely we were disappointed. It was over crowded and dirty. We headed along to the Agios Pavlos area, in the middle of nothing really. We had the whole place to ourselves and caught the sunset, it was so lovely. On our way to the south of the island, we stopped to stretch our legs and both experienced something we'd never experienced before. We got off the quad, looked at the view then realised we could literally hear nothing. No wind, no traffic, no birds.. Absolute silence, with a gorgeous view. It was just amazing.

Hire a quad

For the first week of the holiday we hired a car to get around, then we swapped it for a quad for the last few days which was awesome. There's something far more exciting and exhilarating about jumping on a quad bike to get about rather than a car. We'll definitely be opting for a quad over a car for future holidays, I do recommend getting one with a box on the back to put your handbag/suncream/map though - although it's not safe to leave unattended.

Try a gyro

Our flight to Crete was an evening one but by the time we'd got off the transfer coach - which seemed to take forever - it was around 11pm. We dropped our cases in our hotel room and wandered down the road in search of food! The only place still serving food was a fast food shop with a restaurant on the side.. This was our first taste of gyros, they're a must if visiting Crete. They're kind of a kebab, it has the kebab meat but it also has chips and a gorgeous Tzatziki sauce in there, boy it was good. The sauce was so good, we've been making it ourselves since, although it's not quite as good as the real thing! Unfortunately I never got a picture of this (what?!) but I can assure you it was yummy!

don't worry, my eyebrows are way better now ;)

What a brilliant holiday it was. I always say I would go back but I probably won't go back. I would because it's beautiful and the people are so friendly and laid back but I won't because there are so many other places for us to visit first before we make repeats, do you know what I mean?

Are you thinking of visiting Crete? Or have you been before? I'd love to know where you stayed/where your favourite places were! xxx

Feeling Fresh

Howdy!
For the past few months, I'd been toying with the idea of coming back to blogging. Again.
I've always wanted to blog as it's something I really enjoyed but it's the actually doing it part I struggled with. I've been away for well over a year but now I'm back with tons of fresh ideas for posts and I'm raring to go and create the blog I always wanted to. Lets do this!!

So much has changed since I last blogged..

• I'm still with Aaron, it will be 8 years this year, how scary is that!
• We had a fantastic holiday to Crete (highly recommend if you haven't been) around a month after I last blogged, I will do a seperate post on that.
• I got a new job in Nov 2014 as a customer care advisor for a hearing company, I'm still there now and really enjoy it.
• Unfortunately our gorgeous cat Chester had to be put to sleep a week before Christmas 2014. He went downhill very quickly (2 weeks) all the vets knew was that his liver was failing, despite lots of tests and medication nothing worked and they decided it was best to say goodnight to him. He was only 2 years old and it's still very raw :(
• Early 2015 we decided to rescue a kitten from a local cat shelter as Vinnie had become very lonely and couldn't bare to be alone. We named him Tommy.
• We finally got a newer, more reliable car. An Audi A6, we love it.
• I left my Slimming World group for various reasons, I just wasn't happy there anymore. I'd lost nearly 4 stone when I left... I've put nearly 2 of those back on, although I am trying it from home again now. Watch this space!
• In 2015 I got my brow game on (I'll blog about it soon) and had my longgg hair cut to a medium length - this was a big deal to me! - I much prefer it now :)
• We had lots of fun days out and I've manged to tick off quite a few things from my 30 before 30 list (see above).
• At the end of last summer we rescued a third cat, this time from Cats Protection (fantastic experience with them) he's a year old and named George. He's such a sweetie.
• Aaron started divorce proceedings with his ex. More on this once it's all done with.
• In January we booked a holiday to New York for this year so expect posts on that too!

I think that's you all caught up now.. For future posts you can expect a real mixture of lifestyle kind of posts.. days out, holiday/breaks away posts, wedding posts, how-to posts, anything exciting I get up to and lots more! I'm excited! xxx