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Bully's Travels
Going to see an old friend for the weekend doesn't seem out of the ordinary but when he lives in Manhattan you might seem a little mad! But it is surprisingly easy and with a long weekend you can be amazed what you can do. I left Heathrow at 5.30pm on Friday and with a 6 hours and 50 minutes flight I arrived at JFK at 7.20 p.m. local time.
I booked a shuttle bus that took me directly to my mate's apartment downtown in only 40 minutes. All I needed was a quick wash and brush up and to head out on the town. First stop was a Bar 89 in the Soho area. Very trendy Sex in the City style bar with very interesting toilets. They were unisex and the doors were clear glass, a bit concerning when you are busting for a pee. But as you lock the door it automatically frosts up, so privacy at last. After a couple of cocktails we headed down to the Village which was only a five-minute walk away. Greenwich Village is full of bars, restaurants, clubs and don't worry about what time you get there as many of the bars don't get busy until 10pm and you can still be drinking happily until 4am.
Saturday started slowly after a long Friday and a big night partying, but we didn't have to go far to find a restaurant that serves all day breakfast NY style. Lightly toasted sesame seed bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon and scrabbled eggs with a Bloody Mary on the side to sort out that hangover!
All set now to take on the world we hailed a cab and headed up to mid town for some real retail therapy. Starting at Bloomindales at Lexington and E 59th street you can pretty much get your hands on any fashion item you could possible need. If Bloomingdales haven't got it, then don't panic, as the whole area is full of designer shops. But be warned you only have a baggage limit coming home of 2 pieces and 32 kg per piece!
Once the credit card had taken a pounding I needed to relax and take some fresh air, so I walked a few blocks north to Central Park. If your feeling energetic your can jog, bike or walk for hours around this green oasis. As for me a few minutes watching the horse-drawn carriages setting off around the park was all the break I needed before heading down to Times Square to buy those tacky I Love NY T-shirts for my mates back home.
Shopping complete, we were in good time to pop down to my mate's local sports bar to catch his old college playing football, US style of course, against their rival local team. After 4 hours of football still not really understanding the rules and belly full of buffalo hot wings and beers, we headed back to his place to get ready for a another night on the town.
We woke up Sunday morning needing a sight seeing fix. NY has so much to offer from Museums, The Statue of Liberty and even a sight seeing tour by helicopter. It was a glorious day so I headed up the Empire State Building to get the best view of the city and on a clear day, like I had, you can see for 25 miles.
After a classic New York Steak for lunch I headed back to pack and make my way back to the airport and home. I might sound a bit mad to do all that in one weekend but I did, and still survived.
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