I want to be a part of it....

So, here is how it is going to work, I am going to split the moon of honey into some smaller chunks, to come out every Tuesday and Thursday, although I will admit that today is Friday... I know right? Hooray! Anyway, yep, the reason for the split posts is, well because, I realise that, fantabulous though I am, not of you will be desperate to read about our trip so this way I can hopefully punctuate it with other funsies posts.

So, here we go!

As a preface I will tell you that I have officially been to New York before. Twice in fact. The second time was when I had to change at JFK following a school skiing trip in Lake Tahoe so all I saw was the inside of the airport and all I remember is pooling my remaining quarters with a friend so we could get MacDonald's, the lady was so amused by 'the quaint English girls' that she gave us an extra cheeseburger. And the first time I was 15 months old. In fact here is a picture of Baby Livy in New York, please note the Union Jack buggy that my mother claims saved her from being stabbed in a gang war in Central Park as I was so cute and English.

You know all about our trip down to Heathrow (except I didn't tell you that I cried and snuffled half the way, I am a loser and do this every time we go abroad, who knows why... I'm sure that the three glasses of wine I had before leaving my Mum's house didn't help to be honest), so, by the time we had got through security, eaten something and debated whether I should buy £198 Marc Jacobs sunglasses in duty free (I didn't which was good as I would never have been able get my Chanellos then) it was time to board. The flight was the flight - although I did find Delta's safety video hilarious, and I also watched the latest Harry Potter and was excited to see that my sister's name appears on the credits even at 30,000 feet.

We arrived in JFK about 3pm and I got very excited getting a yellow cab from Queens to Manhattan, like stupidly and embarrassingly giggly.... twas quite bad really, plus sleep deprivation had made me quite delirious (remember that at this point, 8pm in the UK, I had not slept for around 36 hours) and I kept trying to do an Australian accent. I think there was some logic in my brain, about people not assuming we were English....

Once checked in to the lovely Paramount Hotel, we bounced about the bedroom (Steve very literally) and then headed out to explore the evening. First stop - Times Square. Now, I LOVED it. All bright lights and massive screens, Piccadilly Circus on acid. We wandered up Broadway for a bit, checking out the sites before cutting across and finding Radio City Music Hall and then the Rockefeller Centre. Armed with our New York Passes, we decided to mark our first evening in style and head up. Now, the pass wasn't cheap (around £100 each) but was worth it's weight in gold - free entry for most attractions including Top of the Rock, Empire State, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and all museums, zoos and galleries but also, crucially, queue jumping. HOORAH!

The lobby at The Paramount



The Empire State Building from Top of the Rock



Top of the Rock was wonderful, amazing views of the Park and the Empire State Building and the perfect way to kick off the honeymoon, seeing this amazing island from the sky.

Upon descent we realised we needed to eat something, having had a few people (including some of you lovely lot) recommended The Burger Joint at Le Parker Meridien we headed there and queued it out for twenty minutes.



Yummy Burger Joint burger

Totally worth the wait, the burgers are out of this world, I even took a picture I am that sad. The place is a total beach shack - not at all like the opulent hotel lobby it sits in. The food is fast and easy, a choice of three burgers with various garnishes, chips and a few drinks but they are oh so good. Seriously, I raved about it for days (FYI, medium rare is totally the way to go with burgers). We accompanied our burgers with the rankest pitcher of lager ever - Sam Adams, apparently some sort of Boston lager, chatting incessantly about how we were loving it already, so excited to be in Manhattan, so excited to be on our honeymoon (one day in and I had already told approximately 28 people and waved my marriage certificate at two of them, much to Steve's embarrassment) and busily planning the next day - Central Park and the Natural History Museum.

Outside Radio City Music Hall