New York, New York

I woke up way too early, excited to see what the day would bring! Where would we start? What will we see? What even is this thing they call morning?

I pre-purchased Grey Line bus passes back at home, so the plan was to head there first, get our tickets and then hop on and off the bus system. (Lol to that … but I will share that later)

We got our passes, but by this stage Rhys was “starving” so we made the trek to find food. Literally walked straight into what they call “restaurant road” here. An overwhelming amount of options! None of which were what rhys wanted haha! And he kept saying “You should not be hungry in New York” … over and over. I couldn’t help but laugh at him, surrounded by food, but “starving” *sigh*. He wanted the traditional diner experience, so I kept suggesting everything but 😂 much to Rhys’s dislike HAHA! A heavenly moment, the path cleared and a diner revealed itself (thank god)

I loved the experience! I felt like I was in a movie; never ending coffee, crispy bacon, corn beef hash, pancakes with whipped butter and syrup and great service! We were sat next to an Aussie! Small world!

So with a full belly and a much nicer rhys by my side, we made the journey to find a bus stop – after a few passed us by we decided to keep walking as we weren’t far from Bryant Park, and I knew they had a pianist there from 12:30. On the walk, some more Aussies started a chat, which was nice too!

Got to Bryant Park! Totally beautiful space! Pocket of Zen in the middle of the hustle and bustle! Spent quite some time here, listening to the piano and people watching.

Started walking again to find a bus stop, more buses passed us by, and we are getting heckled left right and centre to buy bus passes, we just want to get on one! Haha! Rhys made friends with some rappers who “gifted” him a cd but then wanted $20 for it 😂 “big Chris comeee on mannnn” lol rhys gave them $5 and he called it a bargain (worst cd ever. Although Rhys asked me to mention that the track “I smoke weed every day is a classic”) Time for a drink.

Beers are in one size, so a pint later, my legs are sufficiently numbed! (Lucky as we had a lot of walking ahead of us haha!) We headed to some of the stops listed on our guide, one being our hotel, but the buses kept going past us …so we just decided to just keep trekking! This time to Central Park!

It’s amazing how calm Central Park is! There’s so much noise in the city, and the park is super chill! A stunning landscape, people lying on the grass, relaxing and enjoying the sun! Absolutely perfect! We walked, hand in hand, laughing and just enjoying our time together. I needed this.

After all the calm, and all the walking, we thought let’s try get the bus from the zoo bus stop. LOL … you know how this goes. Fail … Bail. Let’s go to the Apple Store.

My laptop has decided to turn itself into a pretty brick on this trip. So I enquire about a new laptop, and then we think … last shot … we are getting on this damn bus!

We see the bus coming, and think F it … and basically walk through traffic while it’s stopped at the lights, and the bus driver must have seen the desperation and let us on. Tour guide was super confused “where on earth did you come from” … GUY … WHERE DID YOU COME FROM? Haha 😂😂😂

The bus ride was HILARIOUS! Our guide was such a lovely human! And started every fact with “alsoooo ladiesss and gentlemannnn *insert city fact here* Oh yeahhhhhhh, it’s trueeee”

No one on the bus was listening to him, but rhys and I were in fits of giggles cos he was a crack up! I also ended up getting the mic shoved in my face so I could say “oh yeahh … it’s trueeee” for him 😂

Bus ride did nothing BUT stop at bus stops … of course 😑 and by the end we were SO keen to get off, we went through uptown and Harlem, and got a really good idea of our surroundings. I got a big hug and a kiss from the guide as we left, and we jumped off at our hotel, ready to get dressed and head to a Mets game!

Rhys and I have a pretty quick brain for metro systems and the subway! So it took us no time to figure out our route. $6 later we are at Citi fields and it is AMAZING!!

Baseball games are FUN! That’s right … who even am I?? Haha we were pretty late and spent a lot of time waiting for our food as our waitress was hilariously not interested in her job! Haha straight up ditched our order and left us, and someone else had to serve us our food 😂 no tip for you! I really enjoy the idea of drinking beer from a can as big as my head, so that was a highlight.

Baseball games are full of atmosphere! Lots of music, games between innings and just an epic vibe! Could definitely go to another game before we leave the US! We started talking to a couple there .. and they are from Sydney?! What the heck? Are there even Americans in America??

Subway back, got off at Times Square, took a wrong turn, and ended up walking AGAIN! This time we were walking for so long we both couldn’t stop giggling at how awful our bodies are! We were shaking and limping and desperate to wee 😂😂😂 so we stopped at a bar for some mussels and vino to give us the strength to walk back to the hotel. We will definitely be burning some of that American grease off at least!

Back to the hotel, where I passed out basically on my laptop keyboard for the second night running (picture for your enjoyment … Looking smokin’ haha!)

Tomorrow, more adventure awaits!