The Empire State Building... You all probably know it from back in the 1930's when an over-sized ape decided to climb it am i right? King Kong aside this building is truly iconic and beautifully designed! Before we'd even touched down in the U.S. we knew visiting was a priority, so much so that we rose bright and early to head out and tick it off our bucket list... just minus the monkey's this time!
The iconic Empire State building was built 88 years ago on 17th March 1930, and is known for being the most famous observatory in the world! Both the lobby and the entire interior of the building has an Art Deco design complete with grand gold detailing, making it feel like walking into to Willky Wonka's chocolate factory and was truly breathtaking.
Empire State has two viewing decks, the main deck being on the 86th floor and the top deck being on the 102nd. To reach the platforms you have to take one of the stunning elevators to the 80th floor, and either take another or the stairs to the 86th floor. I'd highly recommend the lift, as trust me those 6 flights of stairs are a lot longer than you think! I think i managed to complete my exercise for the whole month just in that staircase.
From the platforms a full 360 degree view of the iconic New York skyline can be seen in all it's glory! It truly was stunning to be able to look down at this beautiful city and take it all in, I still couldn't quite believe I was there. From one angle Central Park could be seen, and from another the statue of liberty could be seen standing upon her island extremely small but still very proud!
Thankfully the weather decided to be on our side the entire time, and amazing memories were made. There is no way we could go all the way to New York City and not visit Empire State!
Do you ever see something on TV and think to yourself "You know what.. I wanna visit that place one day!", well for me Times Square was one of those bucket list worthy places! Over the years I have watched many movies and TV shows set in New York City, seen musicians and movie stars posing perfectly in the streets and listened to my friends reminisce about memories they have made there! Times Square very quickly became somewhere I longed to visit, but never in a million years ever thought I'd ever get lucky enough to make a reality.
In my opinion Times Square is two completely different places contrasting between day and night, you have to experience both to truly feel the magic and buzz that this city can radiate! During the day it's like any other big city, full of people rushing around, tourists gawping at every small detail and yellow cabs filling the streets like a hive of bumble bees. However at night... that's when the real magic happens!
We decided to waste no time at all and on our first night ventured out to see what all the fuss was about! The square was a very different place to what I had seen during the day, every store sign was now glowing an array of different colours, despite the sky being pitch black it was brighter than ever out there. I was surrounded by the many screens Times Square is famous for all displaying different ads, entertainers dressed as Elsa, Spiderman and even the Statue Of Liberty roaming the streets ready to put on a show and horse drawn carriage drivers zipping around taking their passengers to every inch of the city.
I was so surprised by the sheer volume of people out and about at such a late hour, getting somewhere fast was virtually impossible in the crowds that surrounded the square! The traffic was impossible as Taxis struggled to get around due to insane crowds covering the streets, it was almost laughable however the large crowds meant extra care had to be taken to not be separated from your group.
Back in Preston the shopping centre shuts at around 6pm, so it felt almost insane to be out and about shopping at near enough midnight! Although it had a rather surreal feeling, almost like when you go midnight shopping on Christmas eve to get the last of the veg in before the big day. It was truly and utterly insane but I felt so happy, i couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. To be part of the hustle and bustle was amazing and honestly made me feel so alive. Life in New York City was so beautiful, and it felt like no amount of time could even begin to ruin the bubble that surrounds it!
To finally be stood there in Times Square after all this time was a feeling I can't even begin to put into words, and to finally be the one getting their photograph taken in front of the famous bright lights is still something I can't to this day even believe happened! The experience was made all the more perfect by having my boyfriend by my side the entire time, I was swamped with this overwhelming feeling that life can be good, you just have to get through the bad to be rewarded with the good! I never thought I'd find someone who loves me enough to put up with me and want to be by my side, never mind stand by me in front of Times Square!
This beautiful city is an escape from reality that everyone should experience at least once in their lives, it truly is the city that never sleeps! I guess the moral of this story is that if you believe hard enough, you really can make your dreams a reality!
If you follow my blog posts then I'm sure you already know that a few months ago I was lucky enough to be exploring Boston, Massachusetts. Having already spent the full morning roaming the grounds of Harvard University, we were now left with some free time on our hands to use how ever we pleased!
One location we all were very keen to visit was that of Massachusetts Institute Of Technology! I know what your all thinking... not exactly your idea of having fun ey? Well let's not forget we are all CSI's after all!
Just like every other Academic building we had previously seen, this one was truly magnificent! The main entrance to MIT resembled that of the Natural History Museum, so very grand and elegant complete with white stone pillars and a stair case leading up to it. In true tourist style we of course decided to have a lil photo shoot upon the stairs!
The TV savvy among you may recall a show which aired in America during the 1980's and 90's, I of course mean none other than the sitcom "Cheers". As we were in Boston it of course seemed rude to not head inside the "Cheers" bar for a quick drink! Inside was overflowing with various memorabilia items and souvenirs from the show, which was actually the most popular series of all time during it's time on air. We headed upstairs in the hope of finding a seat, however every other human being in Boston also seemed to have the same idea! The place was rammed with cheery people all chattering away while they drank out of "Cheers" inscribed steins, so instead we opted for a quick soft drink refresher before heading back out to explore some more!
Our casual wanders took us for a stroll through Boston Common, which was a little more like the local parks we are used to back home as opposed to that of Central Park! However the park was still so beautiful, complete with it's own lake and water fountain. Walking through that park with the sun shinning down on us, time stopped for a minute and I had absolutely no cares in the world during that single moment!
After all this exploring there was only one thing left to do... SHOPPING!! While wandering around Boston City we stumbled across the cutest little indoor food market, which we just had to go check out! Inside the market was rammed with tourists from all different walks of life, brushing shoulders with them all as we passed through felt like we were taking a walk down a cobbled street just bathing in culture! The stalls sold all sorts of food ranging from Pizza, Seafood, Mexican and even sweet dessert stands.
We finished of the day by making a pit stop at none other than Primark which was bigger than anything I could have imagined, posing with the word Boston all lit up in baby blue lighting. Although Boston was one of the most tiring days of the the entire trip it was beyond worth it, I would 100% do it all again in a heartbeat!
Massachusetts Institution Of Technology
Cheers Bar
Boston Common
Boston Massachusetts... home to none other than Harvard University!
If you combine our Mini Bus and Subway journey duration just to get there, it may have been the longest and most tedious journey of our entire trip... but it was so worth it!
Built in 1636, Harvard is the oldest institution for higher education in the United States. The campus it's self is split into 11 separate academic units, located within different areas of Boston, with Harvard Stadium situated on the Allston side of the River Charles.
The main campus of the University is situated in the Cambridge area, and leads right into Harvard Yard. The yard it's self felt so peaceful and truly was beautiful, complete with a square of fresh green grass in the middle hugging the trees and Quaint colourful tables with chairs resting upon it. On your left hand side as you enter, stands Harvard's Memorial Church. This building is so elegant; complete with it's own church tower and four large pillars guarding the entrance. As a group we sat upon the benches at the entrance to the church and ate a little picnic; relaxing within the calm atmosphere of the Harvard campus, taking in the magnificent building work surrounding us and realizing just how lucky we actually are to be right there in that moment!
Opposite to where we were sat stood Harvard's Widener Library, which is the largest academic and private library system in the world! The system it's self consists of up to 79 separate libraries, holding approximately over 18 million different volumes.
The campus it's self is made up of many tall bricked buildings, presenting an old fashioned and antique appearance. Believe it or not some of these buildings are actually freshman dormitories, which is miles more extravagant than any University accommodation I've lived in myself! Harvard is a largely residential research University, with many first years choosing to live on campus.
As the actual campus is spread out across the Boston area, next on our agenda was to make our way over the Charles river to the Allston section of the campus; our goal was to visit Harvard Business school. All of the buildings again were truly magnificent, complete with pillars and beautifully patterned designs on each. The Baker library is an example of one of these buildings! In front of the library lay a large patch of fresh green grass with a beautiful view of the river, so of course we took it as a perfect photo shoot opportunity.
Not far from the Baker library stands none other than Harvard Stadium, the grounds were empty giving us free reign of it all! Harvard stadium was built from concrete in 1903, and is enormous holding enough seating for over 30,300 people. The stalls within the stadium sit in a U shaped bend surrounding the field below them. After taking a few photographs from the ground we ventured round the back of the stadium in search of an entrance, before climbing our way up the stalls and taking in the extreme height at which they were situated. Inscribed within the grass field below in a deep red colour was the word "Crimson", which is actually Harvard's designated colour. Crimson was chosen to enable the Harvard team to be identified during the regatta, which has stuck after all these years.
Finally we finished our trip to the University by heading over to Harvard Square, and spending hours pondering in all of the merchandise shops to our hearts content! However our day did not end there, we decided to explore some more... after all we were in Boston!
Baker Library
Harvard Stadium
Harvard Square
