New York

This February, my family and I visited New York. We only had 4 full days to explore the city, but managed to do so much within that time, and still felt as though we could have spent another week there.

We visited (purely coincidental yet much to my delight) during New York Fashion Week! As you can imagine, this made every day even more exciting as we felt right in the middle of it all, and kept our eyes peeled for celebs at all times.

On our first day exploring, which was actually Valentines Day, we started the day with a huge breakfast from a typical American diner called the Brooklyn Diner.

As always, the portions were massive but too good to resist. I could definitely get used to thick fluffy pancakes drizzled in chocolate sauce for breakfast every morning.

After breakfast I then persuaded my family to head to the Kylie Jenner pop up shop which was in the New York for the few days were there! After 2 hours of queuing (my family were beginning to hate me at this point) we finally made it into the store and it was amazing. I have never seen so many lip kits.

We literally ran around the store picking up so many products, including ones from the exclusive Valentines collection. It was also so cool to see her clothing range and I couldn't resist buying a Kylie Jenner Tee (which I have pretty much lived in ever since)

The security guards told us how the day before we visited (the first day of it opening), 9,000 people turned up and queued all day yet only 2,000 got let in! So I was pretty determined to see the store and so happy we eventually managed to get in.

Although...the one thing I will never get over is leaving 15 minutes before Kim Kardashian arrived

and gave away free lip kits. Life can be so cruel.

After I got over missing Kim Kardashian, we headed to the Rockefeller Centre and attempted to remake a picture from 11 years ago in the exact same spot! We then took the lift up to the very top of the Rockefeller Centre to see the incredible view of the New York skyline.

We timed it perfectly to watch the sun setting over the city, and the view was breath taking - even the pictures didn't do it justice.

The best thing about being at the top of the Rockefeller Centre was the view of the Empire State Building towering above the rest of the city, which put it's height into perspective with the rest of the New York skyline. You could spend hours admiring the view, watching the hustle and bustle of the city but from the highest, most peaceful point possible.

Me and Evie of course had to get a picture (like the one from Dubai) touching the top of the Empire State, not looking like tourists at all...

The next day we began our morning with another huge breakfast, but this time from Balthazar's in Midtown Manhattan. The food was absolutely amazing (as you can tell from the picture above) and we left left feeling so full.

Luckily we then had a long walk to Lower Manhattan to catch a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, so we could burn off those calories from all the bacon, waffles and pancakes...mmm.

After heading to the edge of Lower Manhattan we caught a ferry to Liberty Island. It was amazing to see the statue that close up, and we then realised we would be even closer as we bought tickets to climb up to the highest part - inside the crown!

The climb up to the crown was so tight and narrow, but thankfully we all managed to make it to the top without fainting.

It was extremely small once you reached the top, and hardly enough room to move, but it was so cool to look out of the little windows of the crown and realise where we were - inside the Statue of Liberty!

That night we went to an amazing restaurant directly next to the Brooklyn Bridge, called the River Café. It was positioned right at the edge of the river, with incredible views of the New York skyline lit up perfectly against the night sky, and the Statue of Liberty standing proudly in the background.

The food was amazing, and my family picked from the menu Monkfish and Octopus and Sea Bass and Scallops... but I hate fish and most types of fancy food, so I literally couldn't have been happier when I saw chicken on the menu.

The next morning we took a lovely stroll through Central Park. As you can see from the pictures, there was still snow on the ground even though it was February, and it was bitterly cold - I thought my hand was going to freeze every time I took it out of my glove to take a picture.

But that didn't take away from the beauty of the park, and it was amazing to walk around and picture scenes from movies that have been filmed in Central Park. I kept picturing in my head the scene from Home Alone 2 where Kevin meets the lady surrounded by pigeons, and thinking what an iconic place it is, and recognisable to so many.

I couldn't believe how quick our trip to New York had gone, as this was our last night in the Big Apple. We visited Grand Central Station - another iconic part of New York City.

The station was so beautiful inside, and again another place famous for being in many films... Although all I could think of was the beginning of the first episode of Gossip Girl where Serena is spotted returning to the Upper East Side..xoxo.

After enjoying some drinks and food in the bar within Grand Central Station named Cipriani Dolci, we then made our way to Lower Manhattan to watch an LA Street Style Catwalk!

The catwalk involved designs made by local New York designers who were trying to get noticed during New York Fashion Week. It was so cool to see how the street style trends differed from those in the UK, and to also encourage designers who are only just starting out in the industry and beginning to showcase their collection.

And that was the end to our trip to New York! It was definitely short but sweet, and we managed to fit in everything we dreamed of doing.

The city is so vibrant and full of life, and almost every place you visit is iconic in some way, and holds some type of historical significance. There are so many famous and important buildings which each hold their own story, and you almost feel as though you are part of it.

The only thing which would have topped it off, was if I had met Kim Kardashian. I think my life would have been complete.

Bella x