Laura and Lars Travel: I Heart N Y

The flight from Auckland to LAX seemed like a breeze, isle seat for me all the time please. There was a 6 hour wait in the LA domestic terminal. A kind lady at Virgin America put us on stand by for an earlier flight but alas, everyone turned up. Damn everyone's promptness and time management. Where time flew, literally, on our first flight. Our 6 hour to JFK seemed to stand still, endless ebony with tiny pricks of light trying to burst out into the night.

After we eventually arrived at JFK, we discovered that a certain green Avenger was in our flight. We had seen him in LAX and had to suppress giggles of glee. He had hidden himself at the back of the plane to be discreet. At baggage claim, the opportunity was too good to miss. We walked up to him, blushing like teenage girls, yes even Lars. "Hello" we say, "Hi, I'm Mark". Yes, Mark Ruffalo people! To Marvel fans, the Hulk. To Chick Flick fans, the charming man from 13 Going On 30. Serious celebrity. Whilst getting into our taxi, we hear a "enjoy your trip guys", it was him again.

In life, we are taught not to judge a book by its cover. This applies for everything, not just people. I have kept this in mind on our journey across the states. But with every city we have entered, the starting opinion on the place seems to be fitting with the rest of the place. If this is the case, we started on the biggest high, it shall only continue to be filled with extreme awesomeness!

The soundscape of New York City, horns blasting, cameras snapping, gasps of wonderment at all that surrounds us. We made it to our hotel at midnight, West 97th Street. Our room, the size of a shoe box, or toenail as Lars would put it. We set out to find a typical New Yorker meal, pizza and beer. It was the best thing to out in our belly after 24 hours of flight.

The next day, our first touch of jet lag. We found it quite difficult to wake up. Once we had our morning frappucino, we were ready to start the day. We sauntered a few blocks east until we reached the brick entrance to Central Park. A picture hard to paint with words. Trees all shade of Autumn colours; burnt red, caramelised oranges, crispy yellows, and those few lucky green ones. The park was a dream. The low gliding sun was hitting the leaves at just the right angle to create a stained glass window effect. The squirrels were gathering their acorn feats for the winter. Ice skating rinks were in full use. Everyone has obviously been hitting the Pinterest Fall Fashion pages, trendy cuddle wear everywhere you look. We walked to the lake to take some photos of the beautiful skyline. I feel sorry for the locals trying to do their Sunday jog, tourists in the way trying to get the perfect selfie. The next stop in the park was labelled the best brunch spot according to social media. The Boat House. You could try to find somewhere more picturesque, but it will be a difficult task. Everyone drinking their coffee, waiting in line to eventually fail at rowing a boat. Golden trees making the back drop of this perfect Sunday afternoon. There is something that you cannot avoid in Central Park, a hot dawg. A chilli flake dog, topped with hot mustard, to ward off the cold. We ate these whilst walking around the fountain and tunnels. It was like a movie.

The sun was already getting lower in the sky. We rushed back and got changed into evening wear. Straight in the 3 train all the way down to Wall Street. There we delighted ourselves with Thanksgiving themes Lattes. Lars fondled the bull and I picked his nose. It was 5 o clock and the sun had already set, truly messes with you. Across from Battery Park is the Statue of Liberty. She was back lit by a fire of a sunset, great photo opportunity.

As we were walking to the 9/11 memorial, feet were already hurting. The memorial was amazing, two giant fountains made out of the foundations of the twin towers. They are currently building the new world trade centre, making it even taller. We hopped in the 1 train, up to 34th street. The Empire State Building. Between the subway station and the tower is the fashion district, we may have got a little bit distracted by Macy's and Urban Outfitters, but we got there eventually. Perfect timing in fact, we did not have to wait in a single line. On the 86th floor, the air was crisp. When you step out of the doors, you can't hear anything. As you get closer to the ledge, the Buzz of the street gets louder. With a full 360 degree view, there are famous landmarks to seen in any direction. Such a magical view, even more so on the 102nd floor. There is one area that was lit up like the sun, undoubtedly Time Square. We were headed there soon. After dinner, we made it to Rockerfeller Centre. In place of an ice skating rink, was a giant party hosted by TGIFridays. We didn't go in, but no one could stop us boogieing outside... Last stop of the night. Times Square. We had to visit the M&M store and the Disney shop. We plonked ourselves down in the Red Stars and soaked in all the visual aids that we being thrown at us. So many lights yet not any sound. Lars said that he expected it to be really busy here, but it was the quietest place that we had been to in NYC. We took the traditional Times Square photo and made our way to the glamorous 42nd Street Subway station. Goodnight New York City.