So Good They Named It Twice (Nov '14)

After I got back from Iceland, my first day back in the office I found out I was going to the states two weeks later.  With work paying for a transatlantic flight, this seemed to good an opportunity to miss.  I booked some leave and so I could extend my stay in the states and started planning.  I have a list of US cities I want to visit, and starting to tick the ones I've visited off.  So I booked flights, and started planning a trip to the city most Europeans think of as The american city; New York, New York.

Planning a trip to New York in under two weeks is hard.  Especially when the trip will only be a few days.  There are so many aspects of the city that you know from popular culture, things that are famous and you just have  to see.  Icons of the country, some of the world's best museums, and sights that you have seen countless images of, but not in person.  How do you see as much as possible in 3 days?  What do you miss out?  What can you still get tickets for two weeks out?  And how can you plan it all in 2 weeks?

Some things were obvious.  I had to see Liberty, Empire States, Central Park, the Met.  Others were things I would like but less important.  MOMA, Time Square, Rockefeller, Guggenheim, Madison Square Gardens, Ground Zero.  The list goes on.

And this was before people started giving recommendations.  Turns out lots of people have been to NY, and they all have something else you have to try.

So I timetabled.  I prioritised.  I got the NY city pass, found a way to see Liberty, Empire, Met, MOMA, Guggenheim, walk over the brooklyn bridge, chill out in Central Park, see the best book shop in the city, Time Square.  Unfortunately the ice hockey at Madison Square Gardens was out of my budget, as was a broadway show.  Rockefeller I half forgot, half ran out of time.  But in the three days I had, I don't think I could have done much more.  I was rushing everywhere.  Now you may think that doesn't sound like a nice holiday, a relaxing time.  But this is New York.  The city that never sleeps.  Where everyone is in a hurry, and by rushing yourself you feel like you belong.  Where grabbing a coffee to go is normal, having a think pizza and cheesecake is something you have to try.  And its fantastic.