Day 281 - See Y'all Soon!

Although there have been a lot of Hello's on my American adventure, there have also been a fair amount of Goodbyes. I guess all good times do have to come to an end at some point. Thanks for coming Harriet and Greg, it was an absolute pleasure to have you both.

See you in less than a hundred days!

Day 280 - No Time for Last Day Blues

As today was Harriet and Greg's last day, I wanted to make sure we made the most of it.

We started off by heading to Coney Island - in the rain. Not to worry though, as Brits we are used to heading to the seaside while it is dismal.

Nathan's Hotdogs were the first port of call, before we were to head over to Luna Park. After only an hour or so, we got told the park was closing due to the weather. Thinking we would only get the remaining total of our tokens refunded, we did in fact get all our money back. A free mornings worth of entertainment certainly made up for me missing all the plates on the plate smash.

After Coney, we headed to Brooklyn Bridge. From our steady wander over the New York masterpiece, we dropped into the original Grimaldi's, for a Sinatra endorsed full pie of pizza.

Not wanting to end our day there, we walked over to Brooklyn harbour for some ice cream from Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. Originally we were going to walk back over the bridge, but I decided we should make the most of our location and made us all hop on a ferry. Riding up the east river, I gave them both a distinctly below average description of the various sites.

After arriving at 34st and 1st, we walked through Midtown to Madison Square Park, where I showed them the Flatiron Building and the delicious wonders of Eataly.

Dragging the day out slightly further, we got of at Hoboken path station and walked along Jersey Shore back into Newport.

A splendid finish, to a fantastic week with the Sis and her significant other.

Day 279 - Budget

Harriet had mentioned that she wanted to go to a spa. Unfortunately, this didn't come to fruition and not wanting to disappoint, I got them the next best thing - Brookstones 'try before you buy' massage equipment. Please note, we did not buy.

After our DIY massage, we headed to Komegashi Sushi on Jersey City Harbour. This brought back a certain amount of decorum to the evening. Well kind of!

Day 278 - Cheap to Keep

Cheap booze and novelty food from an American supermarket. Harriet is so easy to keep happy.

Day 277 - It's Tradition

As if I could have visitors over and not take them to Rathbones! It would be sacrilege. 

Verdict - Harriet is not a fan of the buffalo but likes the Bbq; The Sweet Potato Fries didn't last five minutes; Greg didn't say anything for about an hour.

Another win for the wing I'd say!

Day 276 - Chelsea Pier Golf Club

For this evenings entertainment, we opted for the golf range at Chelsea Piers. 

The plan was to smack balls of into the sunset. In reality, we struggled to nudge them past the safety grate!

Day 275 - The Spotted Pig

Tonight my mission was to make Harriet and Greg truly fall in love with New York. I mean it's not exactly a hard challenge but still worthy of a bit of effort.

To start the evening of, we caught the Path to Christopher Street and headed to The Spotted Pig, a gastro-pub in the heart of the West Village (314W 11th Street). I've been meaning to go here since I moved over and thought what better time to go, than when you are with your Sister and her Boyf.

If you walked past it, you would not know off the exquisite delectables that it served inside. Covered in house plants and various pig objects, the cosy nature really added to the fantastic food. Supping on my beer from San Francisco, I chowed into my burger. And what a burger it was. I will stick my neck out there and say it is the best I have had in New York. A big thanks to Nick Cooper, Greg's Dad who treated us to that meal. 

Afterwards, I took them both to the original Magnolia Bakery. Harriet's eyes dazzled! Originally only going in for one cupcake each, we ended up buying six.

Instead of eating them there and then, I decided that we should chow them down on the Harbour, looking out over the Hudson. Harriet then without prompting said, this is why I love New York.

Mission accomplished!

Day 274 - Not a great start!

Well today rained. Alot! The initial plan was to go for brunch at a diner on the Upper West side, then head to the Natural History Museum. Followed by a casual late afternoon stroll through Central Park.

Instead, we went to the diner, got drenched, stood in disbelief at the queue winding out the front doors of the Natural History Museum, caught a cab, got wet some more, bought Harriet some practical shoes, had a Candy high, admitted defeat. Rain you beat us!

We opted for the cinema to watch The Great Gatsby. Hopefully the glam and dazzle from that film can spread some sunshine on our week!