Date Night

So I found myself alone for the whole weekend in New York City.  This was terrifying... I can't even eat alone, I usually go tomy car between classes at uni... I am just not great at being alone in public. So I did the only thing I knew how to do, I planned.

On Saturday after a banana pancake breakfast and a dance in the snow, I went downtown to the Fashion Institute Museum and went and saw two exhibtions 'Halston and YSL, Living through the 70s' (pretty self explanatory) and 'Faking It' which showed both licenced and counterfit copies of fashion next to the originals. This took a few hours but the day wasn't finished so I decided toget off the subway at Times Square and have a bit of a shop and see what was cheap at the TKTS booth. I went through the massive Disney and M&M stores before deciding that I wanted to see Kinky Boots that night. I didn't have a spare $150 for a ticket so did some Googling and found that they hold a ballot for $35 'obstructed view' tickets two hours before the show.

So I walked home and got ready for an early dinner. I walked a few blocks down towards the theatre before settling on a little diner for a burger and fries. I then rushed tothe theatre and was lucky enough to score  cheap tickets. I still had 2 hrs to kill so went next door for a much deserved cocktail. At the bar I met a few people who were kind enough to buy me a few drinks and teach me the rules of basketball. Kinky Boots started at 8 and it was a fantastic show. The only part of my view that was obstructed was the top right hand of the stage.... where nothing was happening anyway!

The next day I walked and walked and walked. Over 18kms! I walked from my hotel all the way up Madison to the top of Central Park then walked back down Lexington, stopping into a few shops along the way. I then made my way over to 5th and dropped into the most famous toy store in the world... FAO Schwarz. I then made my way home and started packing as was meeting with Maddie at 11.30pm to goup the Empire State Building. I took myself off to a late, fancy dinner of Salon and Tuna Tartare and Truffle and burnt butter ravioli. Maddie and her sister Annalise arrived and we set off for the Emipre State. Unfortunately due to 0% visibility we weren't allowed up, it was my last night in the city so I was crushed. The plus sidewas the guard let me take photos in his hat!! We then made our way back and stopped into H&M Times Square some midnight shopping!

I'm all packed and ready for my long journey home tomorrow. I can't say I'm looking forward to heading home but the girls are taking me out to breakfast so I think I may drown my sorrows in chocolate chip waffles!!

- K x

Emma and Kate take New York

After my helicopter flight was canceled for the second time Em and I decided to head downtown to Soho for a bit of a shop and a wander.

As you can imagine we shopped more than we wandered. It got to 3pm and we both realised we hadn't eaten all day so ducked out of the cold into a cafe for a sandwich.

After alot more shops (think we covered over 15kms) and a few more hours we ducked into a bar for a drink and some dessert. Then I lugged my bags back uptown and got ready for my helicopter flight in the morning.

Friday morning was beautiful so my flight was on! Thanks to Mum and Brian I spent 19 minutes up in the air flying from battery park all the way up past harlem. I didn't take my phone so will upload camera photos later.

It was by far the coldest day at -14° so I met up with Emma and caught a subway across to Brooklyn. We got some coffee and walked around for a while before heading to the Brooklyn Museum for the Killer Heels exhibition they had running.

Then we went to Herald Square for a bite to eat and to buy some boots. It was Ems last night so she went home early to spend it with her cousin. I headed home via the $1 pizza place on Broadway and had a nice quiet night in.

I'm alone in the city for the weekend so hopefully I'll be able to occupy myself!

- K x

Best Day Ever!

So today, somehow, we had the most incredible luck.

I met Maddie and Annalise at my hotel and we set out for our touristy day. After grabbing a coffee and pastry for breakfast we stopped into the Ed Sullivan theatre around the corner from my hotel to try our hand at winning tickets to the Late Show with David Letterman.  We signed up and were told if successful we would be called by 1pm.

We then walked a few blocks to Rockefeller Centre and went up the to the Top of the Rock. No lines, and we got a discount! We spent around an hour looking around then headed back down to assult 5th ave. In Bergdorfs I received a call saying we were successful in getting Letterman tickets and needed to be back on Broadway and 54th by 2.30pm, leaving just enough time to iceskate in central park! I made a little squirrel friend on the way and Maddie and I speng around an hour skating in a circle (I didn't even fall!). Then we grabbed some amazing 99c Pizza and headed to the theatre.

We picked up our tickets and had an hour to kill before taping so went for a walk along 54th and stumbled upon a theatre showing Caberet with Emma Stone and Alan Cummings staring in it. Unfortunately there were no tickers left but there was a cancelations line from 6pm so we could try our luck at that. We headed back to the theatre and were gossiping about who we would most want to see... I of course said Taylor Swift or Blake Lively and by some stroke of luck we got Blake's husband Ryan Reynolds. He was very funny and couldn't stop gushing about Blake and their 6 week baby girl.

After the very long taping we rushed to the Caberet theatre... which turned out to be Studio 54... neither of the girls knew what that was but I think I've seen or read about way too much from the 70s and I got so excited to be standing in such an amazing venue where so many incredible people had been before! We were the second people in line and waited until 7.50pm before speaking about giving up (the show was starting at 8). At 7.59 we were told that there were 4 tickets avaliable and they were $192 each. My limit was $150 and we all just couldn't justify that much so passed on the tickets.... as did everyone else in line. They ended up giving up the tickets away to us for $85!! We went to our seats and we were the 3rd table from the front. I later checked the cost of tickets had we paid full price and they were upwards of $700 each!!

The show was incredible and while Emma Stone was great (and very small and skinny) Alan Cummings stole the show. Words cannot explain how amazing he was. After the show we headed uptown to Serendipity 3 for a dessert of Frozen Hot Chocolate and Apple Pies.

Watch out Mum... I may never come home!

- K x

New York, New York.

After 4 weeks of cold showers, backpacking, 14hr travel days and the impossible language that is Spanish I arrived on the glittering island of Manhattan. And boy does it sparkle. It must be something to do with winter as all the trees are lit with fairy lights and the snow is just magical.

On our first day Emma, Chad (Ems Canadian boyfriend) and I headed out to Woodbury Common outlet stores to find some clothes to brave the NYC winter. 7hrs and a lot of money later we were exhausted and headed back to the city.

On Monday Em, Chad and I battled the snow storm (unsuccessfully) and walked along 5th ave. We made it 2 blocks before giving up and catching the subway way downtown to the World Trade Center. We spent almost 3hrs in the 9/11 Museum and a few tears may have rolled down  our cheeks. Then we decided to head up to the highline but unfortunately due to the storm it was closed, so we walked through Chelsea Markets instead before our 5.30 reservation at Buddakan (where Carrie and Big had their rehearsal dinner in Sex and the City). We had Duck Salad, Deviled Tuna Tartare and Lobster Fried Rice while drinking St. Germaine, Pineapple and Vodka cocktails and of course it was all incredible. Then it was Ice Hockey time at Madison Square Garden and I think I have found my new favorite sport! They sing between every play, its nice and short and there is a big song and dance for every goal! 'My' team the New York Rangers won which was all very exciting.

Tuesday my friend Maddie and her sister Annalise arrived in town so we decided to do a big shopping day, going from 60th to 34th along 5th ave.... we didn't even make it 15 blocks in 7 hours! We had to rush home to make our 5.30 dinner booking at Marseille as we had a 7pm show. We all loved the Book of Mormons and giggled the whole way through. Afterwards we walked a few blocks down to Times Square to get the full effect of all of those flashing billboards.

Excited for a day of touristy stuff tomorrow!

- K x

Mexico

14hrs after leaving Belize we arrived in Mexico. We were all beyond exhausted so had a very quiet dinner and went to bed.

After a well deserved sleep in Em and I went for a walk and shop around Playa del Carmen then a stroll on the beach before mango margaritas and mexican food for lunch. We then made our way up to our sister hotels rooftop pool and proceeded to tan for a few hours before our pampering began. 

To get NYC ready Em and I both paid the enormous sum of $20 to get our hair blown out and have cherry red manicured nails. We rushed back to the hotel just in time for our last dinner on the beach with our group.

New York tomorrow...

- K x

UnBelizeable

When I heard we were going to Belize I imagined white beaches, azure blue water and the warm sun... I was not disappointed when I arrived at Caye Caulker. We arrived at the Belizean island after 5hrs of travel and practically jumped into our bikinis and headed out to soak up the last of the sun.

The next day was snorkeling and sailing. We sailed out to 3 different snorkel spots, and even though its described as the worlds second most beautiful reef it's got nothing on our Great Barrier Reef! We didn't see any coral but were able to swim with stingrays, some evil blind giant turtles (if you get too close they bite!) & some super cute baby green turtles. 

After our snorkeling we put up the sails and slowly made our way back to the shore. It took around 2hrs which left plenty of time to tan, dance to some Caribbean tunes and drink a fair amount of Rum Punch. After getting off the boat it was time to relax and watch the sunset off the pier.

The begining of the most incredible day of my trip began with the best banana pancakes I've ever had in my life. But the next experience... this is the whole reason I went on this crazy 33 day tour... the big blue hole. Special mention to Mim and Puppa as my Christmas present was a flight over the blue hole. It was 1.5hrs long in a 6 seater plane and... wow, it did not disappoint. The hole is so unbelievably big and beautiful and turquoise blue and words do not do it justice. When I first saw it I genuinely had tears in my eyes. For anyone considering going and seeing it, I cannot recommend it enough. It was beyond the highlight of my trip.

I DONT WANT TO LEAVE BELIZE!

- K x

Ruining my life....

For our first ruin of the second half of the trip we made our way to Tikal, Guatamala... the 'New York' of the Mayan world. While seriously large (they took 4hrs to walk around) they weren't as impressive as Copan or Chichen Itza as they weren't totally uncovered. 

After crossing the border into Belize (woohoo finally english again) we got settled into our second Eco hotel in San Ignacio. With a composting toilet block and outdoor showers I'm sure you can imagine how impressed I was! San Ignacio was not what I expected Belize to be like... it was cold and wet! Where is the beach!  We headed into town for dinner and ate the biggest burritos in the world (the length of my forearm) and then Em and I watched Sweet Home Alabama in bed.

AUSTRALIA DAY! After having fryjacks and vegemite for breakfast we headed off to the Belizean ruins of Xuantunich stopping on the way for supplies for our picnic. After walking for 2kms (uphill) we finally arrived and wow... these were real ruins. They were completely uncovered and so beautiful and intricate. 

We strolled around for about an hour then set up shop for lunch ontop of one of the temples. We sat there for a few hours soaking in the sights and the sum before heading back to reality. I Skyped Brian for his birthday and Abbey made a guest appearance. We had a bonfire for Australia Day and sat around singing Aussie classics. Big day tomorrow... Caye Caulker.

- K x