Jenni goes stateside: New york I love you

Unless you've been living under a rock or something, you will probably know that I have just got back from my dream holiday to New York! For as long as I can remember, I've lusted after wanting to go there to visit the city that is captured so beautifully in film, tv, art and music. I've always been a girl that gets what I want but this trip has been all my dreams coming true on a whole other level! As with every other post in my Jenni goes Stateside series (I hope you're as excited as me that it's back), it all began with a very long and tedious transatlantic flight, which I made the most of by getting all the drinks in and watching Breakfast at Tiffany's. Then once the slow process of getting through security and getting from JFK to Manhattan, we finally arrived at our hotel, The Empire, on the upper west side. Think that hotel sounds familiar? It's the first of many film and TV hot spots, as it's the hotel owned by Chuck Bass in Gossip girl, so I began living out my very own Blair Waldorf dream. And the hotel really is beautiful! Unfortunately we only had 15 minutes to admire the view as we had a booking and were cutting it fine...

But the view was only set to get better, as we jumped in a yellow cab to the Rockefeller Centre. Okay so 2 things; 1) I'm kind of disappointed that all the yellow cabs have been updated and don't look like the classic style you'd expect any more and 2) yellow cabdrivers are absolutely mental! In fact, scrap that, all drivers in New York are! There are no such things as lanes (everyone just goes where they feel like) and everyone beeps if the person in front of them hasn't moved in precisely 0.001 seconds. It's totally mental but quite funny to watch! But we escaped all the crazy traffic by going up 70 floors to the top of the rock, where we had the most amazing view of the city! Seeing the skyline for the first time was a bit crazy because I feel like New York is one of those places that you see so often that actually seeing it in real life felt a bit surreal. Then as we battled the jet lag, we headed to the Rockefeller Centre Cafe for dinner and some cocktails. I've been to America twice between the ages of 18 and 21; in other words, the bridge between a legal drinker here and being a legal drinker there. So this year, I was excited to finally be a legal drinker there too and guess what? No one ID'd me the entire time we were there! Sod's law at it's best. For my first night in New York, I decided to go with this new look playsuit, black chunky sandals and black 'tres chic' clutch bag.

Then we had a bit of a surreal night, followed by an emotional morning, as our whole block had a massive power cut so we had no electricity and I had to get ready and do my makeup in the dark (that was a challenge) and then we headed off to the 9/11 museum. I was only 5 when it happened back in 2001 so I don't really remember it that well and have never properly heard all the full details. However, I already felt like crying after seeing the fountain memorial (where it said all the names of the victims, including 'and her unborn child') so it's safe to say that the museum itself was very moving. It just saddens me that we don't seem to have progressed at all in nearly 16 years, what with all the terrorism and attacks going on lately. So on an interactive map, I left the message 'we are stronger than them, we just need to love each other' as a reminder to myself and everyone else that you can't drive out darkness with darkness - only light can do that.

Then after having our moods brightened by the gorgeous weather, we headed even further downtown to the financial district to see Wall Street and the famous bull before stopping for lunch-with-a-view in Battery park. I honestly wish that lobster was more of a popular thing in this country because this lobster roll was one of the most amazing meals ever! This is also as close to an outfit photo as I got due to whole getting-ready-in-the-dark scenario but I was wearing black denim shorts, striped wrap blouse and black chunky sandals.

Then we jumped on the statue ferry to see Lady Liberty herself! I actually thought she'd be much bigger than she actually was - you can barely see her from Manhattan! But she was beautiful and the original torch (which is now kept inside) was a true work of art; it must've been amazing to be an immigrant coming to America and passing by the Statue of Liberty as you arrived.

South American food is my absolutely fave so we just had to have some while we were away; we went to a Cuban restaurant called Havana and it was incredible - the frozen passion fruit margaritas went down especially well! Then we did arguably the most iconic thing in New York; we went to the top of the Empire State! We had planned everything weeks before going on holiday and had planned it so that we did the view from the Rockefeller in daylight and then the Empire State by night and what a good decision that was! We didn't go until 11 and in doing so, we avoided what would usually be a massive queue plus we got to see everything all lit up. And because it's pride month right now in New York, everything was lit up in rainbows which made it even more beautiful. Although the photos from the night are not quite so beautiful as it was super windy and so I got about 345 shots of me with my hair whipping all around my face! However, I did love my outfit! This new look dress is one that I've only worn once before but I should really wear it more. I love the cut-out style and the colour plus the fabric is really gorgeous.

You thought I was done celebrating my birthday? How naive of you! Only 12 whole days after my actual birthday, it was time for my "new york birthday". So I opened my hotel room door to my mum and dad singing 'happy birthday' with another round of presents plus a light up '21' sign (no wonder their suitcases were stuffed full) - they are literally the cutest. Then I got ready in pink shorts, white collared top with crochet panel, white chunky sandals and gucci bag, before heading out to Times Square, where we did a bit of cheesy souvenir shopping. It's great to know that most Americans hate their president as much as we all do, as all the shops were filled with loads of Trump propaganda. Then we went to a Victorian-style restaurant called Lillies for some brunch; pancakes, bacon and mimosas, what could be better?

Then was the most magical experience of them all - breakfast at Tiffanys! Going to their flagship store on fifth avenue was amazing enough (especially since it looks exactly the same as it did in breakfast at Tiffany's) but to then be presented with cookies, champagne and my main birthday present was just something else. I knew I was getting this necklace as I'd picked it out online but actually seeing it was like all my Christmases come at once. It's part of the classic 'please return to tiffanys' collection, with a rose gold key attached and then my dad had the back engraved with 'JB' (his nickname for me) which just made it even more perfect. I am so incredibly lucky to be blessed with the life that I have and parents that adore me and do everything in their power to make my life as perfect as possible. It was a real dream come true!

Then we traded fifth avenue for downtown Manhattan as we headed off in search of the Carrie Bradshaw apartment in Greenwich Village, which was exactly how I hoped! It's funny though that someone actually lives there, meaning they must have to deal with excited SATC-fan tourists posing in front of their home every day! While we were down there, we also got caught up in the gay pride parade which added a really amazing vibe - everyone was in such high spirits!

It was seriously hot and sweaty getting the subway all the way back to the upper west side (their subway is 10 times harder to work out than ours but I got the hang of it pretty quickly and we managed to not go wrong even once!) so we spent a bit of time relaxing and chilling by our rooftop pool. The view from the Empire hotel was almost as impressive as from the Empire State and it maybe even edged it by having a cocktail in hand. Not just any cocktail - a Chuck Bass cocktail!! The hotel did 2 versions of it; 1 in the rooftop bar and 1 in the downstairs hotel bar and obviously I had to try both! This river island bikini is 1 that I've had for years now but it's still a favourite of mine.

Then we all got dressed up to the nines for a super fancy meal at The View, a restaurant with revolving floor and 360 degree views of New York. This missguided dress remains my real 'wow dress' - I love that it's chocolate brown as oppose to black and I wore it with black 'tres chic' clutch bag, black heels (actual heels for the first and only time of the holiday) and plenty of sparkly jewellery. The food was absolutely incredible and it was super cute that they brought me a birthday cake - if only they knew that it was almost 2 weeks after my birthday!

Then on to Monday and we kicked things off by exploring the south seaport area, where we stopped off for some breakfast. Steak and eggs is a very American thing and seemed a bit weird but was SO good! Then we did the walk over the Brooklyn Bridge which was so gorgeous and a real hot spot for any would-be photographers - the architecture is just incredible! You also get amazing views of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Manhattan bridge too so it's like multiple things rolled in to one. The walk didn't take too long either (even though we stopped for photos like every 2 minutes) and it's crazy how different it feels the second you step across in to Brooklyn; it's just so much quieter and calmer. For the days activities, I wore this black choker top, taupe shorts with black edging and black chunky sandals.

Then after getting the subway back across to Manhattan, we hit another couple of spots on my film and TV tour. We found the exact subway grate from Marilyn Monroe's totally iconic moment in The Seven Year Itch and then visited the Serendipity cafe from (no points for guessing this one) Serendipity; we didn't eat there because it was literally packed, although maybe if I'd shown my dedication by flashing my tattoo we could've skipped the queue?

Then we got ready a little earlier than usual; I wore this missguided white crochet playsuit with white sandals, gucci bag and red lipstick; and headed to downtown Manhattan again to hunt down the apartment building from Friends (we had tried to find it the day before but couldn't get across because of the pride parade). After getting a super cheesy clapping boomerang stood outside of it, we went and got an ice cream cone at this amazing shop called 'the big gay ice cream shop'. How funny that this photo perfectly lined up so that my dad had a giant unicorn poop on his head!

My friend Joe has been to New York a couple of times and the main thing he said I just had to do was The High Line and it was a great recommendation! It's basically a disused train track that, instead of destroying, they turned in to a gorgeous urban garden. It's also got loads of cute seating areas, ice cream stalls and art installations up there too - it's like a hidden spot of tranquility in a crazy city.

Then for yet another highlight; we went on a sunset cruise around Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty with free champagne! Although my mum clearly took it for granted that the champagne was free because she accidentally chucked a whole glass all over my dad in the middle of us taking a nice family photo. It was honestly hilarious and we didn't stop laughing until the sun went down! Then once we had arrived back at the pier, we ended the night in the way that all perfect nights end - with pizza!!

On to our last day and after getting ready (I wore this lace up white shirt, scarf print shorts and white chunky sandals) and checking out of our hotel, we went to see Grand Central Station. Only partly by accident, our last day ended up being a very gossip girl filled day. Obviously I got a photo at Grand Central, remnant of that of Serena in the Pilot episode, but actually the best part about being there was finding the whisper gallery. It was something I'd read about online and after a quick google (and my dad asking a police officer, which was his go-to solution multiple times throughout the holiday) we found the archway where it was supposed to be. So basically, you're meant to stand in diagonal corners and if you whisper, the acoustics mean you can hear them across the room. When we first tried it, it didn't seem like it was working but then my dad said he could hear me and omg it was so wildly exciting! How cool is that?! Anyway, then we headed off for an all-american breakfast at a cool diner and I went with the french toast but only managed half of it because like most places in America - the portions were ridiculous!

Then we explored central park in the gorgeous sunshine and checked off a few more Gossip Girl hot spots at the same time, including the Palace Hotel and the spot where Chuck and Blair got married! We also had a drink (cosmopolitan, because I couldn't come to New York and not get one) at the Loeb Boathouse which is a gorgeous restaurant that overlooks the boating lake. Watching people try (and fail) to row was also really entertaining!

Despite everyone thinking I would've spent my entire time in New York shopping, I actually didn't go shopping until our very last afternoon there (very tame from me)! But then I enjoyed a few hours looking round Bloomingdale's, Bergdorf's, H&M, Sephora and Aldo and treated myself to some new makeup and a couple of beautiful new bags. I LOVE Aldo and I think it's about time we got a few more stores in the UK!

Then to finish off our amazing trip, we went for drinks at the Russian Tea Room which is possibly the most beautiful (and most expensive) restaurant I've ever been to. I also saw loads of people having afternoon tea there which is definitely on my list for when I return to New York in the hopefully-not-too-far-away-future.

Then after a relatively short 5 and a half hour flight (strong winds basically helped to blow us home), we were back in blighty - in the rain of course! I've honestly had the most incredible trip of my life and going to New York for my 21st birthday is what I've always wanted so it's been a real dream come true. I've had a magical time, been spoilt rotten and dragged my birthday out for as long as humanly possible but I think it's fair to say that it's finally over. This is the best birthday I've ever had and the most amazing holiday and I've created memories I will treasure forever!