NYC Diaries; A Dreamy Heli Ride Over Manhattan

On our final full day in NYC, we woke up to one of those crisp, blue-sky fall days where the light hits the buildings just right and the whole city seems to sparkle. It couldn’t have been a better setting for taking a helicopter ride over Manhattan.

We booked online with Heli NY just a few days prior, so we made our way to the Downtown Helicopter Port at 2:30pm ready for our 3:30pm flight.

Having done a helicopter ride over Dubai about 4 years ago we knew what to expect, but it still took my breath away as we took off for our flight above the city.

We swooped past the Statue of Liberty, her copper-green silhouette glowing in the afternoon sun, then glided along the Hudson with One World Trade Center standing tall and brilliant beneath us.

Another highlight was seeing Central Park from above with that perfect stretch of green carved into the grid of the city.

After we landed, but still floating a bit from excitement, we headed downtown and caught the ferry across the Hudson to DUMBO.

The water was calm, the breeze cool, and Manhattan shimmered behind us at golden hour as we made our way toward Brooklyn.

I did a quick outfit change just before dinner too, slipping into a cute brown mini dress paired with matching heels, my oversized Jaeger blazer, and my emerald-green velvet Sandro handbag.

A chic, classy look with a touch of cool girl in the oversized boxy blazer, perfect for a fall date night in the city.

Our dinner spot for the evening was the trendy Italian restaurant Cecconi’s.

With the Manhattan Bridge in the foreground and the sun setting over Downtown in the distance, the vibes were immaculate.

I started with a spicy Tommy’s Margarita because when in New York, how could I not on our final night!

For food I chose the burrata tomato pasta which was as heavenly as it sounds…

…and even better paired with a rich, warming glass of red.

My boyfriend went classic with a margarita pizza and we shared a fresh, peppery rocket salad that rounded everything out beautifully.

It was buzzing on a Thursday night and we couldn’t fault the delicious Italian feast we were treated to.

After dinner, we wandered along the riverfront taking in those picturesque nighttime views.

New York glowing, the river shimmering and the gentle hum of the bustling city in the background, simply iconic.

Eventually we hopped on the subway back to our hotel, tired but in that really satisfying way after a perfect day.

Our helicopter adventure, waterfront dinner in DUMBO, and atmospheric nighttime walk, wrapped up our trip to NYC in the most magical way imaginable ❤

A Week In The Big Apple

After a weekend back in the English countryside, we are still on a high from our fabulous holiday exploring the very best of the one and only, City of New York.

It really is a city packed with so much to do and although we ticked a lot off our list of things to see, we’re already wanting to go back to experience more of this awesome concrete jungle.

Our hotel for the duration of our vacation was The Park Lane Hotel located on the very South end of Central Park.

The location was ideal as we were in the centre of the city with the beautiful green expanse of Central Park on our doorstep.

Darling Rooftop bar sits on the very top of the hotel where we enjoyed a specular breakfast on the Monday morning of our stay.

Like everything in New York the breakfast buffet came at a pricey cost of $75 per person, but with this experience only open to hotel guests, we couldn’t pass up this incredible opportunity.

We also dined in their A La Carte restaurant Calvert’s on Sunday evening as everywhere else nearby was closing early that night.

I had the asparagus radish chickpea salad and my boyfriend had a tomato ragu pasta. Both dishes were delicious complimented with friendly service, something we discovered was unfortunately not always guaranteed even at the most premium restaurants in the city.

Our room was a good size with a super comfy bed, stylish interiors and a cool city view.

I especially liked the stylish bathroom with striped tiling.

Overall we were very pleased with our stay at Park Lane Hotel and would recommend to anyone visiting New York for the first time wanting to be amongst the hustle and bustle of the city.

We packed a lot into our seven days in NYC and made some incredible memories together whilst taking in the spectacle of The Big Apple.

With such a brilliant list of things to share including famous landmarks, iconic photo spots, scenic rooftop bars and our favourite restaurants, I thought I’d focus separately on each area we visited and what we did there in a series of posts called ‘The NYC Diaries’.

So be sure to subscribe to my blog to get notified for a very exciting series of posts to come about our trip of dreams to New York City ❤

Singapore Scenes; Two Days In The City

With my brother and his family having moved to Singapore at the beginning of this year, we decided to reschedule our flights home from Bali and stopover for two days in the city. It was a joy to see them settled into their new home and so exciting to explore this brilliant city for ourselves.

We were so impressed with how clean everywhere is and the minimal amount of cars on the roads means there’s barely any traffic throughout the day.

To see as much of the city as possible, we went on the open top tour bus which was glorious in the sunshine.

For lunch we stopped at the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel and went to their rooftop Italian restaurant Lavo.

That evening we were given the authentic Singapore local experience with dinner at a hawker centre called Lau Pa Sat in the centre of town.

There are lots of different food vendors serving street food which you can eat in a community dining space together in the middle. We had some dumplings and then shared this massive plate of crispy vegetable noodles, washed down with a few jugs of beer of course.

That night we went back to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel for rooftop cocktails at C’est La Vie bar, before walking around Gardens By The Bay all lit up at night, making us feel like we’d been transported to outer space.

This was a truly unique, other worldly experience which I’d say is a must to see if you’re visiting Singapore.

The next day was a little overcast so instead of going to the orchid garden as planned, we went down to the Marina Square Shopping Centre to browse the luxurious designer shops.

We were a bit peckish so grabbed a late lunch at Yardbird overlooking the Marina. We shared a deliciously hearty steak sandwich with yummy pickles and salty chippies.

Whilst the endless options of designer shops was tempting, I ended up making a small purchase in Zara and treated myself to this cute, pink skort.

Our final meal with my brother and his family was at their favourite local Greek restaurant Bakalaki Tavern.

I wore my new pink skort and we had the most wonderful evening celebrating our short but sweet visit to Singapore.

My niece is growing so quickly and she was as adorable as ever practicing her words at the table.

We had dips and pitta to start and I opted for a traditional Greek feta salad for main which was divine. I’ve had my fair share of Greek salads and they never come close to my own homemade recipe, but this one was certainly up there.

And so we said our goodbyes and I had my final snuggles with my beautiful niece, before we grabbed our suitcases and got a taxi to the airport.

Our experience of Singapore was fantastic and we will no doubt be returning again soon for a longer trip to see more of the city and spend time with my family too ❤

Dubai Diaries; Helicopter Highs

Happy Sunday Babes! I can’t believe how quickly the week has passed here in Dubai and I’ll be very sad to be flying home to the UK on Tuesday morning. We’ve done so much during our time here, I really can’t choose a favourite day from our holiday. Taking a helicopter ride over the city was however a very special highlight and an incredible experience I’ll never forget.

On Wednesday morning we were out bright and early for our 10am helicopter tour. Before flying we had a safety briefing to prepare us for the flight and soon enough we were boarding the heli!

Having never been in a helicopter I was super excited for our flight. It’s amazing how it banks up and out to take to the air, I couldn’t help but squeal as we left the ground and took to the sky!

It was amazing to see all of Dubai from above so clearly. We went out over the Burj Al Arab and back past the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Financial District.

Taking a loop in our tour, on the way back to base I had a brilliant view out over The Palm. It’s just so perfectly shaped and seems surreal to see from the sky like that.

What an adrenaline rush the helicopter tour was, I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Dubai. We booked with https://helitoursdubai.com.

After our exciting morning, we headed over to the Madinat Jumeirah for brunch in the sunshine amongst the most stunning surroundings.

I couldn’t resist a cheeky Bloody Mary to kickstart my day. When on holiday 11am cocktails are a must, am I right?

We had fun exploring the Madinat Jumeirah hotel complex with it’s picturesque bridges and gorgeous details at every corner.

We did go up the Burj Khalifa on another evening to see Dubai from the sky by night also.

Whilst this was a different experience to the helicopter tour, I would recommend the helicopter over going up the Burj as you see so much more from the sky and with uninterrupted views too.

Now it’s Sunday evening and we’re planning on a beach day tomorrow for our final 24 hours here in Dubai. What a time we’ve had and I can’t quite believe how much we’ve packed in during our 10 day stay.

Get ready for more blog posts on our experience here including my top recommendations for anyone visiting the incredible city of Dubai – It certainly is worth the hype and exceeded my expectations ❤