To the Big Apple and Beyond

It was finally time for our trip to the big apple, that Paddy and I had booked the previous November. The morning of the trip itself, thankfully the flights weren't too early, after packing the last few items into the suitcase, and checking we had our tickets and passports packed in our hand luggage, we walked down to the Airlink bus stop on Arran Quay which was only about a 15 min walk away from the house at just before 9 am that brought us straight to the Airport. Once we arrived into Terminal 2, we went to the Aer Lingus check in desks, checked in our suitcase, as Paddy and me were only bringing one as sure we were only going for a few days to New York. At the Check in desk, the attendant was able to get the suitcase checked in for the connecting flight too which was a relief. As we still had about 2 hours before our flight, which was due to depart at midday, we made our way through security which went smoothly and into duty free to have the obligatory pint and chill before making our way to the departure gate. Once we boarded the plane and departed, the flight it was only roughly 90 minutes to London. After we disembarked at London Heathrow, we hopped on the bus towards Terminal 3, after we gone through the transfer security, onto the connecting desk where we checked-in for our connection towards JFK. As we still had a few hours to our departure, we just relaxed in duty free, having some essential food and drink before the trek towards our departure gate. We boarded the Virgin Atlantic plane about 40 minutes before the flight departure time of 16:00. After Paddy and me got settled into our seats towards the back of the plane, Paddy managed to sweet talk one of the flight attendants to give us both a few sneaky drinks to settles our nerves before take off.. Once the flight departed, and we settled In to the flight, both of us got comfy and enjoyed the smooth journey into New York. After disembarking our flight, collecting our suitcase, joining the long queue for passport control with our ESTA in hand as it was our first time in years been into States, before heading towards the exit when we both were stopped by customs. We were being stopped by them, as it was just 2 grown males travelling alone together, although it was a nuisance at first by the end it was more awkward for them and hilarious for us. As Paddy had them laughing over a book in his hand luggage and I had my one embarrassed as I was the one with the suitcase for the both of us. We finally managed to get to the JFK Airtrain Terminal 4 where we got the train towards Jamaica Station before getting our connecting one towards our destination at 42nd St - Port Authority Bus Terminal, the journey itself took about an hour from the airport to the terminal but thankfully our hotel was only a few minutes walk around the corner. Our hotel was Row NYC on 700 8th Ave, where we were greeted with an unexpected upgrade with our room which we were quite impressed by, with special thanks to Douglas our check-in receptionist. We were finally able to get settled in to our room which was located next to a picture of The Stonewall Inn, the place and symbol to the onset of Gay Pride and Equality. After we both unpacked, showered and relaxed, we took the 3 minutes short stroll from the hotel towards and then around Times Square which was surreal to finally to see Times Sq in the flesh and an added bonus by seeing it all light up at night before we got some food and heading back to our room to get an early night and make a few phone calls home before turning in for the night.

To start off our first proper morning in NYC in the right way, I couldn't resist the famous French cream lobster tail by Carlos Bakery especially as my sister and me have spent years watching the Cake Boss on TLC and wasn't helped that the store was located across the street from the subway station near our hotel. After we had our coffee, tea and pastries in the bakery, we hopped on the subway toward the Cambers St Station and walked then to The One World Trade Center into the Freedom Tower where we had a 10am timed slot. Paddy's interaction with security guards, was beginning to be a running theme of our trip, as the security guard at the Freedom Tower, noticed Paddy's Kurt Angle Top which resulted in them both doing a signature WWE pose, before we made our way in the Sky Pod which transports us to the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. There, 102 stories up, in the One World Observatory we got to discover the sights and iconic skyline of the city. There were 3 sprawling levels to the observatory and discover the surprises that New York has along the way. Before entering the Sky Pod again for our descend down to the ground.

After we exited the tower, it was only a 2 minute stroll to the 9/11 Memorial and the museum under neath. The visit and experience of the place was such a sombre experience for us both and felt so raw. The museum commemorating the September 11 2001 attacks which killed 2,977 people and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing which killed. It is located at the site and former location of the Twin Towers that were destroyed. It is operated by a non-profit whose mission is to raise funds for, program and operate the memorial and museum.

After our sombre visit to the memorial, we made our way walking towards to The Battery which is located the southern tip of Manhattan, to get the Statue Cruises for the Liberty and Ellis Island which was covered by the New York Explorer Pass, that we bought before our trip to NYC and covered most of the attractions we wanted to visit and experience. We had to make sure we had given ourself enough time as there was Mandatory Airport Security Screening prior to us boarding the vessel. When the Federal government was in shutdown, the National Parks Service had no funding and State of Liberty and the Eilis Island National Immigration Museum were closed the weekend before our trip but thanks the New York City themselves were gonna pay the running costs of keeping the State of Liberty and Eilis Island open. On the cruise on the Hudson River and tour we go to check out Lady Liberty and Ellis Island Immigration Museum which was surreal to see the conditions and progresses involved for immigrants coming into New York. After returning to The Battery we walked about the surrounding borough enjoying the street performers before getting the subway back towards Time Square and get some food at Five Guys after which we went back to the hotel room to relax as we had a 5.30 am start the next morning for our excursion and adventure to Washington D.C.

After very quick showers to wake ourselves up especially as it was still pitch black outside and being just before 6am, when we left the hotel towards the McDonald's on Times Square for our check-in at 6.20 am for our tour towards Washington D.C. Thankfully I had enough time to get coffee which was essential fuel at this time

of the morning. Departing New York we passed through the states of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland where we had a pitstop for a few mins and I got to try the famous Cinnabon. Once back on the road we passed by the Pentagon before our first stop of the day, Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, to visit Kennedy Family Gravesite and JF Kennedy's Eternal Flame Memorial.

After departing Arlington Cemetery, we made our way into the national park visiting the Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and Korea Memorial. From the Lincoln Memorial, next up on the agenda, we travelled from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave passing the White House with view of the West Wing of the building, the U.S. Treasury towards the Seat of the Government, Capitol Hill.

To finish off the visit to Washington with a trip to the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, which was perfect way to finish off our day, as this visit fed our inner geek and was a trip that both Paddy and me had on our bucket lists. At the Smithsonian entrance hall is the Milestones of Flight where among the visible aircraft are the Spirit of St. Louis, the Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia, Spaceship One, the Bell X-1, John Glenn's Friendship 7 capsule and at ground level in the hall is the filming model of the USS Enterprise from the original 1960s Star Trek Television Series. No trip to a museum would be complete without stop off at the gift shop, where Paddy bought his nephew/godson Mikey some space related presents. We departed on the coach from outside the Air and Space museum northwards back to New York for an late evening arrival outside our hotel which was very handy. We went for a few quiet drinks with a gay couple who we got chatting to on the tour in our hotel bar, which was nice way to finish off the adventure to D.C.

The next morning, even though was an early start, anything was a comfortable lie in compared to the previous day. After getting a quick breakfast in the hotel lounge, we got the Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off Classic Tour - Uptown Loop Blue route at 9am, the first bus of the morning, which was conveniently located just around the corner from the hotel. A priority and must for both Paddy and me today was a visit at the American Museum of Natural History, a museum that's was on our bucket list of museum to visit in particular to check out the famous dinosaur skeletons especially the one of T-Rex. There was only 7 stops on the bus route before we arrived at the museum, shortly before 10am just as the museum was opening, a time where my over organisation and itinerary planning came in handy with no crowds about yet. The Museum is located in the Theodore Roosevelt Park across the street from Central Park which houses 45 permanent exhibition halls with the museum having everything from dinosaurs to diamonds, some highlights of the museum prior to the Fossils Halls include the Giant Sequoia Tree, the 3.18 Million year old Lucy one of the most complete skeletons found to date from the early hominids, Mammuthus a standing skeleton of mammoth, exploring the hall of Ocean Life, and the Human Origins and Cultural Halls before we climbed our way to the 4th floor to be greeted with the Titanosaur, 122 foot long Dinosaur at the entrance to the Fossil Halls whose neck and head extend out towards the elevator banks, welcoming visitors to the “dinosaur” floor as its just too long for its home. Making our way through this dinosaur floor, we finally made it to the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs to see the imposing mounts of Apatosaurus and Tyrannosaurs rex, lets be honest one of the main reasons we came to visit the museum, was to check out this 4 foot long jaw with 6 inch teeth dinosaur which didn't disappoint. We could not visit the giftshop and get a few items, we some how exited the museum through the subway instead of the way we came in. Despite taking a random detour a few stops, we some how found the Big Bus blue route again and were back on track.

Luckily the tourist bus, let us off nearby to the entrance of Central Park and only a few minutes stroll to Central Park Zoo itself which was very handy, thanks to the directions from our tour guide who gave us a great general tour of Uptown with information and helpful advice for Midtown and random places to try. We both were impressed with how well laid out the zoo itself was which helped us to enjoy our visit before we exited and randomly strolled about in Central Park itself for a while. After which, we got the subway back to Times Square to do the red route of the Big Bus tour which took nearly 2 hours around that part of the city, although we enjoyed the beautiful sights of the big apple, by the time we got off the route at Rockefeller Center to enjoy the walk back to Times Square, we were frozen to the bone and were looking forward to food from Five Guys and warm shower.

Came back from our day exploring out in the city, from the Museum of Natural History, Central Park and the bus tour and nicely fed with lovely food from Five Guys, to be welcomed by a lovely birthday gift waiting for me, arranged by Paddy with the help from the Hotel and our check-in receptionist Douglas, who was brilliant throughout our stay at the hotel. We enjoyed some relaxation with the bubbles and getting warmer before heading back out later that night, heading towards the Empire State Building for the night view of the city. For some reason after we descended from the top of the Empire State, we got it into our heads, we must go to an Apple store and try get some AirPods while we were in New York, as we weren't that far from Central Station, we tried there but they were out of stock. On the positive side, it gave me personally a chance to check out the architecture of the building before we hopped into a cab towards the Apple store near Plaza Hotel, the hotel used in the Home Alone 2 movie. The store located across the street, thankfully were still open and had only got some stock in that evening, so both Paddy and me, the birthday boy left the store 2 happy campers, before returning back to the hotel to get cosy and warm before our final day in the city.

Once we packed, checked out from the hotel while putting our luggage in the hotel luggage hold, we walked towards the Madison Square Garden only a 12 minute stroll from the hotel. Paddy thought were only going to the exterior of the building, but to finish off our time in New York City properly, we did the tour of the All Access Tour of the Garden taking us behind the scenes of the famous arena on a 75 minute guided tour. The Arena is home to NBA's Knicks and NHL's Rangers and has hosted legendary boxing matches, concerts, live events and what made Paddy a happy boy, hearing the stories and checking out the memorabilia of several WWE live events and Wrestlemania that have taken place in the arena. Following our tour of the arena, we had to experience and do some obligatory shopping at Macy's Herald Square where I of course spent more than I planned to. We had time for some spicy chipotle before heading back to the hotel via stopping off at Junior Cheesecake, the place the tour guide had recommended to us on the bus the day before, it tasted unreal. As we needed to be at the airport 3 hours before our flight, we got the train from the Port Authority Bus Terminal towards Jamaica Station where we got the Airtrain to Terminal 4. We checked in our luggage all the way back to Dublin and got through security with no drama and before we knew it I was enjoying a heart shaped Dunking Donut and coffee. Time was flying by and it was time to board our Virgin Atlantic plane for our flight towards London Heathrow. As the evening flight was not too full, after take off, Paddy and me were able to get two seats each to lie down and get some sleep on the journey back. Before we knew it, we were descending into Heathrow at 6.30am and disembarking the plane making our way quickly towards our connecting flight which was leaving at 7.50 am in another terminal with Aer Lingus. We were getting a taxi home, laundry on and in bed asleep in no time. Which is always a good sign that the trip was fun and enjoyable, It was such an amazing trip such a great way to celebrate my birthday visiting NYC and Washington D.C.

Just 2 weeks after the trip to the big apple, it was time for Niamh, Paddy and me to finally to experience Katherine Ryan Live at the Olympia in her show, the Glitter Room. All 3 of us agreed that we hadn‘t laughed that much or hard in so long, from the moment her opener Niamh Marron came on stage to the final moment that Katherine herself left it, it was such a fun enjoyable and exactly what we all needed. Just before the show itself started, Paddy noticed in the bar a bottle of the infamous Seadog Jamaican Rum, the rum I heard so many stories about the shenanigans that went on in Courtown and the one the Taravie Hotel bar, were freshly out of on our visit there last year. So therefore we couldn't resist but to have a shot of the sea dog with the compulsory Arrr afterwards, it was an experience for sure.