Okay, I've only just decided to do a blog (3 weeks into the trip!) and it seems a shame to skip the states entirely, so this is my attempt at filling in what we've been up to so far. I know I'll forget loads because this stuff feels like months ago now, but I'll try to give you the basics of what we saw where!

We landed at JFK airport on the 7th Sept, slightly delayed, after a long and boring flight and a sad weekend of goodbyes to all you awesome guys back home. I think we were both pretty tired by that point so we were very grateful to Corinne and Phil for meeting us at the airport and driving us home! Sooz was staying with her cousin, Kelly in Hoboken (who was kind enough to let me stay for a couple of days to be close to the city) and I was staying the rest of the time with Corinne and Phil in their gorgeous home in NJ (thank you all of you guys for your hospitality and generosity - was a great way to start the trip and ease us in gently!).

I had 3 days to spend in NYC with Soozie and we were on a mission to cram in as much as possible - we must have walked for miles! If there is one thing you can't get across about America until you see it, it's the size of the place.

Times Square and Broadway were first up, pretty cool but feels quite a lot like London on a slightly grander scale. This was our first realisation of just how much our necks were going to ache in this city; everywhere you go you're constantly looking up! A short walk down the street and we were in the beautiful Central Park, where a slightly odd man started talking to us about Ozzy Osbourne and telling us we were beautiful (note about America - people talk to you A LOT!)...he ended up handing us a map of the park in exchange for a dollar so we were actually quite grateful to him! Soozie was determined that we'd find the Alice in Wonderland statue as she'd been unable to locate it on her previous vist, and after much walking around (and leaving the park for street guidance!) we managed it! Also visited the Strawberry Fields bit and saw a couple having their wedding photos done - what an amazing place to do it! We noticed that Essex crops up a lot in NYC so you'll see loads of photos of me with various 'Essex' signs, one of which was taken in the park.

We then walked along Fifth Avenue and looked longingly at all the expensive shops and made it to Radio City Music Hall (cool from the outside!) and the Rockefeller Centre - the best way to see the city, it's an amazing view! Our joint Sex and the City obsession took us to the New York Public Library (where Carrie and Big are supposed to get married, for the less crazy of you out there!). Beautiful building, but sadly the outside was covered in scaffolding! We did manage to get a few photos of that staircase and the incredible chandeliers though! Next up on our tour of the city was Grand Central Terminal which was definitely another architectural wonder.

We started Wednesday with the Sex and the City tour (to feed our habits a little more!) - so much fun; we got to eat the famous Magnolia Bakery cupcakes and drink cosmopolitans in Steve and Aidan's bar!!! They even took us in the sex shop where the girls bought the rabbit. In the afternoon we walked around Greenwich Village and then went to a gig with Kelly - an English guy called Bobby Long was playing at a bar called Arlene's Grocery, what a cool name! Kelly and Sooz are both into Twilight and this guy is Rob Pattinson's best mate. He was actually really good, check him out! His checked shirt and floppy fringe combo were a nice reminder of lots of you lovely guys at home! I had my first ever Bud Light that night, thought I should seeing as everyone was obsessed with them in the US! I can't remember the difference between that and normal Bud now so I guess it was okay. Apart from the bar woman who whispered to me 'it's customary to tip the bartender here'!!!! I was very annoyed at her, for two reasons: 1. why should I tip someone for removing a bottle top?! and 2. I had actually bothered to pay attention to American 'rules' and was already about to leave her a tip when she was rude enough to tell me to do it!

For our last day in Manhattan we decided to head over to Ground Zero and Battery Park, which felt important to do but was kind of strange and very moving with all the memorials etc. We took a ferry over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which poor Sooz didn't enjoy as she was barked at by the security people for not removing her boots! Seriously, it was harder to get through security there than in the average airport! In the afternoon we did the cultured thing and visited the Museum of Modern Art which I would definitely recommend if you're ever in the city, just make sure you leave plenty of time cos it's huge!

I spent Friday having a girly day with Corinne in Whippany which involved my first ever pedicure - they're great! We went shopping and watched a movie, then had an awesome night out in Morristown with Phil, his sister Christine and a friend of their's Matt. Lots of lovely cocktails and an entertaining photo shoot of sorts under the control of Matt. If you look at the album on facebook that should explain why there are so many pics of Corinne and I doing stupid poses! The drive home involved a stop at White Castle, which I'd never heard of. Basically it's just cheap junk food in mini sizes - awesome!

Had a fantastic time in New York and New Jersey, I'll definitely be going back. Anyone fancy Manhattan at Christmas time? xx