Sunday 17th May
A bright and sunny day greeted me as I pulled back the curtains this morning. Packing done, everything ready for another big adventure to the USA. Flight departure time to New York JFK was 14:35 with a flight duration of 7 hr 5 min. Had just about enough time to catch the nascar all star race from the night before on TV but then it was time to head to Heathrow Terminal 5!
Arrived nice and early thanks to no hold ups on the M25. Dropped my luggage off swiftly and not too much of a wait at security. Then some time to grab a drink and a snack and explore the shops... this is where the fun started.
Walking along the busy terminal floor I Tried to help someone retrieve their boarding pass which fell out if his pocket and went skimming across the floor to be trampled on by the oncoming stampede.
Nearly witnessed a fight break out at the checkout queue in whsmith
Acted as technical assistance for an elderly gentleman at the self service checkout as he had never used this before.
Then at the gate I went running after a lady who I thought had left her mascara wand behind when she got up to get in the queue for boarding, only to be told 'no its not mine!' aaaah slightly awkward moment there, if only the ground could have opened up for me right there.
And all this happened before I had even boarded the plane!
Boarded our Boeing 747 after being subjected to a random search.
The flight itself was rather smooth and uneventful. I had a spare seat next to me so didn't feel as squashed up as one normally does on those things.
The plane landed bang on 5pm Eastern time but didn't get to the gate until 40minutes later due to a problem with the jet bridge. From here the queues continued as it took an age to get through immigration and to get my transport.
Eventually boarded the shuttle bus at around 7:40 pm.
Got a lovely view of the lower manhattan skyline in the sunset and by the time we reached midtown district it was fully dark. You can already sense the hustle and bustle nature of the city and certainly gives off the vibe that lives up to its reputation of the city that never sleeps. I already have a stiff neck from looking up at all those skyscrapers!
After receiving a guided tour of midtown new York I was the last to be dropped off at around 9:40!
A rather nice hotel, even if the rooms are a bit small.
I had originally planned to head out for a while once I reached the hotel but after such a long day I felt knackered and decided to conserve my energy for my first full day of sightseeing.... Watch out New York... Here I come!
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