NYC, DC and Philly with my sister

Kate came on the 27th of may and was here for two weeks. In that two weeks I got some time off from minding the rugrats, and we went to New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. Not only was it amazing to be able to travel more and get to see more of the USA. But it was wonderful being able to see my sister. Let's just say it was an emotional reunion with just a few tears.

On Thursday the 29th of May, we headed into New York City for a four night, five day stay. This was the part of the trip that we were both most excited about. For a while we had been talking together about traveling to New York. I wanted to make sure that we got to see and do lots of things in our short time there. So I had made a schedule. Now I wasn't trying to be a bore and someone who was strict about keeping time, but I just wanted to have a plan or at least a rough guide for each day. We stayed at The Ace Hotel, it was incredible. It's not your typical hotel, it has a very hip vibe and it's lobby is constantly full with people writing, having meetings, drinking excellent coffee from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, or a cocktail from the hotel lobby bar. The rooms were very really nice and ours was incredibly spacious and clean. I would recommend this hotel to anyone, especially younger people. Other things that we did were shopping, went to time square, ate cupcakes in central park, strolled the streets of 5th Ave, saw Wicked on Broadway, ate lots of yummy food, and drank great coffee, went to the top of the Rockefeller Centre, visited the 9/11 memorial, saw the statue of liberty, explored the streets of brooklyn, took a stroll and ate ice-cream in Greenwich village, gazed in awe at Grand Central Station, managed to figure out the subway system (well Kate did), played the tourist role to a T in Time Square, and many more things. We had a truly amazing time and I can't wait to go back with her again someday. 

Central Park for Rockerfeller Center

First of many great coffees

High tea at the Plaza Hotel

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

Breakfast at Tiffany

The second city we visited on our trip was Philadelphia, we just went there for the day because I only live 45 minutes from there. We got a little bit lost trying to find our way around. We did however see the Liberty Bell and the house where the President used to live. There is a lot of history in the city and some truly beautiful old buildings. We also of course ate food and did a little shopping whilst we were there.

Amazing building in Philadelphia

Last on our agenda was Washington D.C. We just went there for the weekend because I couldn’t take any more time off work. We saw the white house, the lincoln memorial, the Washington Monument, and the reflecting pools. We also went to four of the many museums that make up the Smithsonian. The museums were pretty cool and we even got to go into the Archive Museum where the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights and The Constitution are kept. Washington D.C is a great city if you have an interest in history, especially American history. I enjoyed being there, I just didn’t enjoy all the walking. I thought by the end of Kate’s trip I would be super skinny from all the walking we had to do over the two weeks.  

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

 It was an amazing trip and to be able to spend it with my sister is what made it truly special. I miss her dearly every day.