New York, New York

Well it hadn't been 3 weeks and we were off again and this time to the Big Apple :) We had been planning to visit for some time and now the day had arrived :)

We flew out on the Wed night and after a mind-boggling time travel we arrived at our hotal and collapsed in a heap to ready ourselves for the 5 exciting days we had ahead of us.

Thursday was the start of taking in all that the city has to offer. We started with a downtown tour and took in Soho and Greenwich village, walked across Brooklyn Bridge to see the Manhatten skyline, visited the memorial centre for the World Trade Centre, walked Wall Street and then headed back up to Times Square to treat ourselves to the Broadway Production of Shrek the Musical - which was spectacular and fun! The time zones travel had caught up with us a little by the end of the day and after wandering through Times Square in awe that everything was still open and operating - it literally is the city that never sleeps we headed to the hotel for some shut-eye.

Friday dawned another beautiful blue-skyed day and this time we set off for the ferry to take us to Liberty and Ellis Island. The Lady of Liberty is as beautiful as claimed when one gets up close and Ellis Island has such a strong sense of what and where the US comes from. We then met up withsome friends for dinner after which we wandered up to the top of the Empire State Building for the most amazing view of the lights of the city.

Saturday was another lovely day and we stepped out to find some breakfast to encounter the start of Halloween as the residents of the city got into the spirit. We wandered past Alice in Wonderland having coffee, a witch having breakfast and Minnie Mouse doing some shopping. We spent our day on an Uptown tour where we explored the Natural History Museum, the most awesome St John the Divine Cathedral, the Guggenheim Museum and then we wandered through and took in the sights of Central Park with all it's autumn colours. it was as we were making our way to find something to eat that we walked past Dustin Hoffmann as we was doing some window shopping. After a gool ol' American meal of burger, chips and milkshake we saw the start of the Halloween parade before we boarded the bus for the night tour which allowed us to see some of what Brooklyn has to offer.

Sunday was the New York marathon day and so the sightseeing was scheduled to be curbed so the Watt's headed for some retail therapy. We found ourselves some bargains as we absorbed and took in some of the everyday aspects of New York. We treated ourselves to dinner on the Pier before hitting the sack.

Monday was an early start to take in all that was left and we started with the observation deck at the Rockefeller centre - the views of New York both by day and by night are something to remember. It was then a visit to the library and Grand Central with a spot of lunch before we headed to the airport.

As they say all good things must come to an end and so after a fabulous 5 days we headed home.

My 30th Birthday

The reality was that my 30th had arrived and what better place to spend it than in SA with family and friends. There were a series of celebrations and I can really say that I was a very spoilt birthday girl!

Birthday celebrations started with a day that involved a French influenced lunch followed by the amazing experience of going for a flying lesson - something that I can't describe with simple words. It was an awesome experience and something that I have always wanted to do. So it's a big thanks to my Dad and Rose. This was all topped off by Greek dinner - so by the end of that day I felt like I had celebrated around the world :)

The actual birthday dawned with an early wake-up from Hennie, followed closely by my mom, Tony and Alan and Debs. Yay, the day had arrived and Mom had organised that we all got to celebrate in style together with a day at Mangwanani. this day of bliss and relaxation was topped off with a dinner party with Hennie's family as well as my auntie and cousins - what more could a girl ask for than to have a chance to celebrate with all the special people in your life!!

And then to top it all off there was the brunch with all the friends - it was great to see everyone and have a chance to catch up!

And so my entrance to my third decade could not have been more memorable! Thank you to all that made it all that it was!