My New York Top 5's - Shopping, Eating, Must see, Must do N My Favs

So I'm obsessed with New York !!! And I'm still jet lagged and on NYC time so I thought I'd do another piece on NYC for you. I was in New York for a Sunsilk Blogger meet as you know and then I stayed on for a few days to just experience the greatness New York has to offer. Now I was really lucky and I got loads of tips from my family, friends and everyone I worked with in NYC, so I'm going to put everything down here for all you lovely people who are visiting NYC.

Top 5 Places For Shopping

H n M

• 5th Avenue - Now here you can find H n M , Forever 21, Sephora ,Juicy Couture and every other brand. Not only that the best thing about NYC is that they all have multiple stores and a lot of them are really close to each other and they all carry different stuff so what you see at one F21 outlet you might not see at the next. So lots of cheap shopping !!! You will also find the famous Sak's 5th Avenue, Barney's and Bergdorf  Goodman  here if you want to indulge in some designer shopping. 

Sak's

• Soho- Again all the usual suspects like F21 and H n M but there are some stores that you wont find in a lot of places that you will find here. Victoria's Secret, Top Shop and Brandy Melville to name a few.
• Century 21- This is a crazy department store close to the World Trade Center Memorial. Here you will find tons of designer and branded stuff at a heavy discount ! Some great deals but the cash register lines are terrible, I had to wait for 30 minutes !!! And its huge with everything from make up to clothing so go when you have at least a couple of hours to spare.
• Forever 21 At Times Square- Now this is not a shop its a mall !!! Its like some 4-5 floors and its the biggest F21 in NYC. So if you love F21 like me this is a dream come true . But again you need some time here coz its huge and there are long trial room and cash register lines .



F21




• Weekend Flea Market At Williamsburg - Now this is a neighborhood in Brooklyn that most New Yorkers probably haven't been too. Its very hippie and has a great vibe. Every weekend there is a flea market by the water with everything from food to thrift stores to quirky jewelry. Get of the Subway at Bedford Avenue station and its a 5 minute walk. Must go !!!

All Williamsburg

Top 5 Places To Eat In NYC


I was really lucky to eat at some amazing places in New York and let me warn you, if your a foodie like me your going to love it.

• Katz's Deli- Now this place is an institution. They serve the best pastrami sandwich in the world !!! I saw this on the tv show Man V food  and I was so excited when I found out we were going . Great Food !!! N if you get the pastrami get it with Rye bread. Divine !!!

  

  The Pastrami Sandwich

  

  Katz's

• Balthazar- This was where we went for lunch after a breakfast at Katz's ,so I was in a full food coma post my meal . The had a preset brunch which was sooooooooooooo good. I had the Steak and it was cooked brilliantly. I have also heard that you get the best Eggs Benedict in NYC here but unfortunately I dint get to go back a second time .:(

  

  Menu at Balthazar

  

  My Food !!!

  

  Balthazar
• Juniors - Now this little place at Times Square has the best baked cheesecake you will ever eat . Must must must try !
• Chelsea Market- A market full of bakeries, restaurants and cafes. I went 3-04 times coz it was right next to my hotel . Its a great place for breakfast too. I had an amazing burger at Friedman's Lunch.

• Serendipity - You can't come to New York and not have the frozen hot chocolate here !!! Just can't !!!

  

  Frozen Hot Chocolate !

Top 5 Things To See In New York

• The Statue Of Liberty- Now I have a really cool free way to see the Statue of  Liberty from the water. Since I was on a budget and dint have a lot of time either, the friends I was staying with suggested I take the Staten Island ferry which is absolutely free and is a 15-20 minute ride and you can see the Statue of liberty pretty clearly and take lots of photos for at least 10 minutes each way .

The Blue Lady

• The Met- This is an absolute must even if your not fond of museums. They have such a vast collection and they have some great special exhibits. I saw the latest one which was Punk. Brilliant !!!

The Met

The Met

• The Highline - This is is a mile long park built on an old elevated railroad . Absolutely Beautiful.

  

  The Highline

• Times Square- You have to go to Times Square and just stand there and watch the world go by. Crazy crazy !!!



Times Square














• A Broadway Show- I was lucky to see Kinky boots with my friends which was great. The music was by Cindy Lauper which was amazing. Its so refreshing to see such great talent perform right in front of you and the sets and costumes are all so elaborate. If your in New York go watch a Broadway show and I would advice you to get good seats  coz watching it from the front is the best way.

Kinky Boots !

This group just came to watch the show in these !!!

Top 5 Things To Do In New York

• Get A Tattoo- Of course only if you want to. But I did and I'm so happy with mine. Do your research and go to some place that's good. I went to Three kings tattoo which is rated among the top five places in NYC. I chose them because in the well known lot they were the only ones that did walk ins . The rest al worked only on appointments.

  

  My Tattoo

• Take A Hansom Cab (Horse & Cart) Ride Through Central Park - Central Park is huge and I would say you should walk around a bit but the best way to see  a lot of it and get a guided tour of what movie was shot where and which pop star was thrown out where you need to take the Hansom Cab.

Central Park

• Walk Around NYC- The Best way to see New York is to put on a pair of comfy shoes and start walking. I don't think I have walked this much in ages but It was totally worth it.
• Spend time at Williamsburg- This is a neighborhood in Brooklyn that is very different to the rest of New York and you will love it.
•  Grab The Bull By His Balls On Broadway -  get a nice cheeky picture ;) Everyone was crowding around the front of the bull to get a shot with his head but i thought this was way more fun !

My Top 5 Favorites

Now that I have broken down all the things to see, eat and do in NYC for you , I"m gonna pick my favorites from each category .

• 5th Avenue - Coz you can find everything here , you can go the expensive designer way or the cheaper branded way  all in one place.
• Balthazar- Coz everything right from my appetizer to my desert tasted divine and the place has a lovey old world feel to it. And you must go see the beautiful toilets in the basement !
• A Broadway Show - Coz its something you can't experience in a lot of places, every country has their monuments and sights but everyone doesn't have kick ass Broadway shows.
• Spend Time In Williamsburg- Coz everyone should experience this side of New York too. And go on a weekend so you can go to the flea market too ;)
• Now if I had to pick one thing among all these it would be - 5th Avenue !!!!!!!!!!!! You can eat, shop or just walk and feel like a New Yorker here !

 So guys this is my Guide to New York. I absolutely loved it and I will definitely be going back... I <3 NY !!!

Red Door Spa

Starting your day at the spa on a Monday morning seems like a dream, right? Well yesterday I was a very lucky. A very dear friend sent me to the Spa for some TLC ! So I went to The world renowned Red Door Spa on 5th Avenue , which is definitely the best spa I have ever been to . So they check you in and escort you to this huge changing room to get you started. I was getting 3 services so I started with  my massage and then went in for my facial and eye contour. They have a lovely relaxation area where you can read, sleep or just put your feet up n relax until your therapist comes and gets you. 

My massage therapist Courtney  took me up to one of the lovely massage rooms which were a lot bigger than the ones I've been to at Indian spas. The thing I loved the most in the Spa was the was the way they use heat in all their services. It just makes such a huge difference.  As soon as I got into that massage bed I knew I was in for a treat. So the bed is heated and there's a nice big blanket for you to slip into which was perfect coz it was a cold day. Not only that the beds all move like an airplane seat so u can have your legs up or arch your back . Sooooooooooo cozy !!! So coming to my massage, it was absolutely amazing my therapist knew exactly how much pressure to apply. And what I liked is she din't use a lot of oil. ( I din't have to shower like a million times after my massage like I usually have to) She very slowly massaged every part of my body and each time she was done with a part she would wrap it in a hot towel . When she said she was done I only agreed to leave the bed coz I knew I had another service lined up ;) 

After my massaged was taken to another room for my facial and eye contour. That service started with the therapist layering my hands with lotion and then putting them into heated mittens and giving me a heated tummy pack. So I was in heaven way before my facial even started.  Then she applied some serum like thing all over my face that stung a bit and put me under the steamer. The best thing about this service was that she took out all my blackheads (n I have a lot !!) with a tissue and her hands , just massaged them out with her fingers. She dint use that terrible metal thing with a ring that most people use . That leaves  terrible marks and usually I look red for a couple of days after I get my blackheads removed. But the way she did it I never had a single mark on my face and my skin looked flawless !!! She combined the facial and the eye contour so I finished with both at the same time . And after everything my skin felt  n looked amazing . 

So if you live in New York or your just visiting you must go to the Red Door Spa. I highly recommend it and I am listing the services below with the names of my therapists coz they were amazing.

Deep Tissue Massage (60 minutes) - Courtney

Red Door Signature Facial (60minutes) - Drew

Customised Eye Countour - Drew

Pictures of me post my visit . ( Ain't I glowing?)

Sunsilk Hair Stodio - NYC

Helllooo Hello
    I must say the last 4 days have been such a crazy roller coaster ride that I haven't even had a minute to write a post but dont worry I have shot loads of video blogs and taken 100s of pictures for you!!! I will break this post into 4 days so you know exactly what I did when.

Day One -
So I land in NYC at 7.30 am and I got to the hotel around 9.30 am. The lovely Sunsilk team was waiting for me with a goodie bag :). Once I checked in I just took a shower and left the hotel to start working. Yes I didn't rest even for a minute. I shot a day to night hair blog all around New York and it was just amazing. The city has such a great vibe and nobody cares if your shooting so its just sooooo easy to get what you want. so after a hectic day of shooting I came back to the hotel and passed out coz I was sooooooooo jet lagged.

Day Two
This day was like a dream. We were taken all over NYC to shop and sight see and I have to tell you it was just soooooooo well planned. I don't think anyone could have asked for more. So first we went to Katz's Deli and I had the pastrami sandwich for breakfast which was divine. I had actually seen this place on tv in tonnes of food shows so it was so exciting for me, as a foodie to be here. After that they drove us around the city and showed us a few things coz the shops only open at 10 am. So at 10 am sharp we were on 5th Avenue waiting for the doors to heaven to open! Hehe Top Shop !!!!! So we went to Top Shop, Forever 21 and Victoria's Secret. And then to Balthazar for lunch (if you're a SATC fan you must know this) After lunch we went to Bleaker street which had all the designer stores and Magnolia bakery !!!! So obviously I had a red velvet cupcake , at this point I really though I was Carrie coz after this we went off to Barney's where we were all gifted a 250 $ gift voucher!!! So I bought a beautiful neon orange bag! And then the last stop for the day was Central park where we were taken for a horse carriage ride around the park.  It was such a perfect way to end such a beautiful day in New York. So once we got back to the hotel we had just 30 minutes to get ready coz we had to meet the experts for cocktails at the electric room . They were all so nice and warm and they really wanted to get to know each girl. I got Jamal  Hammadi as my expert and he was just amazing .

Day Three -
Okay so this is the day when we got our expert to style and cut our hair . So we were at the Hudson studios which is beautiful with huge windows and a great view. We were thoroughly pampered through the day .:) So it started with Jamal taking a look at my hair and telling me what I was doing wrong which was great coz to get advice like that from an expert is just amazing. And then he cut and styled my hair and reduced a lot of
the volume and I had really smooth and shiny hair guys!!! After that we got to shoot with famous fashion photographer Anna Wolf. We had  loads of different sets, a photo booth, living room, party set and a table full of treats ! There were loads of fun props too. Being a model the shoot was loads of fun for me coz it all just came naturally and it was all crazy fun stuff noting static n stiff. It was a great shoot, can't wait to see the pictures. After the shoot we had a wrap party too at this really cool restaurant called the Spotted Pig. I must say this trip was just so amazing and so were all the other bloggers. Such fun girls from all over the world.

Day four
So day four was a crazy one coz after everyone left I still stayed on in NYC and decided to shoot blogs all day, at all the famous NY spots - The Empire State Building, Times Square, Central Park, Grand Central station and lots of other places too. It was a dull gloomy day and it kept raining but I managed to pull it off and shoot some great blogs for my you tube channel  Fashion Tube .


So guys this is all that happened on the last four days !!! It's been crazy and soooooo much fun. It's a trip i will never forget. But my journey doesn't end here I have 6 more work free days in NYC !!!! Wooooohoooo !!!! So your still going to hear a lot more about New york from me. :)

Thank you Sunsilk !!!!!!



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