New York. Where do I even begin? There is an certain energy in this incredible city that gets into your blood. There is so much going on and amazing sights at every turn. We packed as much as we could into the five days we spent there. Staying on the Lower East Side was a great starting point to everywhere we wanted to explore or just a quick subway ride away. We walked ALOT in New York, which I’m all about but one day I got the biggest blisters on my heels (ouch!) so had to embrace my jandals for quite a while after that. I absolutely fell in love with this city and felt like I could never get sick of it. I would be more than happy to live in New York, or shoot a wedding there… any offers? 

-Images are a mix of photos from my Canon 5D Mark III + iPhone 6- 

Our daily morning mission to find great coffee was made much easier in New York who embrace coffee culture a lot more than much of America. This cafe Happy Bones is owned by New Zealanders so we knew it would be great!

Brooklyn Bridge amazingness.

While in Brooklyn for the day we had to get pizza for lunch from Grimaldi’s and oh my goodness I died and went to pizza heaven. It was the best pizza in the world, you’ve got to try it. Bliss!

Visiting the 9/11 memorial site was mesmerizing. It’s crazy to think about what happened there and the 9 metre waterfalls are a compelling reminder of all the lives lost, it was beautiful. 

We took the free ferry over to Staten Island and back at sunset getting a gorgeous golden view of the city skyline and the Statue of liberty.

There are so many incredible shopping areas in NY. We epecially liked exploring Soho, Greenwich and Fifth Avenue. 

We went to the Highline which is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. New York just nails it with this amazing oasis in the middle of the city. Love.

Times Square! Definitely go at night (though it is so bright it seems like daylight!) It’s crazy awesome.

Central Park!

Had to have a pretzel in Central Park, this one a tad dry and disappointing but worth it for the photo! The Metropolitan Museum of Art of ‘The Met’ was incredible, there is endless amounts of amazing art so we picked our favourites and explored. Also since I have a guilty pleasure for the TV show Gossip Girl we had to get photos on the Met steps, you know what I mean Blair Waldorf fans… The European Classics are always a treat for my eyes! We went up to the roof of the Met for some beautiful skyline views.

Had to go see this famous train station we’d seen in so many movies, it did not disappoint.

Bryant Park! 

Bingo in the park, cute! We hired bikes one day and explored Central Park which was an awesome way to see it and a nice break from so much walking!

Esther and I went to the top of the Rockefeller Centre because we just couldn’t get enough of that beautiful New York view. It was a tad hazy and I would have loved to go just before sunset in that delicious glowy light, mmm! Museum of Modern Art- MoMA. Very cool to see work from Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Yoko Ono and many others in the flesh who I’ve admired and been inspired by since my younger art class years. Subway life. New York has got the whole public transport thing on point and the people watching + busking entertainment does not disappoint.

New York was a sweaty (so humid!), beautiful, crazy and inspiring time I will never forget. My heart ached a little when we had to leave but I know one day I’ll be back, it has that kind of drawing affect on you and I was swept away in it. This place was definitely the highlight of our trip for me and if you ever have the chance to go, grab hold of it, you’ll be swept away too.