Favourite and least favourite destination?
This has to be the most common question that I am ever asked as crew
There are so many wonderful places that I am lucky enough to fly to, and surprisingly the same place can be the answer to both questions!
And the answer is – New York!
Don’t get me wrong, New York is an amazing city and I can understand why people go there.
Also New York, isn’t just Manhattan which is the part most people are familiar with. Perhaps it’s because I’m there a lot – we have 6 flights a day, so it tends to pop up on my roster quite a lot!
I took my partner there for New Years Eve, I was working and he came on the flight. We arrived at 8pm, I was shattered, it was dark and pouring with rain! We arrived at the hotel, I sent him across the road to fetch McDonald’s and we were asleep by 10pm – Happy New Year (lol)!
However the next morning, we were up at 7am and out and about. The streets were deserted! We walked through Times Square, saw the Macy’s windows, went to Top of the Rock – way better than Empire State (top tip!), watched people ice skating and saw the huge Christmas Tree at the Rockefeller Centre.
Next we went into St Patrick’s Cathedral, which is stunning, had a lovely lunch and then back to the hotel for me to have a nap before flying home.
We had an amazing day. This was a great trip, but sadly not the norm. We can get as little as 13 hours there.
New York isn’t just Manhattan, much like London isn’t just the main shopping area and Covent Garden. We are lucky to have a number of hotels, 2 near Times Square, 1 in New Jersey and 1 in Long Island, I prefer being out in Long Island or New Jersey.
I find that Manhattan is either sweltering hot or freezing cold. It’s very noisy, busy, lots of tourists – it’s not called ‘the city that never sleeps’ for nothing, and for some people that constant bustle and buzz is part of the appeal.
I do find it sad to see the numbers of homeless who will approach you for money, food or cigarettes, but this happens in many large cities.
As I mentioned we also stay in Long Island and New Jersey. Long Island is beautiful, imagine American mafia movies with the white timber clad houses set in the centre of large gardens, beautiful high streets that get decorated for every holiday and numerous coffee shops and places to eat.
New Jersey is across the Hudson River from Manhattan and the views looking back across the river of the Manhattan skyline are absolutely stunning, especially at night. It’s easy to get the bus or ferry across to Manhattan, but I tend not too.
New York for me has become a chill out trip. I may pop to CVS or Target – us crew like to shop! But that’s about it. It’s an amazing city – Time Square, Central Park, 5th Avenue, The Empire State Building etc.
And I know it sounds bizarre, but it’s both my favourite and least favourite place to go. But take a trip (obviously with Virgin Atlantic 😁) and decide for yourself!
Happy travels xo
