Return to New York - Day 1

Image by Ginger DJ via FlickrIt's Kerry's actual birthday today and we have an 8 hour flight to Newark, NJ for our second visit to New York. Last time it was 5 years ago for Kerry's 30th! Purple Parking took their (bloody) time collecting and dropping us off at the terminal so didn't have that much time before the Virgin flight apart from treat the birthday girl to some champagne and oysters. Waiting lounge was full to the rafters and we also had a 40 minute delay. Luckily, being in Premium Economy rocked! Nice wide seats, having priority boarding and more champers to drink whilst waiting to take-off was luxury with a tantalsing view of Upper Class section and the bar. Didin't quite expect a screaming 2 year old sat adjacent to us though but at least the entertainment choice diverted our attention. We both watched 'The King's Speech' (I loved it) and 'Black Swan' (bit slow) with complete polarised opinions.

Landing and immigration process took almost forever even with the Premium Economy head-start. At least the transit to the hotel was quicker (at $12.50 each a single), cheaper and less hassle than our previous visit using the monorail and NJ rail service connecting direct to Penn Station. A small panic as we went through a different Penn Station (Newark I think) but the train guard put our sketchy tired minds at rest. We only had to drag our cases one block to the Eventi hotel which stuck out like a very tall, sore thumb.

Inside, it was very stylish and ultra-modern and our room had been upgraded to a corner on the 12th floor so we had amazing views down 6th Avenue and the Empire State Building. After a refresh, we headed to the hotel bar for a nightcap. A jazz band were entertaining the guests though luckily for us about to finish. The decor was apparently designed by the Bladerunner set designer and certainly looked futuristic. Sleep that night was fractured thanks to the NYC's traffic police based just round the corner with constant 'woop, woop' sounds.