Hi everyone! Welcome back! I hope that everyone has got a great Christmas break and is feeling ready for uni. Don’t worry if you’re not, because you’re not alone and I’m with you. I’ll be sharing about my USA trip in this blog and I hope that it will cheer you guys up a wee bit. Spoilers alert: There will be some food pictures coming along so brace yourself. It is probably a good idea to not read it when you’re hungry.
Day 1: Edinburgh – New York
My friend and I flew directly to New York. The flight journey was about 8 hours and luckily I wasn’t alone. It wasn’t the most comfortable flight, but it was definitely good value for money. We didn’t get to do much on our first night there but were excited and feeling ready to embark on our 17 days trip. The first stop was Washington DC.
Day 2-3: Washington DC
My first meal in the USA was the big breakfast from McDonald as it was just right outside of our hotel. It came with biscuits, pancakes and scrambled eggs. The biscuits tasted like scones to me somehow, I did like them. After fueling our stomachs, we waited for our friend to pick us up and drive us to Washington DC. The journey took us about 4 hours. We made several stops at the service area to grab food and refuel our car and finally made our way there around dinner time. We went to a restaurant called “The Luke’s lobsters” and had the trio combo of lobster, crab and shrimp rolls. They were so good and the only complaint was they could have been bigger. We then spent our night strolling along the river in Georgetown. It was a shame that it was drizzling that night, but the city lights were still mesmerizing.
We had fried chicken and waffles as brunch on the next day before heading to the touristy spots. It was my first time trying a savory waffle. I personally like sweet waffles more so unfortunately that combination didn’t really work out for me but the fried chicken had great flavour and texture. We then made our way to the White House, Washington memorial, Lincoln memorial, the United State capitol and many more. It was sunny that day, so we were managed to capture many great photos. We traveled back to NYC later that night. We made a great discovery along the highway: Burger King has the best value for chicken nuggets. It’s only $1 for 10 pieces of nuggets!
Day 4-9: New York
The moment I stepped into NYC, it looked exactly like what it has promised on the television. The songs “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys and “Welcome to New York” by Taylor Swift exactly captured the feelings and vibes I got when I was there. The neon lights in Times Square and skyline of the city that you get to see from the Brooklyn bridge will make your jaw drop and not believe your eyes. They were that gorgeous. It has to be on your bucket list to walk across the Brooklyn bridge at dawn and take a look at the city lights of Manhattan. It was breathtaking.
Besides seeing all the iconic places in NYC, I was also determined to try out the food there. My most favourite pizza was the Artichoke pizza from Artichoke Pizza shop. It was so thick, creamy and cheesy but in a good way. I would also highly recommend to try the bagels from Absolute Bagels. They have many different cream cheese fillings ranging from the classic garlic and herb to strawberry and many more. So they will definitely have something that suits your taste. I also went to the High lines, Chelsea market, the newly opened Starbucks Roastery Reserve. It was a relaxing walk on the high lines where I got to escape from the crowd on the street and yet enjoy the city view. A visit to the Statue of Liberty by ferry is also a must if you are there. After spending a few days there, I met up with a few more of my friends who are studying in other states. We then took a flight to Florida.
Day 10-16: Florida (Miami-Orlando)
I would say this was my most favourite part of the trip. The weather in Florida was so lovely and I never thought I would be able to put on my shorts and t-shirt in winter! It was definitely a short getaway from the cold and it made me miss the weather back home even more. Miami was such a lively city to be in. It has strong Cuban and Havana influences that you can feel and see from the architecture of the buildings and the salsa and jazz music playing from one bar to another. We went to a couple of Cuban restaurants and I really enjoyed the seafood there. They were so good like they were just fresh from the boat and I could really taste the sweetness and freshness in them.
We then traveled to Orlando after staying a few nights in Miami. The only place we went in Orlando was Universal Studios. It was the first Universal studio I had been to and I was very happy with it. It was really huge and the designs were spot on. Although we had to queue for at least 2 hours for most of the rides, we were satisfied with the thrills they brought us. It is definitely the theme park you should go if you’re a big Harry Potter fan, as you can get a cup of butter beer for $7.50 there.
Day 17: New York – Edinburgh
The end of the trip had come. It’s always hard to bid goodbyes. It was a very pleasant trip for me as I got to see so many new places that I had never dreamed of seeing. I also had a great time catching up with my friends just before they graduate this summer.
