Our TA had arranged the flights & hotel for 2 nights before a cruise back to the UK,not long enough I know but we were determined to make the best of it!

So it was that on Friday April 26th Virgin Atlantic's Uptown Girl flew us from Manchester to New York JFK,hearing all sorts of horror stories about JFK,particularly immigration wasn't helped by our scheduled arrival time of 1630hrs,as it turns out we landed early,were in immigration by 1615hrs,a few minutes later a member of staff noticed my walking stick & fast tracked us to the front & we were in the baggage hall where one suitcase was on the carousel while the other was one of a pile nearby & outside in no time!

Somebody on travel forums had recommended Drive 7 for the transfer to the hotel,booking was easy & our car was outside waiting to start the long crawl downtown!

Our home for 2 nights was the Double Tree by Hilton on West 40th Street,check in was fast & efficient,we were in room 505,the lobby was busy as you would expect on a Friday evening,getting a lift with two large suitcases proved challenging but we eventually got in one with a lovely Dutch family who helped us get our cases out of the lift....their bit for Help The Aged!

Finding the room was the next challenge,no signs anywhere mentioned 505 but we eventually found it down a short corridor,compact & a bit dark it would prove to be a clean & comfy &,being at the back of the hotel,quiet,away from the madness in the street outside!

We were booked on a tour with Small Bus Tours NYC on the Saturday morning at 0930hrs,,pick up was outside MucDonalds on Broadway,not a fan of the big M but we thought we could put up with the McMuffins for Breakfast,that was until we saw how busy it was,plan B was a trailer across the road,we both had buns with sausage,egg & cheese,they were delicious as we're the drinks!

The tour was superb with Mel doing a great job of driving while Bryant was our tour guide & was brilliant,lunch was at the food court at the World Trade Center which had a great variety.

That evening we went to the Celtic Pub not far from our hotel,great food,service & atmosphere,we enjoyed it even though they were hovering a bit waiting to whisk your plate away as soon as you finished!

The next morning check out was quick & efficient,as were the lifts for a change,we had a car booked for 1000hrs,we were outside at 0940hrs & our Drive 7 driver was there & waiting to take us to our cruise ship at Bayonne.

So ended our long awaited New York trip,will we be back,we certainly would love to but we could say. that about a number of places!😎

Thanks to everyone who took the time to help in the planning for this trip!