Two years ago today, I was on a plane to NYC so what better day to post an Instagram guide to one of the best cities in the world. Whilst I cry about the fact that I'm not in NYC, I'm going to dry my tears and hope that posting about some of my fave photo spots around the city never sleeps, helps me stop booking a flight to NYC on a credit card. So let's all pray this works ;)
ANYWAYS, thanks for all of your nice comments about my other Instagram guides for Orlando and Disneyland Paris, I thought I'd round off the week with an NYC instagram guide, and hopefully I'll do some other ones in the future!
So I've been to NYC twice, and I absolutely love it there, and if you're going soon (you lucky devil you) hopefully this guide will be helpful for places to take photos. I did realise that I wasn't so obsessed with my Instagram back in 2015 (so tragic) so I feel I missed a few photo opps, however, I've done my research and will tell you some places that I'll be for sure visiting next time I go. I've also linked some Instagram accounts which have some really good NYC photos which will be perfect for inspiration :)
So without further ado, let's get started!
Oh and also, I am going to be doing a Gossip Girl guide to NYC soon, with all the places you need to visit if you're a GG fan, I'll get that up soon, but a few of these places are GG related but my other post will have a lot more places to visit. Okay I'll stop waffling now.
The Met Steps
Location : 1201 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028Talking of Gossip Girl, the Met Steps are a must visit/photo opp for any Blair Waldorf wannabe.
Top Of The Rock
Location : Rockefeller Center, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111
Photo Ideas :
Standing with the viewing platform binoculars
Having a photo taken from the upper ledge, see Jess's pic to see what I mean
Sitting looking out - again look at Jess's pic for inspo
I will be recreating some of these shots when I go back I am sure. I also really want to go at sunset one day, how amazing would that be?
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park, 334 Furman St, Brooklyn, NY 11201I'm slightly bias as this is where Henry proposed to me, but this is probably my favourite place in the whole world (yes even over Disneyworld I'm afraid) this park which is situated just off the Brooklyn Bridge has the most amazing view. You can see the whole NYC skyline and even the Statue of Liberty. Go at sunset and you won't regret it. There's also a Shake Shack just across the road too!
Obviously also walking over Brooklyn Bridge is a major Instagram spot, I've never done this ( I know!)
This picture of Louise is pretty stunning though, so will be using this for inspo next time I go!
The Flatiron Building
Location : Flatiron Building, 175 5th Ave, New York, NY 10010It's impossible to take a bad photo of the Flatiron building!
Pizza
Out Fave Pizza Place : NY Pizza Suprema : Location : NY Pizza Suprema, 413 8th Ave, New York, NY 10001If you don't Instagram a photo of pizza when you're in NYC, did you even go? NY Pizza Superma is out fave place to go for pizza, it's across from Madison Square Gardens, and although the decor isn't very Instagrammable, I'm sure you can make it work. The pizza is worth it anyways!
Also try :
Roberta's Pizza
Joe's Pizza
The Highline
Location : The High Line, New York, NY 10011This walk through NYC on an old train track has so many Instagram opportunities, also a really nice way to spend a few hours!
34th Street - Walking Up To The Empire State Building
Location: Starbucks, 1 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10119, USAOkay so this is a good place to get a shot of the Empire State Building in the background, I was a total basic white girl and held up my Starbucks cup!
Central Park
Location: Central Park, New York, NY
Central Park is one of my fave places in NYC, and is full of Instagram spots. Including; The Alice and Wonderland Statue, The Ice Rink (if you're visiting during Winter) and The Conservatory Garden are just a few of the beaut things to do/take pictures of in Central Park.
Bethesda Terrace:
Location: 72 Terrace Drive, New York, NY 10021If you're a GG fan you will know this location very well, especially if you are a Blair and Chuck fan! It's a bit dark, so perhaps play around with different shots! But a must visit and absolutely gorgeous!
Dylan's Candy Bar
Location : Dylan's Candy Bar, 3rd Avenue, New York, NYYou'll probably recognise this sweet shop from many tv shows and films such as Gossip Girl, Arthur, and Hitch. However, this three floored sweet heaven is perfect for Instagram and your sweet tooth!
So moving on to a few places that I've not been to, but look dreamy on other people's instagram photos :
Dumbo : That epic shot of the Brooklyn Bridge : Location : Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Cha Cha Matcha : Pink, neon lights and matcha tea - SO instagram : Location : Cha Cha Matcha, 373 Broome St, New York, NY 10013
Pietro Nolita : That pink cafe : Location: Pietro Nolita, 174 Elizabeth St, New York, NY 10012
Sprinkles Cupcake ATM : Location : 780 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10065
While We Were Young : Location : While We Were Young Kitchen & Cocktails, 183 W 10th St, New York, NY 10014
Instagrammers to follow for NYC inspiration:
JessKate
Elle
Tess
Tar
Hayley
Polina
Leonie
Victoria
Marianna
I know there's probably a million other Instagram spots or people to follow, but I think I will leave it there. Hopefully one day soon, I will return to NYC and maybe I'll do a part 2 then :)
Let me know if you know of any Instagram NYC spots, as I'd love to know!
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The one thing that I was most excited about when I booked our recent holiday to Orlando was my Instagram feed. Yes I am that basic, and obsessed with my Instagram, come on guys you should know this by now ;) so anyways, if you've never been to Orlando before, or visited Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando Resort before, you may not know that they are two of the most Instagrammable places in the whole world.
When I was little, I used to think that you could only go to Orlando if you won the lottery. It seemed like this amazing, far away, expensive place, that I never dreamt I'd get to go to. I remember that Mum and Dad got one of those promotional VHS tapes about Disneyworld that you used to get, and I just used to sit and watch it over, and over. It's a little tragic when you think about it, however, I didn't watch it again after I pretended to be one of the people in the parade, did a cartwheel, fell over, landed on my elbow and broke it in two places. Good one 7 year old me!
Anyways, myself and my broken elbow have now been to Orlando three times, and although yes, it isn't one of the cheapest holidays around, it can still be done on a budget. No need for wistful VHS tape watching (though does anyone have a VHS player anymore?)
We went to Orlando in June, and when we booked our holiday which was done on a bit of a last minute basis, we knew that the holiday had to stay on budget. After all, we are getting married next year and we all know that weddings cost about 21 million pounds (slight exaggeration) so we wanted to go, have fun, but not spend a fortune.
You know when you experience something so good that you know that nothing else will ever compare? For example, if you eat really good chocolate cake, you know that you will probably never taste chocolate cake as good as this again? Yeah, well that's how I feel after visiting Moddershall Oaks last week.
So spoiler alert, Moddershall Oaks is the nicest spa I've ever visited. Yep I just went there.
Let's start at the beginning, Moddershall Oaks is located in Stone, Staffordshire, which is about an hour from mine, so not too far at all. It's based in it's own lakeside grounds, and is pretty secluded, meaning it's the perfect place to relax and unwind. Me and my Mum were very excited to have the chance to review an overnight stay at Moddershall, and pretty much from the moment we stepped through the door, our stresses started to melt away.
So we checked in, and then were shown to our room, which was a lovely modern room with two beds, private bathroom and you ready for the best bit? A hot tub right outside. Okay so the hot tub wasn't just for us, it's a communal one for anyone staying, but still pretty cool right? The rooms were decorated really nice, and had everything you needed, from a big flat screen TV, a safe, Elemis toiletries, a ghd hair dryer, a good selection of hot drinks such as coffee, hot chocolate, herbal tea and of course a kettle. The little grandma inside of me, was so happy to know that I could have a cup of tea when I got into bed later.
There was also air conditioning, and underfloor heating, the suites are perfect for any weather! It was just the little touches, and it seemed like they'd thought of everything you may need. We quickly got changed into our fluffy robes and flip flops, and went out to enjoy the spa facilities.
So there's an outdoor and indoor spa area for you to enjoy, but we'll start with the indoor facilities as that's where we started. So there's treatment rooms, changing rooms, a big indoor pool, sun loungers, heated marble loungers and a hydro pool.
The indoor pool was pretty quiet, so that's where we headed. We had a swim, then chilled in the hydro pool for a bit, which was basically a big insane Jacuzzi.
After a good hour or so, we headed to the outdoors spa area. So there's an outdoor heated spa pool, a courtyard with lots of sun loungers and seating to chill on, a sauna overlooking the pool, a deli which has drinks and nibbles which you can order, a lounge which is so cosy, with sofas, chairs, blankets and a log fire. You could curl up with a book, or even have a nap, so nice! Then there's a snug which is where you get individual beauty treatment such as manicures, etc...
As well as the spa facilities, there's also a gym, tennis courts, woodland walks, and bikes to hire if you fancy being a bit more adventurous. We found a couple of sun loungers and sat and enjoyed the last of the afternoon sun and then had a soak in the outdoor pool, which was so nice! We chilled here for a bit, before going back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner.
It was really nice to get dressed up a bit for dinner, you guys know me, I'm a grandma and rarely go out, so it was nice to have an excuse to dress up! We had a 2 course meal at the Lakeside Restaurant as part of our package, and we opted for main course and dessert. The service first of all, was amazing, and as soon as we were seated and ordered, we were then greeted with two cheese scones to keep us going, then out came a champagne sorbet, which omg was one of the nicest things I've ever had. I said to Mum 'I could get used to this!'
Then our meals arrived, we both ordered steaks, and to be honest with you, usually I can give or take steak but this one was something else. I wanna say the best steak I've ever had, it was amazing. Alongside it was, a wild mushroom and Parmesan stuffed tomato, and home made chips, so good! By the time, we were finishing our main, the restaurant was starting to get a bit busier. We asked if we could perhaps sit outside on one of the tables there to have pudding, and it was no problem at all. The staff couldn't do enough for you, and we were taken out and brought dessert menus.
Sitting outside was a lovely way to finish our evening, we sat overlooking the lake and the gardens which were decorated beautifully with fairy lights. I had a chocolate pudding which was basically a rich chocolate mousse, with creme freche ice cream, and caramel sauce, and Mum had a citrus pudding which was basically a citrus cheesecake deconstructed. They were both lovely though. We finished our wine, Mum had a coffee and then we were pretty much ready for bed.
Who knew relaxing would be so tiring?
So we headed back to our room, I watched the Love Island final with a cup of herbal tea and we settled down for the evening.
We were up nice and early the next morning as we wanted to make the most of the facilities. We were in the indoor pool by 7:15am ( i know) and we had a lovely time swimming and making the most of being the only ones in there.
We headed for breakfast at the Lakeside restaurant at about 8:30, there was a continental buffet of yogurt, cereal, fruit, etc.. as well as fresh juice. There was then a menu of cooked items you could order, we opted for the cooked breakfast cause why not eh, and let me just say, it was so good! The standard of food, really was so high, it was so lovely. We had constant refills of coffee (it was so good that Lorelei Gilmore would have definitely approved) and orange juice. Feeling suitably full, we headed to the outdoor pool, as we were excited to see no one else was in it. We spent a good hour chilling in the pool, just taking in the peaceful surroundings.
It seemed everyone else was having breakfast or was just checking in, it was so quiet and relaxing.
We then went back to tidy up and pack up our room before checking out. However you can use the spa facilities till 5pm so you basically get two days worth of enjoying the spa which is really good.
After checking out, we spent the next few hours sitting outside on the sun loungers, as the sun made an appearance which was a really unexpected bonus. We sat here till it was time for our massages. We had both booked in for a deep tissue massage, and we made our way to the treatment rooms. My therapist was lovely and chatted to me before getting started with the treatment, to ask what oils I'd like to have used, if I had any concerns, etc... then it was time to start the massage. Though in some areas, my muscles were a little sore (she did say afterwards that I had a lot of tension in my shoulders) the treatment was very relaxing, and the 55 minutes went by way too quickly.
Afterwards, I felt so relaxed and my muscles felt so tended too, that I felt almost a little floppy. I felt like Harry Potter when Lockhart's spell to heal his arm, ended with him removing all the bones and he's left with a floppy arm. That's how I felt, but in a good way haah.
Then we spent the last few hours of our time at Moddershall, by sitting in the sun, enjoying the outdoor pool, having some lunch in the outside courtyard (we had a sharing platter and it was so good!)
It was then approaching 5pm, so we dragged our feet down to the changing rooms and reluctantly handed over our fluffy robes, before making our way home.
We may have only spent 26 hours at Moddershall Oaks, but they were 26 of the most relaxing hours ever. Our stay from start to finish was heavenly, the staff were all amazing, we had great service from everyone, and nothing was too much for you. Although, Moddershall Oaks isn't one of the cheapest places to stay/have a spa day, you do get what you pay for. From the immaculate spa facilities, top class food and amazing service, I do feel like the price is justified.
Moddershall Oaks, is perfect for a special treat, whether a special birthday, or hen do, or anniversary. I can't recommend it enough, I would however say that to really enjoy all of the facilities, that an over night stay is probably the best thing to do. We found the daytime to be quite busy with daytime spa guests, and I'm not sure if you'd get the full advantage of having some quiet time by the pools, like you do when you stay over as in the evenings and mornings, as it's really quiet then.
That's the only thing I'd say to be aware of, is that it can get quite busy, but it's a lovely place and I would go back within a heartbeat. I felt so relaxed and we had such a lovely time. We are already saving up for a trip back!
Have you ever visited Moddershall Oaks? Or what's your fave thing about a little spa break?
*Disclaimer, my stay was paid for courtesy of Moddershall Oaks, however all my opinions are completely honest, and we had a really lovely time. I couldn't recommend Moddershall Oaks enough, and the service was amazing for everyone, not just me. Genuinely one of the best spas, I've ever been to. To find out more about my disclaimer, you can read that here.
One of the first things I said, when my sister told me she’d got a job in Germany back in the summer, was ‘think of the Christmas markets!’ Yes that’s right, I was excited about the prospect of a true Christmas market and yes my brain was thinking of this in August! I couldn’t wait to book flights out there for a pre Christmas trip, and it definitely was as magical as I was hoping.
To be honest, Germany had never really been on my list of places I wanted to visit before, but I have to say after spending the last few days in Nuremberg (which is North of Munich) that I feel bad for not giving it enough credit as it definitely is a place you should try and visit. I was of course, very excited about the Christmas markets, but I couldn’t get over how pretty all the buildings were. I constantly felt like I was walking round in a story book.
The flights out there were super cheap, we flew with Ryanair and the earlier you book your flight the cheaper it is. We booked in mid October and our flights were about £16-18 each way which is cheaper than most train rides. It took just under two hours to fly there which seemed to go by really quickly. Also in November, Ryanair had a huge £2 flight sale for November flights, so if you’re pretty flexible then this is definitely worth looking out for!
On the Saturday evening when we arrived, we met Hayley and dropped our bags off at her flat. We then went into Nuremberg for dinner. I got so excited by all of the Christmas lights, and of course my first sighting of the Christmas markets. We went to Vapiano for dinner, an Italian which has chains in the UK. It’s cheap, cheerful and has good food, what’s not to like? The tables are like big benches which you just sit at, which can make slightly awkward dining but it was fine and worth it for the 9 euro pizza. We then made our way back after this, as we were shattered. We spent the evening watching 13 Going On 30 and getting ready for a jam packed couple of days.
I was definitely expecting the weather to be colder than what it was. I’d even packed a thermal vest (lol grandma over here!) It was just like home really, though I was SO glad I’d picked up my new Misguided coat as that kept me so cosy.
My Outfit:
Coat: Missguided
Jumper: Next
Jeans: Primark
Boots: Office
On the Sunday we spent the morning having brunch at Five Diner which was amazing. They bring out fresh, warm rolls with spreads such as jam, Nutella and marmalade for free before your meal. I then had the sweet pancakes which were so good! Also again, I thought the food was very reasonably priced. I also had homemade watermelon lemonade which was also amazing.
After this we strolled round the Christmas markets. The scents of gingerbread, mulled wine and sausages filled the air ( a weird combo but definitely one which works) and I was so excited to have a good old mooch! A lot of the stalls were very similar if I’m honest, from lots of gingerbread stalls, to gluhwein bars and food carts. We strolled round the market and made a little list of what we wanted (all the gingerbread for me!) We also went to the Children’s market which was so cute, it had fairground rides such as a carousel and mini ferris wheel (which I wasn’t allowed on :( ) and was a really lovely place to walk round with a hot mug of apple rum which was SO good.
We went back for a chill in the afternoon as it was raining, and then ventured out again in the evening. I loved the market at night because of the lights, and could happily decorate my house the same way! We went for burritos for tea which weren’t the best if I’m awfully honest, but I am very highly critical of burrito's and make a mean one myself (if I am allowed to toot my own trumpet!) We then headed back to the flat, feet tired, and settled in to the evening watching Love Actually.
Our last full day on Monday, was spent looking round Nuremberg’s castle which definitely looks like it is out of a fairytale. I could just imagine Rapunzel letting down her hair or something. We then strolled back into town, had roasted sweet nuts which were literally hands down one of the best things I’ve ever had, and Hayley showed us round some of the shops. I liked Nuremberg cause it’s wasn’t too big, the shops were lovely and I realised that I must have a similar homeware taste to Germany as all of the shops had my dream house accessories! I wish I had a bigger suitcase to take it all back with me! Also little side note, my trip was made by the fact that dogs are allowed in the shops, so you’d casually be shopping and spot a dog. I kinda wanted to move to Nuremberg just to see dogs out and about all day long. We had lunch round the market and I spotted a Raceltte stand, it was a big wheel of melted cheese. It was like the kind of thing that you see on those videos on Facebook and it was definitely cheese p0rn.
I had this big slab of melted cheese on a baguette and omg it was amazing. I do have quite simple taste food wise, but melted cheese is just one of my faves and this was my idea of heaven. We bought gingerbread hearts for everyone back home, Christmas baubles for ourselves and for presents and a few other little bits and bobs. The markets were definitely quieter on the Monday so I’d recommend booking a mid week trip if you can!
After warming up in a cafe with hot chocolate, we had another good old mooch round, by this time we were pretty cold and content with out Christmas market strolling. We hit the supermarket on our way home and bought pizza, crisps, and chocolate for dinner then settled down with Matilda and Mrs Doubtfire.
The next morning it was time to come home, Mum and me had probably a little too much fun walking round the supermarkets looking at all the german foods, again this is where I wish I had a bigger case with me! Before we knew it, we were at the airport boarding our flight back to Manchester.
It was a really lovely couple of days, I felt refreshed from taking a little break from online and being all Christmasy. I felt like three nights and two days, was plenty of time to explore the markets and shops. It’s not a huge place and I am sure there is a lot to see, but this is a perfect break for a weekend/mid week if you want to get all festive.
It’s a cheap break, and you get to see a real german Christmas market, what is not to love? I can’t wait to visit back in the Spring as Nuremberg really is a beautiful city and if you are a fairytale fan (or like a pretty Instagram picture) you will love it.
This trip has made me eager to visit more European cities, with short haul flights being so cheap, it seems a crime to not be exploring these places when they are so close!
Have you ever been to Nuremberg or to any other Christmas markets this year? Did you wish you could make the ‘Christmas market smell’ into a candle, or was that just me? haha!
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