As we approach our 10 year wedding anniversary in February, I can’t help but reflect on the last 10 years and all the fun we’ve had. This blog started as a diary of our move to Japan which means I never documented the two USA trips we took prior to our move.

With that in mind, I have decided to write a retrospective blog post documenting our five day trip to New York that we took for our honeymoon.

Our wedding was a small affair one Saturday in February 2014. It was a fun mix of interests combining the more historic, traditional theme that I wanted with the fun, superhero theme that Rob wanted. We had the ceremony at a beautiful, small, old Tudor house and hired a vintage double decker bus to get all our guests there.

To incorporate Rob’s passions we had super hero themed table settings and seating plan as well as props for photos which created some amazing memories.

It was a fantastic day spent with all our friends and loved ones. And then it was time to jet off…

There is so much to do in New York and there is something for everyone. Rob’s top place to visit was the Natural History Museum which we decided to walk to through Times Square and Central Park. It was cold (being February) and a long trek but well worth it as it was pretty quiet.

Rob managed to spend over six hours in the museum and by the time we got back to the hotel, my feet were killing me but it was worth it to see his face though.

Another top of the list tourist activity was of course the Empire State Building which we decided to do at night rather than during the day.

Another two sights we visited were the 9/11 memorial site and the Statue of Liberty. Because we visited way back in 2014 the memorial was still under construction but was both impactful and touching none the less.

The Statue of Liberty naturally required a short boat ride which normally you would partner with a trip to Ellis Island but we had spent so much time exploring the memorial and the surrounding area, we could only do one and so decided upon the Statue of Liberty.

The area where you catch the boat has some amazing views of the New York city skyline which are well worth seeing.

The last big touristy thing we did was visiting the Rockefeller Centre which offers (in my humble opinion) the best view of the city.

The rest of our chocker block trip was filled with exploring the streets, shopping and of course watching a Broadway show (we chose the Lion King).

New York was our first solo trip to the USA and was a whirlwind of a holiday. We managed to fit in almost everything we wanted into the 5 days we were there and left with very few regrets.

We have always talked about going back for our 10 year wedding anniversary to see how much it has changed. We imagine over the past 10 years, it is a very different place but we are also very different people. I have no doubt that if we do go back, it will be a completely different experience. My photos certainly will be! These were all taken back in my pre-DSLR days.

Fingers crossed 2024 will be the year we can return but until then…

SP x