Life,  Travel

#183 Travel Supermarket Holiday Postcards Competition

August 17, 2013 /
Up on the border of Scotland it’s cool, windy and grey today, very miserable and not at all fun when everyone (including my parents) are sharing their summer holiday snaps all over the Internet! On the 1st September it will be THREE years since I last ventured abroad! And although I was lucky enough to have two short breaks within this country with Little Miss last summer, one to Scarborough and one to Cornwall, the weather was dreadful for both! Rain & wind are no fun for a small baby and incredibly stressful for her mum! So when I had an email through telling me about a competition that Travel Supermarket were running to win £1000 towards a holiday, I didn’t need an excuse to start trawling through my hard drive for some photographs of past holidays!
To enter you simply have to write a blog post all about your best holiday moment. The winner will not only receive £1000 towards a holiday but they will also have their holiday moment turned into a postcard, which I think is pretty damn fantastic. The entry details are all here for anyone else who wants to enter, the closing date is in three days time on the 20th August! 
I did struggle at first to think of which holiday holds the most memories for me, and even though my well talked about holidays to Disney World are the highlight of my childhood there is one holiday that even though it doesn’t hold the perfection of those childhood ones (probably because my dad had them planned down to the second ha) it contains the defining moment of my adulthood, so far of course. 

Four years ago I finally convinced my then boyfriend into booking my dream holiday back to Florida, we paid the deposit and were slowly saving up to pay the rest off when our relationship came to it’s natural end and I moved out. However, I couldn’t find anyone to go with me to Florida so it had to be cancelled and if i’m honest, that broke my heart more than the break up. So I ended up with my saved money to hand and no where to go. After a bit of persuading I booked a flight to the USA to stay with a friend in New Jersey. I’d been to New York the previous year for my 21st with that boyfriend and I’d loved it but we very much stayed on the tourist trail, I was very much looking forward to seeing the more native side of things. 
Central Park across to the Upper West
Sushi Bento Box on the Upper East
Empire State Building, didn’t go up it this time though.
Brooklyn Street Art
The first roller coaster I ever went on, so bloody scary!
Late afternoon in Six Flags
Hoboken across to Manhattan
Brooklyn Bridge at Sunset
How I miss you Secaucus Interchange!
Times Square
As you can see I had a fantastic time and if it wasn’t for Little Miss I’d probably be trying to move out there. I got to do and see loads of things you wouldn’t normally if you’d only came for a week to do the tourist things such as the Empire State, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Natural History Museum, Times Square etc, I did those the first time around. This time highlights included the Sex Museum (quite hilarious), Six Flags (where I rode my first roller coaster!), Hoboken and just simply hang out.. drink a lot of Dunkin’ Donuts Hazelnut Ice Coffee and try the amazing Thai Ice Tea. I also had the thrill of flying by myself! However there was one moment on one particular day that remains etched on my memory. As cliche as it is, I wish I could of froze that moment and lived in it forever. 
The most perfect view
I mentioned that this holiday came on the back of a break up, not just a break up but I also moved cities. Simply quit my job and left town so I didn’t have to deal with that awkwardness of running into your ex. I loved my job, I loved my home but I’m not one that copes well with seeing someone again after you’ve shared a life together. I moved into a student style house share, taking a step back from my beautiful professional apartment, quit the first job i’d ever loved to start working for the most horrible man all the hours under the sun and then never get paid on time. My life was a mess with no direction! A few months earlier i’d been considering marriage and a family, now I was back to square one. I hadn’t yet had that moment of “it’s going to be all okay” until half way through my holiday. 
New York Harbor from the ferry
The previous day we’d been up earlier to go to Six Flags and we didn’t return until quite late so on this day we’d planned a more chilled day.. catch the train to Hoboken so I could see the beautiful view of Manhattan, grab some lunch then head into the city. It was gloriously sunny and very warm, so in the end it was decided to catch the ferry over to Governors Island since I’d done Liberty Island & Ellis Island on my previous visit (typical tourist!) Unlike the more popular islands in New York Harbor, Governors Island doesn’t have a huge tourist following but of all three i’ve visited it’s my favourite. It has a rich history, beautiful views and some fantastic public spaces. After we’d arrived via the ferry we took a walk around until we came upon a small park with the most amazing view of Lady Liberty. We fought some kids for some swings and took it in turns. As I was taking my turning, I could see across the harbor to Liberty Island, the sun was shining the sky was blue and even though everything else in my life was an absolute mess, in that moment, I didn’t even care. You know that line from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky  “And I swear in that moment we were infinite” that is how I felt. It was the most perfect moment in my whole life and the greatest feeling, I was thousands of miles from home, nothing mattered, I was in the most beautiful place imaginable.. and I was happy. 
Those swings in that park.
Picturesque Governors Island
The rest of the holiday was brilliant, managed a day in Times Square and Central Park, some shopping in a mall before I had to head back to reality. If anyone is visiting New York I urge you to take some time out and make the trip to Governors Island, it really is beautiful. 
So that is my favourite holiday moment, it’s probably the only moment in my life that is purely Hollywood despite the fact I live in the delusion that I run my own Truman Show. Here is the link again in case anyone else wants to enter and who knows, I may even one day get around to writing my guide to holiday in New York…

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Thank you so much for taking time to read my blog. I appreciate all comments & will check out any links to blogs. It's my readers that often make my day! - Amy x