The Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Well worth a visit at any time of the year, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is particularly beautiful during the cherry blossom season....

A Walk Through Greenwich Village...

I absolutely loved Greenwich Village ... it's quirkiness, off-beat restaurants and shops and "real neighbourhood" feel made this one of my favourite parts of New York City.


Starting with breakfast at 'Oatmeals'...

Peanut butter, banana and honey on a Mama Bear serving

Onto Washington Square Park for an impromptu chess lesson....

Then a bit of haphazard wandering....

 75 1/2 Bedford Street- skinniest house

 Cherry Lane Theater

 'The Friends Apartment'

 'Ugly Naked Guy's Apartment'

 'Carrie Bradshaw's Stoep'

People Watching In New York...

Whenever I visit a new place, it's the people that I find the most fascinating, and New York has more than its fair share of wonderfully funny, friendly people. Everywhere we went, we struck up conversations with complete strangers.

With apologies to the random people captured here in my shots...

Morning rush hour in Grand Central Terminal

Traffic officer on Fifth Avenue

Chess players in Washington Square Park

Saxophonist in Washington Square Park

Trendy couple in Greenwich Village

Fashion shoot in Chelsea

Chess players in Union Square

Musicians in Union Square Park

Street dancers in Union Square Park

Street dancers in Union Square Park

Wedding in Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Fashion shoot in DUMBO

Joggers in Central Park

Picnicking in Central Park

Baseball players in Central Park

Baseball players in Central Park

I Walked The Walk...

I did it!!! Possibly the hardest thing I have ever done.... but I did it!

It was cold. Very, very cold. And windy! Like a gale blowing at times. 

And the start was delayed. And there were serious holdups and bottlenecks - because contrary to what anyone watching the latest series of '24' might be led to believe, the traffic never stops in London. Not even at 3 AM. 

And all those delays in the cold gave me cramps in muscles that I didn't even know I had....

And I had to give myself a lot of serious talking to over those 8 hours, and remind myself just why I was doing this seemingly crazy thing...

Because a few brief hours of discomfort is nothing compared to the pain that people with cancer are going through. 

Because being a part of The Moon Walk, and helping Walk The Walk raise over £3.5 million for breast cancer charities is one of the most awesome things that I've ever had the privilege to do.

Best moment ever... seeing my darling husband waiting in the crowd at the Finish Line, the biggest grin on his face. The same darling husband who bundled me into a warm car and whisked me home...picked me up off the drive when I collapsed, in epic style and in full view of the neighbours, as I got out of the car the other side... 

A hot bath, a tonne of comfort food and a good night's sleep... and I was absolutely fine the next day!

Getting High (Legally) In New York...

Hey everyone

I've been back from New York a while now.. just haven't had the time to get on here very much. Mostly thanks to that little marathon I'm walking TONIGHT!!! I can't believe it's finally here... weather is looking absolutely awful for London tonight - heavy rain, wind, then a bit more rain...

Oh well, all part of the challenge!

I have loads to show and tell about my recent trip to New York.... soon, I promise! Just a quick taster for now, of some of the high spots (literally!)....

Signs I May Be A Tad Obsessed With My Marathon Training Plan....

• My week and especially my weekends are arranged entirely around my walks and how I'll fit the necessary mileage into the hours I have.

• I install not one but two Apps on my phone to track my mileage - best to get an average of two!

• When, around 9 miles into a 12-miler and I realise I have dropped my phone, the first thought that pops into my head is not "Oh no! I may have just lost my fairly new, £200 phone with all my contacts!" but rather "Darn it! Now I won't know how far I've walked!" *

• When I spy a load of police officers lined up on the pavement, their van parked across the road, my reaction is not "Hope nothing serious has happened!" but rather "Hope they are not going to mess up my planned 14-mile route!" **

• I've committed to memory the mileage of all the paths in Central Park... just in case I can fit the odd 5 miles in-between the 10 miles per day we'll be walking all over The Big Apple next week!

........................
* This tale does have a happy ending... a lovely lady picked up my phone, checked my address book and phoned 'Home'. I was so impressed with her honesty and so pleased to be reunited with my phone that I bought her the biggest bouquet of flowers I could find on Mothering Sunday.

** There is also a happy ending to this tale... it turns out the police officers were in training, learning how to set up a road block - on a quiet road, much favoured by runners and walkers.