After 8 years, I was finally off on holiday…
It took us two hours to get to Manchester Airport, and during the whole car journey, I was full of nerves, as all I could remember from my previous holiday was the horrid plane journey. Thankfully the plane journey was easy, and once we landed at JFK, all I could see was dark clouds and rain.
The weather started to pick up once we arrived in Baltimore, and I was counting down the days until Canada. Staying in Baltimore was incredible, the roads were so peaceful and the houses were HUGE. As soon as I walked into my auntie’s home I was shocked by how big and spacious it was. It was such a huge difference compared to homes in the UK.
The neighbours were friendly and even though I wasn’t home, it felt like home to
me. It took us at least 7 hours to drive to Canada. However, the journey was easy, and the views were mesmerising. Once we arrived in Canada, we checked into our hotel before heading out to see Niagara Falls.
As soon as I saw Niagara, I was lost for words. It was the most beautiful site I’d ever seen. The waterfall was so big, I’d never seen anything like it. During the evening it actually lights up, displaying bright colours of green, red and blue. Outside the fall’s, there were so many activities to do for kids, as they had a big wheel on display and even a funky upside down house.
The Canadian people were really friendly, and the atmosphere was relaxed. For the two days I was there, I visited the falls the most because it was just so nice to look at. For breakfast, we stopped at a diner near our hotel where I was able to try some real Canadian food.
I learnt a lot about what Canadians/Americans eat for breakfast and boy do they eat a lot. I ended up choosing the classic pancakes with syrup and fried potatoes, which sounds weird but it actually tasted so good. Before heading back to Baltimore, I visited the falls one last time and even went on an amazing boat ride that took us right next to the falls where the water was literally splashing all over us.
We had to wear raincoats, and I could barely even open my eyes, it was that bad. But I loved it, and I would definitely do it again. After a long journey back to Baltimore, I headed off to bed, ready for my next exciting trip…
New York was something I definitely wanted to see. I remember visiting New York when I was just 10 years old, but I couldn’t remember much, just the bright lights and the statue of liberty. It took us just over two hours to arrive in New York.
Once we arrived, we checked into our hotel which was located opposite Madison Square Garden’s and was only a 10-minute walk into Times Square. Once we checked into the hotel, we went straight to Times Square. It was so busy and again I was lost for words.
There were so many talented street performers around and the atmosphere was exciting.
I did a lot of shopping and even got to try the famous ‘Dunkin Donuts’ which were delicious. We looked around Times Square for a few hours before heading off to do some sightseeing in New York.
We visited the new freedom tower that was built in memory of those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attack. They even had a memorial wall nearby with the names of all the victims. It was actually shocking to see how many people lost their lives. The freedom tower was magnificent.
It was so tall that I couldn’t even get a full picture of it. We then left the memorial ground and headed towards the Empire State Building, where we climbed right to the top. Once we got to the top of the building, you could see the whole of New York. The
views were incredible. I even witnessed the ‘Survival Tree’ which was still standing
since 9/11 took place.
During the evening, we went back to Times Square and the atmosphere was hectic. People were shopping, others were watching the street performers, and we even sat down where we could take in all the bright lights and busy atmosphere.
Overall, my trip to America was incredible, and I will definitely be going back there soon…
