Congratulations Heathrow

It probably won't go as a surprise that yesterday was a tad eventful.

Heathrow has really cleaned up its act since the last time I was there and from what we saw yesterday is a a great gateway to the UK for those coming in for the Olympics. There were plenty of different (still overpriced) food and drink options and shopping areas and the signs directing you around the airport are clear. Well done Heathrow.

Aimee demonstrates Heathrow's new useful maps

I was slightly disappointed to discover in my plane geek ways that we were not on the 747 that we were expecting (ours was stuck in Newark) but this led to a nice discovery. The Airbus A360 that they put us on instead had loads of leg room at the back of the plane! I'm not giving away the secret of exactly which seats because everyone will be after them but imagine the leg room of premium but in economy. Good times.

Where is my 747?

Even better than the leg room was the view for almost the entire flight. There was clear sky over London for take off, amazing cloud formations soon after then clear view over most of Canada and the northern US. I hardly used the in flight entertainment as my face was glued to the window and every time I got up to stretch my legs Aimee stole my seat.

Some English farmland

A random bit of Canadian coast

Upstate New York I think

JFK airport was the mini city that you might expect it to be but it was easy to navigate and the staff were all friendly (I only got told off once trying to photograph the new JetBlue building). We had a minor tense moment when we realised that the LIRR rail system that we had intended to get to Manhattan was shut due to the weather further upstate. 5 minutes of sign reading and we were back on track going in that same direction at half the cost and arriving 12 blocks closer to our hotel.

Aimee's first view of Manhattan

Aimee's face as we emerged from the subway onto Broadway was worth the cost of the flight alone, all she could say was "There so big, it's so big".

The evening turned into a bit of a blur after we found the hotel, we wander through Central Park until it got dark then grabbed greasy New York Pizza slices in a tiny shop. The next thing we knew we had accidentally wondered into the crowds in Times Square without realising how far we had walked.

New York is as big, bright and fascinating as I remember but cleaner and quieter! 

I will leave you with a parting message courtesy of an advert for a removal company on the Subway.

"The rapture has be postponed until October so stop procrastinating".