What do you know about life?

642 things to write about. Let me tell you all about this book! You HAVE to buy it. Even if you aren't passionate about writing, you have to get it as it really broadens your imagination. Did you ever do creative writing in school and think how powerful your imagination was and you didn't even realise, This book will help you see this too! There are literally 642 ideas in this book to give writing a starting point. Whether that is a single word or phrase, writing stage directions or a conversation between two people or a personal piece, it has everything!
I wasn't going to use the one I have just wrote but it really shocked me how I put pen to the paper and how quickly my imagination got flowing and it inspired me so I thought I may aswell hand this inspiration over to anyone else needs it. Give this book a try or even give this idea a try! You never know what you might come up with....

"Write an anonymous letter to a stranger detailing the things you've learned about life."

"Hello person I don't know!
I am 21, in 2 months I'll be 22 so I can't really say I know a whole lot about life or how it's meant to pan out. What I have learnt so far is that things are nearly always uncertain, there is always an aspect of your life which will be uncertain. It might be your relationship, friendships, your job or your studies, there is always going to be a struggle of some sort whether that be financially, in love, socially, with anything- but that is what life is all about- having struggles and/or uncertainty and dealing with them and moving forward. One of my favourite quotes of all time is "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it" and that couldn't be more true. The happiness within our life depends upon the quality of our thoughts. I have also learnt to trust my gut instinct- if I think something isn't right about a person or a situation, it usually isn't. How we perceive people and how they actually are are two completely different things, we sometimes allow how we want a person to be to shape our ideals of that person. However it is good to be understanding of others and the way they act because we aren't all the same. Our minds all work differently so we will all react to things in different ways and there isn't always a wrong or a right, just differences in opinions. Although we should be more understanding that doesn't mean excusing bad behaviour. If you feel as though a person is doing you wrong, tell them. Be honest about it, just as you should with everything in your life. Tell people how you feel always because life is far too short not to and you never know what or who could be taken from you. This is why we should all live in a passionate way and what I mean by this is love people with all your heart, don't be afraid, be kind, be understanding, be honest and work really freaking hard. We weren't put on this planet for nothing."

I hope you enjoyed my little piece and I would love to hear other people's version of this!
Han. x

The art of letting go

I have been contemplating writing a blog post like this for some time. It wasn't until the other day that my Nanna said something that made me realise why. She said she had been looking through a box of things at home and had found all my old notebooks full of writing, stories that I had wrote when I was younger about a little girl who's Mum and Dad were getting a divorce. She said that that has always been my way of venting, to write. When I was little I didn't know how to deal with my mum and dad breaking up so I took all my emotions and wrote about it, it's been the same throughout my life. If I have a crappy time, I write about it. That's one of the reasons I started my blog in the first place. However, this blog post isn't really about me, it's about me and it's about all of my friends and any other girls or even guys that have gone through the same thing. Letting go. 

Letting go of things or people is really, really hard. I don't care what anyone says, I know some people deal with things in different ways and it may not seem like they care but most people have an internal battle about it and just because they don't voice the way they feel about something, doesn't mean it isn't there. A few of my friends have been through this and I have given them advice on it but I think it's something that needs to be said. It is toxic and unhealthy for yourself to keep something or someone in your life that doesn't bring you happiness. 

If you are allowing negative energy to consistently be in your life then you are in turn allowing yourself to become a product of that. I have had two past relationships that allowed me to become a negative person because of the energy I was allowing them to bring into my life. If you have to constantly question a person's motives towards you or question whether they really care about you or love you or make excuses for their behaviour then you are allowing yourself to be treated this way, you are allowing that person to take advantage. You should never mistake someone's kindness for weakness, I do not believe for a second that when people stay in toxic or negative relationships with friends, family or the person they love that this makes them weak. It doesn't, it actually makes them incredibly strong. I have excused the behaviour of boyfriends, friends and family in the past and sometimes I have done it for very long periods of time because I'm a fighter and I have a very big heart and I will constantly try to work on something before I can accept that it's over. There is only so long you can allow yourself to fight for something before you have to allow yourself to let go simply for the fact that it is necessary for yourself to because it is too heavy and you aren't loving yourself or respecting yourself by allowing yourself to be treated this way. 

It does not make a person weak to stay with someone they love when they are not being treated right, i'm not saying that they should stay with that person or that it is right that they do but we live in a world where people are too often quick to judge and we should be more understanding that these things aren't easy and decisions to end a relationship can often take a lot of thought, a lot of tears and a lot of time. 

How many times can you go to a friends house and cry to them over a glass of wine or say "I've had enough, I need a night out" and drown your sorrows in cocktails & tequila shots? How many times can you call your mom in floods of tears? There are only so many times you can deal with a person treating you in an unhealthy way before it starts to affect your every day life, whether you want to get out of bed in the morning, the attitude you have in your workplace, your motivation to do things. You can't find the answer to your problems at the bottom of a wine bottle. You have to eventually, at some point acknowledge when a person is emotionally draining you and when you need to let go. 

There is a quote I love which says "If a person doesn't appreciate what you bring to the table then let them eat alone." I can't preach this enough, if a person doesn't appreciate the things you do for them and if they can't love you and respect you as you are then they don't deserve to be a part of your life. They just don't. 

If you love someone and you care about someone, life is far too short to not let them know that. You don't know when someone can be taken from you so you should try and show them appreciation as much as you possibly can. We all have bad days and bad moods and nobody is perfect but there is always time in a day to let someone know you're there for them or you love them, even just asking how someone is, how their day is going or simply telling them you love them, it takes a few seconds. If you feel like a person isn't giving you any of their time or doing any of these things then you are wasting your breath, people have choices and if they are consistent in choosing not to ask how you are or to let you know how important you are to them then they are actively choosing to not put you in their life, it's harsh but if I want someone in my life I will always show them and if I don't, I won't. 

Surround yourself with positive people and with people that show you love and respect and watch how your world changes, how your perspective changes, how much lighter you feel when you aren't being dragged down by bad vibes. 

Letting go isn't easy but you have to live with yourself every day and if you aren't loving yourself and giving yourself the respect you deserve then you aren't really living for you. 

I hope you all find the happiness you deserve. 

H. X

Food blog: Tsp Appreciation post.

Okay so anyone that knows me, knows my love for food. Me and food go together like Bonnie and Clyde, we are meant to be. I hear you laughing but it is true. I just LOVE food. One of the weirdest transitions for me when I moved from Manchester to Stoke was the complete lack of restaurants/cafes etc. There wasn't a crazy number of places for me to visit, no quirky bars or restaurants that I could explore, I didn't have a huge choice anymore and that was odd. I love food and I love visiting new restaurants and cafes and yes, I would call food a hobby.
Don't get me wrong there are a few hidden gems in this city but there wasn't a giant list for me to choose from and I know it would be possible for me to visit every restaurant in Stoke whereas Manchester I don't think it would because the list is endless.

HOWEVER, all of that changed when Tsps opened. This place is nothing short of my Nirvana.

Since this picture they have changed the place around a bit but I had to get a pic of this sign in as it has appeared on mine & my friend's snapchats on many occasions. 

I could not recommend this place enough, me and my friends Sophie and Kate go AT LEAST once a week, even if we aren't going together we are dragging other people along with us, they might be confused at our madness while we sit there with Cheshire cat grins plastered on our faces because we love it so much.Think Carrie Bradshaw and her gals sitting at their favourite brunch spot putting the world to rights over coffee- this is our sex and the city spot. You don't even want to know how many pictures I have on my phone from in there but let me tell you people- aswell as the insanely good cupcakes, coffee, avocado toast & falafel wraps they also have INSANELY good lighting. I can see their queues extending before my eyes right now to all you instagram hoes, we've all been there! Here are a few for evidence:

The look of love ^

 

Me and Sophie agreed the other day that this was our favourite spot in Stoke and we genuinely mean that, it is the cutest little place and it can sometimes be hard to get a table because so many people share our love! Thankfully they are extending their seating area to upstairs so more people can enjoy a tsps date! Aswell as loving all the different food, drinks & treats they have to offer, more than anything I love the atmosphere, this place is bursting with positive vibes, The staff are SO friendly and couldn't do enough for you, they even know our orders now which is service at its best and they will stand and chat with you for ages, they take real time and effort getting to know their customers, you feel more like their friend.

I brought my younger sister Olivia here and she can be quite hard to please but she loved it too and was going cray over how good the lighting was, sometimes I wonder if they picked this spot purposefully for it lol!
I also brought my other friend Sophie and her daughter Amelia along to try the cakes. Amelia announced that she wasn't hungry after nibbling the top of her cupcake....5 minutes later she had demolished it..

I will preach about going to the gym and working out and eating good until the cows come home but i CANNOT for the life of me resist their cupcakes. I just can't. Me and Sophie went last week and said we would share a cupcake between us because we wanted to be healthy so we chose a cookie dough cupcake and then OH WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT, they start bringing out Oreo cupcakes so of course we end up sharing TWO. Unbelievable.

Tell me you could resist any one of these cupcakes with a big mug of tea/coffee and I will give you everything I have....and you're a liar.

Aswell as the cupcakes, the food they have to offer is so delicious for a brunch/lunch treat. There are plenty of options for everyone including vegans. I love their falafel wraps more than life itself but their avocado toast and salmon/avocado/tomato bagels are very close contenders! 

If you go you should definitely try one of their matcha green tea shakes- they are supposed to be a secret but I have to let you in on it because they are AMAZING. Their cakeshakes are an absolute dream in a glass too!

If you didn't think I was a saddo before, I'm almost certain you will know it to be true now but this love for tsps was getting out of hand and I needed to preach about it somewhere! Now go!!! Get your asses down there, you cannot waste another moment of your life without experiencing it.

Happy Monday people. X

The post-Uni black hole.

I love being around positive people, I really do, some days you need the happiness and sunshine they bring your way when they are full of smiles and oozing good vibes. But this is for all those people out there that aren't feeling positive right now. It seems to me that there is some kind of stigma against people that are negative, if people don't try to help themselves then yes I agree, its hard to be around that kind of negativity but what about those that do help themselves? Do they deserve to be eyerolled at and told to Cheer up? Nope, most certainly not. I would know because I am currently in that negative black hole.

Just hear me out, okay? I can be a negative nellie and a lot of the time i'm just being dramatic and why? Because I am an actor darling thats why. But at the moment i'm really not being dramatic, i have just graduated from Uni and let me tell you people Post-uni depression is a real thing! I am terrified that I won't fulfill all my goals and dreams and I have a lot, believe me. I am already sick and tired of scrolling through jobs that i could be good at but won't get the chance because i lack experience in that area. Every freaking job you need experience but how the hell do you gain experience if you can't get it in the first place?

I have just moved into my own flat and I feel overwhelmed by the stress of it all, of sorting bills and checking every switch is off before I go out so not to use up electric and every other niggly detail that they forgot to tell you when you're five and dreaming about living in a princess castle.

Life sucks sometimes, ok? It really does and people shouldn't be shunned for finding their way into these dark times.

I feel shitty about myself, i feel fat and gross and unattractive. I am all for self-love and body positivity and I will listen to people preach it until the cows come home but at the moment, i am struggling with that myself. I'm self conscious and I hardly helped myself yesterday because I ate 3 doughnuts in 1 day (its comfort food right?) But i needed those doughnuts and don't you dare tell me otherwise. 

Everything feels really loud at the moment. I don't feel comfortable, i like learning and growing and reaching my goals but i have just left Uni and everyone is moving away and moving on and people are off travelling and some are lucky enough to have already found amazing jobs. But me? I'm a waitress trying to comfort myself by waving my first class degree in my face because I am stuck on this post-uni stepping stone and I haven't yet found my feet.

Also can we not do the "so what are you doing now?" thing to those that have just finished Uni, its terrifying and we don't want to hear it. Graduation was such a high but i've now come down to an all time low-i have a serious case of itchy-feet syndrome- i want to travel, i want to write books, i want to become an actor, i want to make positive change on this earth but right now I am wrapped up in a blanket in bed wanting this bad mood i've been trapped in for weeks to subside.

This really isn't a "woe is me" post but more a post to give people a break when they are feeling shitty, try to be a little more understanding, give them a cuddle, make them a brew, ask them to go out for a walk or a workout or to binge-watch a Tv series with you. We should be picking people up not tearing them down and if you know someone who is feeling sad or low about themselves or life and you feel like you're exhausted or that its affecting your mood, just know that you don't actually need to say anything. Nothing at all. Just be there for them. Give encouragement. Or cuddles. Or coffee. You can't pull someone out of a black hole but you can let them know that they aren't alone and to my friends and family that have seen me in this state then god bless your souls for sticking around.

This is for all of my fellow graduates who are currently terrified of the future, we got this.

Or even for those of you that are also stuck in this rut. Just keep swimming, because tomorrow is a fresh start and you can only keep trying, life isn't meant to always be easy.

Turkey.

Every single time I write a blog, I manage to convince myself that I will find the time to blog every single day for all of eternity. Come on Hannah, behave. I barely even have time to iron my work uniform anymore, yes I know, I'm a gross human being. Cut me some slack, I have just finished University- I graduate this Thursday with a First class BA Honours in Drama, Performance and Theatre Arts- I say this with pride of course but I also say this hoping to convince you that I have some form of idea of where my life is heading following this. I don't. Bare with me sunshine. But still...FIRST CLASS BITCHES!
I have also just recently moved into my own flat. It's all very exciting until you have about 5 breakdowns a day because nothing is going right. On the third day of me living in the flat I had to wait in 8 until 5 to find out the Sky man couldn't install sky alone because I live in an awkward building and then my sofa wouldn't fit through the flat door. The same sofa that was big and comfy and nappable and only £95 from the British Heart Foundation. It's so very true when they say moving house is one of the hardest things you can do.
Anyway my point is, I haven't slept properly in weeks, I have about 9000 things in my diary and I have been living out of bags- okay I'm still surrounded by bags that I have no desire to unpack, but I still have a billion and one things that need sorting and arranging in the run up to Graduation and to finish off my move etc.
Therefore, this blog which is about my trip to Turkey is actually a month late. I tried.
I went with Ant on the 3rd of June until the 10th after my mom surprised us by booking the trip as a pre-Graduation present!!! (BEST MOM EVER.)
I was pretty concerned about going to Turkey for obvious reasons but the holiday was incredible and we were totally safe the whole time.
We stayed in Alanya which was about a two and a half hour coach transfer from the airport, no lie. That was probably the only inconvenient thing about the trip but hey, it was free!!!

Prior to the flight I had a big glass of Pinot Grigio and bought a gloriously huge burrito so that when we landed- which was late in Turkish time, I had something to eat before heading to the hotels late bar for lots of cocktails. It's a must okay.

We stayed at the Diamond Hill Resort, it was a beautiful five star resort with a spa downstairs, a patisserie, an A La Carte Restaurant, a buffet restaurant and several bars including a rooftop bar with Shisha, they also had a big pool with slides, a poolside bar with a small buffet restaurant and their own private beach. We went there all inclusive and I was so impressed with the variety of fresh fish, meats and vegetables. None of their dishes were boring, nor was it repetitive, there was always a different take on cooking foods each day and I loved that.

 

  

I love trying all different foods and I have absolutely no problem in telling you that I took full advantage of the all inclusive and piled my plate up all day errydaaay with a mixture of goodies. My favourite night was the Turkish night...not like every night was Turkish night haha. They expanded all of the buffet sections which I didn't even realise could be possible but it was incredible. I had stuffed pepper with mince, cheese and vegetables, hummus, Pide- a turkish bread filled with cheeses and meats, crushed potatoes and vegetables, mushrooms, basically I ate a lot. And it was good. More than good.

And let's just get one thing straight. Anywhere that has chocolate covered oreos has a special kinda place in my heart.

Another thing I always obsess over on holidays are the views. I can't get enough of taking pictures of the beautiful scenery, when you can see mountains or clear blue sea in the distance and a city full of bright lights, it's simply breathtaking and it is so refreshing to see different parts of the world and their different cultures and surroundings.

Whenever I go on holiday, I can never be one of those people that just sit by the pool all day, I'm not judging anyone that does that because a holiday is for you to relax in your own way and I did spend a couple of days sunbathing and reading by the pool but I get so bored sitting on my ass, I love keeping busy. I have to go and explore. We went on a couple of excursions- we booked two through the rep looking after us and one from a small excursions shop just outside of the hotel. On one of the trips we went to a traditional Turkish bath- we were given so many recommendations to do this before our trip so I was really excited to go and it did not disappoint. We spent time in the sauna and steam room and then went into a huge bathing room, showered ourselves off and then lay in the warm temperature before being lathered with an insane amount of bubbles and having our bodies scrubbed and exfoliated within an inch of its life. We then had a full body massage and then sat in our towels in relaxing beds with clay facials. It left my skin feeling amazing and I felt so revitalised from it. 

This is how fresh faced I looked following the Turkish bath, its safe to say I am currently in need of another one. 

The other two excursions we chose were both boat trips on big amazing pirate ships. The first one was a full day trip including visiting huge, expensive jewellry factory/stores, where they show you how they produce each stone, we also went to a leather and fur clothing shop which included watching a fashion show. We were then taken to a beautiful Waterfall spot and following this we were taken to a boat and sailed around the harbour looking at the beautiful surroundings drinking bottles of Efes. We were also able to walk around the centre of Antalya and were able to see the Donerciller Bazaar Street which is a strip of shops and restaurants with what can only be described as a ceiling of colourful umbrellas running down it, it is absolutely beautiful. 

The second boat trip we booked was fairly last minute but we had money left over towards the end and wanted to put it to good use so we set sail on another pirate ship and sailed around lots of different caves, including a mud cave which we got to swim inside and exfoliate our bodies with the mud from them. There was lots of dancing and even a foam party onboard and at every stop by different caves we could jump off the sides of the boat and swim with all the fishies! 

If you're planning a trip or going on holiday in the coming weeks and you are yet to buy your holiday book, I highly recommend 'Year of Yes' by Shonda Rhimes, I became obsessed with this whilst drinking cocktails by the pool. It is such an uplifting read and definitely teaches you about self-love, surrounding yourself with positive energy and motivating yourself to be the best that you can. I am having post-book sadness after this (yes this is a real thing I have diagnosed myself with) as I absolutely LOVED it.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip. Han. x

Food in NYC

I'm pretty disappointed that I haven't blogged in so long. I've had a crazy month with so much Uni work to do, I've also started my driving lessons and been working and co-running the dance club at Uni on top of all of that so I've not had a second to breathe let alone blog! However... I am specially making time to write this before my memories of the wonderful world of New York fade into the abyss. 

If I could go back to NYC purely to explore the quirky little coffee shops, the hidden restaurants and the amazing diners scattered around then I most definitely would. Hopefully I will someday but looking back on this trip I definitely didn't get to appreciate the food as much as I'd have liked! We had so much to get through in those few days that food wasn't really a priority. Don't get me wrong we still found some absolute gems but me being a greedy moo would have liked to have found more! 

All my friends know how much of a foodie I am but a lot of my friends that were on this trip and that I spent the most time with loved their clothes and make-up and wanted to spend any free time here and there kidnapping the shelves of Sephora or Victoria's Secret. This was probably a good thing for me as I had never really appreciated clothes or make-up before but I actually picked up a few goodies!

Now for the food...

The one thing I will say about New York is that I do believe the tips are a bit crazy. I don't think people should feel forced to tip and have heads shaking at them as they walk out the door for not doing so. As a waitress I only expect a decent tip if I've gone out of my way for a big party because I'm sure a couple of quid between a party of twenty people is nothing but in America if it's four of you dining and they give less than average service they are still expecting twenty dollars? To me that's absurd.

I found that Hooters food wasn't actually as good as I'd expected, it was really just an average sports bar- good for a plate of hot wings or tater tots. The food was barely warm but it was still quite tasty. I had this buffalo chicken burger which I added mushrooms too as extra with tater tots. This was my first meal in NY and I was starving so I did enjoy this, however I mostly enjoyed the iced tea!

Ruby Tuesdays- I wrote about this in my last post and I posted my steak, sweet potato fries and green beans. The portions were amazing in most places in NY but I genuinely felt like I'd eaten a decent meal in here that wasn't overly greasy or unhealthy. You could select which sides you wanted with your meat which I thought was really good and the mushrooms that came with my steak were cooked with fresh garlic and I love my mushrooms! I also thought the raspberry iced tea was incredible here too!

Magnolia Bakery....my my my. Again I wrote about this in my last post however I can't not mention this in my food post about NY. This was part of the sex and the city tour but there are a couple of these dotted around NYC. I'm not even kidding when I say the aroma hits you as soon as you open that door. The air is filled with the sweet scents of sponges being baked, I physically couldn't leave without buying myself something so this had to be the caramel pecan cheesecake...I've been dreaming about it ever since.

This was my first breakfast in NY and I was so excited to be able to order cawfee and pancakes. This was actually just from a small, crappy shop/diner but we all loved it there! The pancakes could be made fresh and there was a big fruit bar where you could make up your own box of fruit and add french toast or pancakes to it and they gave you little pots of maple syrup to pour over them. It was cheap and cheerful with a huge cup of black coffee (never tell them to put the sugar in for you, I said I took sugar and I had a crazy sugar rush headache afterwards from the amount they had put in lol!). The pancakes were gorgeous and fluffy and I really don't think anywhere can do pancakes as good as the New Yorkers.

This was from another little shop/food place round the corner from the New York film academy. After we had a workshop we all wanted to grab a quick lunch before we moved onto more sightseeing and this was the perfect spot. There was a chinese buffet, a sandwich bar and a pizza spot all crammed into the same shop- it was amazing! The slices of pizza were huge and one was enough to fill me up. This one had a hot sauce base and it was then topped with mozzarella and chicken, amazing!

Ellen's Stardust diner- I would go here again and again just for the experience! It was so amazing to be in a restaurant full of singing waiters, I can't even explain how happy it made me and my friends. I had the flatbread which had slices of lamb- a little like donner meat but much more fresh and tasty than the crappy, cheap meat you get from your local kebab shop, topped with salad and a mint yoghurt dressing. It came with waffle fries and I couldn't resist the coffee shake too which was insanely good! I could actually only manage half of my flatbread, I think I took so long to eat because I was so in awe of the performers that I didn't really realise whether I was hungry or not at all.

The salads of all salads! This was in another little diner called Andrew's coffee house- this was a late night meal and they still produced the most fresh, amazing tasting salad I have ever had! Chicken cooked in fajita spices with avocado, tomato, mixed leaves, onion and tomato which came with a pot of ranch dressing, I loved it! I also had to get sweet potato fries because I'm a greedy bugger but these were amazing too, as I said earlier the portions in NY were crazy so it was really hard to finish but incredible all the same.

The olive garden was a real people-pleaser restaurant. One of my friends is a vegan and there was plenty of choice for her here too. Her and a couple of others got a meal deal where you get unlimited doughsticks- these were to die for!!! They were freshly baked, brushed with salty butter and the soft dough just melted in your mouth (my stomach is rumbling just thinking about them!), they also got unlimited soup and salad and the salad was gorgeous too. I got chicken breast cooked with red wine and mushrooms with roasted sweet and normal potatoes. I think I just ordered this because I love mushrooms and sweet potato but for me this was fairly bland but I would go back just for those amazing unlimited doughsticks!

I hope this post has given you all a better view of the food in New York, apologies for the pictures, the lighting was a little crappy in some of the restaurants.
Thanks for reading.
H. x

My 21st in New York- Sex and the city, Broadway and more!

There are so many things that I want to blog about my time in New York. But first of all I have to start with my birthday! I was so incredibly lucky that my course leader planned this trip during the week of my birthday because how else would you want to spend your 21st?!

On the morning of my 21st I went with my friends Sophie, Kate and Tiff for breakfast at a cafe called Cafe del sol (I think this is the name but don't quote me on this) I had bacon, pancakes and syrup with coffee, the pancakes in New York are insanely good so this was the perfect birthday breakfast!

Okay so these weren't my pancakes but this is a much prettier picture than mine and this is literally how big the portions are in New York. Amazeballs.

After breakfast we got a cab to the meeting point for the Sex and the City tour. Of course I HAD to spend the daytime of my birthday touring all the hotspots of Carrie Bradshaw and her pals. Seriously if you're a lover of all things SATC like me you should 100% do the tour if you ever find yourself in the magical land of NYC. We met the tour guide by the Pulitzer fountain outside the Plaza hotel which is where Natasha and Big's engagement party was held.

Once you get on the coach there is a tour guide situated at the front. Our tour guide was incredibly lively and really knew her s**t on SATC, she must do this tour a billion times a day but she spoke with such enthusiasm and it really made the tour for me. Dotted around the coach are little screens in which the tour guide plays scenes from the series or the films to match the places you pass. It really helped to jog our memories on certain things we couldn't remember and it also made it all the more exciting seeing the exact spots they'd shot by. 

Places such as Tiffany and Co where Charlotte and Trey shop for her engagement ring, the Paris theatre where Carrie has her solo date and many of the other shops and restaurants they visited were generally just passed by on the coach, the scenes would be played on the screen for you to watch but you would be able to get a quick snap as the coach passed by. 

During the tour the guide fired out facts about filming, the sets, the actors etc- I learnt so many interesting things that I would have never known prior to the tour such as Carrie's front steps being in an entirely different part of New York to where they filmed the inside of her apartment. 

You also visit Aiden's bar for Cosmos! This is a really cute, quirky bar known as O'nieals but it was obviously called Scout in the series. The cosmos were so good that I had to have two even though we were only in their for a short period of time!

We also got to visit the Magnolia bakery- as soon as you walk in here the smells are so overpowering, you feel like you've gained about 10 pounds just through scent. All the cakes were freshly made there and although I was told the cupcakes were amazing, something else caught my eye and as it was my birthday I thought there is no better place to order cake from than somewhere that has starred in SATC. I ordered a caramel pecan cheesecake which was quite big for an individual portion but I wasn't to complain. It was insanely good- the only way I could describe how good it was is through the Friends episode where they are all fighting over the cheesecake.

During the stop-off for Carrie's front steps and the magnolia bakery, we also visited the Michael Kors shop on Bleecker Street- apparently they filmed in here too but I can't remember which episode. I don't usually buy myself designer things, in fact this is the first designer thing I've bought but only due to the fact that SJP had been in here and anyone on the tour got 10% discount.... so I bought myself the most beautiful glittery gold purse and now a piece of SATC will always be with me. YES I'M SAD I KNOW.

If I listed every possible place we visited I would be writing for hours but one of my favourite places we visited was the Buddakan restaurant where Carrie and Big had dinner with all their friends the evening before the wedding that never happened! I would have loved to have eaten here and if I ever go back to NYC I will for sure have to go here. The interior was incredible. It was one of the most beautiful restaurants I've ever set foot in!

Following the tour we went for an early dinner at Ruby Tuesdays and I had the steak with garlic mushrooms, sweet potato fries and green beans- some of my favourite foods altogether, what a dream! Also if you ever visit this restaurant you for sure have to get the raspberry iced tea!

My friends are also the bestest and had the waiters come and sing to me which made my day!

The evening of my birthday I was lucky enough to go to see Finding Neverland on Broadway. I have never sobbed so much through a performance, in fact I don't think I've properly cried at all at any performance before this. It was the most visually perfect piece I've seen in the theatre and the concept they created for death was just beautiful. I was in awe of their singing and especially of their choreography, it was out of this world. It was also the most perfect end to my birthday.

After the performance most of my friends went back to the hotel so I stayed out with my course leader and a couple of the lads having a glass of wine or two at an Irish bar! Although it wasn't like going on a big night out and dancing the night away I still had an amazing birthday and my friends gave me the best time. I was also sent a basket of cookies by my mom because she's the cutest human ever.

As I have so much to say about NY I'm going to do a few more posts on the places we visited, the food we ate etc. If you ever get the chance to go New York you HAVE to. It was the most magical place I've ever had the pleasure of staying.