Skip, jump, fly: Big cities, bright lights

The last two stops before we made it to our final (and current) destination in Canada, involved two of the world's most famous cosmopolitans; Paris and NYC, baby!

Paris was a place we had both been before, and as such we spent less time touristing- more time wandering and exploring some different areas. Then again, course there are some touristy-things that are always nice to see again.

Obligatory wine and cheese picnic in the gardens of the Eiffel Tower on our first night

We spent some time wandering our Montmarte, stopping for creme brûlée in the cafe made famous in one of my favourite movies- Amelie.

For some unknown reason their were burst pipes all over the city as we walked around!

I also required multiple macaron breaks- we were in Paris after all!

We had a lovely time, but to be honest we were both a bit exhausted and sick of moving around every couple of days, so I wasn't as enchanted with the famous city this time round. Add to that the fact that it was incredibly dusty and hot, and we managed to get lost in rather unfavourable neighbourhoods a number of times- it could have been better. That being said, we did have some lovely wine and cheese picnics, good food and fun exploring the cute area near the Bastille and some ambling streets of Montmarte.

Our next destination is one of those places I have always wanted to go and had rather high expectations for- New York City! We were meeting up with my parents for one last little adventure with them before we split for the next four months whilst we study in Canada. We actually met them at the airport in Frankfurt where we happened to both be transiting through- us from Paris and them from Stockholm!

As I said, I had very high expectations for the big apple. It. didn't. disappoint!! There is certainly a reason why I've never heard anyone have anything but love for this place- it is exciting, pulsating, beautiful and messy- and absolutely wonderful!!

By all accounts we didn't have enough time, with only two full days to explore, however- we did a damn good job anyway!! We managed to see so much of the city, while still of course leaving many things to explore more fully next time. We took a hop-on-hop-off bus, which was the first time I have done that- but in a city so full of exciting things, and with so little time, it was a fabulous way to see it. We went saw times square and wandered downtown, had a cruise around the harbour to see the statue of liberty and the skyline from the Brooklyn side, went up the Rockerfeller (and glimpsed Michelle Obama going into it!!), went to Broadway, explored Chelsea markets, Greenwich Village and the west village, stopping for a cupcake at Magnolia bakery, touched on central park and had some amazing food. At night we even made it over to Brooklyn- going over the amazing bridge and seeing the sparkling skyline at night.