New York - Exploring the West Side of Manhattan

We spent a slow Saturday afternoon exploring the West Side of Manhattan, with most of it being spent up on the High Line. We did stop off at Wicked Willy's Bar on Bleecker Street for one cocktail on the way - well we had already started at brunch, so why not keep going? We had seen the Wicked Willy's bus/bike/whatever they choose to call it the day before pre-Peanut Butter stop, and thought it looked like fun. Or in their words, 'Time flies when you're having rum'. Step inside in to the Caribbean, with signs to different Caribbean islands pointing in the correct direction and how many miles they were away. They also had funny quips posted around the bar, such as 'If you're drinking to forget, please pay in advance' and 'Men - No shirt, No service. Women - No shirt, Drinks'. I didn't manage to get any snaps in there though, you will have to visit yourself!

'I see drunk people'

We headed up to the High Line, a public park built on the historic freight rail line which first opened to the public ready for the summer of 2009, and runs above the streets of Manhattan's West Side. It was really lovely to be able to step away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and enjoy the wooden walkway lined with grass and sections of the old railway tracks in parts. It gives an amazing view over the interlocking streets f the city, and you can catch a glance of the Empire State building. There is a sunken platform with a big glass window, where you can sit and watch the city go by below you. The High Line is completed with impressive pieces of artwork along the way, and my favourite that I saw was the building with metal and mirrored sides that reflected and blended in to the sky. The High Line also runs through The Standard Hotel, which we visited later on in the day.

Enjoying the late afternoon sunshine

Mirroring the sky

The old rail tracks

Watching the world go by

Katie and I dropped down from the High Line to take a turn around Chelsea Market. It's not exactly a typical fruit and veg market like you would find on your local high street, instead Chelsea Market is made up of small food shops, cafés and restaurants.

Anybody for some chillies?

The concourse in Chelsea Market

We stopped off at the Fat Witch Bakery for some yummy scrummy brownies which we had for our pudding that evening. Chelsea Market was really cute and quirky, and I loved looking in to all the shops to see what goodies they were selling. Just walking down the concourse they had lampshades adorned with butterflies and a fountain that made it such a lovely experience.

The best brownies around

We then walked past Google on our way back down from Chelsea Market and a few more shops and definitely enjoyed our afternoon after our New York style brunch.

This made me giggle!