New York 2012

New York 2012. Day 1. An eventful journey which started with bad weather in the UK. The night before, our flight had been cancelled which meant a large amount of ringing round to try and find out what was happening. Luckily we had been shunted onto the next flight - leaving us with a loss of 4 hours of programme and an additional wait at Heathrow. After an 8 hour flight and a distance of over 3500 miles, we were picked up by coach and taken to the hotel. Within half an hour we were back outside experiencing Times Square at 11pm...and it was a crazy night in the centre of Manhattan with thousands of people and TV crews everywhere. About an hour earlier the New York Giants had won the Superbowl. Police cars, fire trucks, taxis all had their horns blaring with masses of people in NY Giants shirts everywhere.   

New York 2012: Day 2. The programme for today...Tour of film and TV locations by bus including I Am Legend, Spiderman, Sex and the City and more. Then to the 'Top of the Rock' a daytime view of the New York skyline followed by a backstage tour of NBC's TV studio in the Rockefeller Center. This evening we are off to Madison Square Garden for the New York Nicks vs Utah Jazz basketball game. See below for our impressions of the day.

Aaron Smith – Coach Tour - The coach tour was really good, we were able to see all different famous places and monuments which had been used in tv shows and films. I found it really interesting and it gave me a great insight into the movie business.

Faith Brackstone– NBC - The NBC tour was brilliant it gave an insight into how studios function and more aspects of setting up. It exposed the history and development of the company along with guided tours of the Saturday night and DR Oz studios. This allowed us to recognize the value and expense of studio based broadcast.

Charlotte Wardle – NBC - Today we had a personal tour of the NBC studios our tour guides showed us different studios such as the one from Saturday night live, one of our fellow class mates got to experience the role of a weatherman where he stood in front of a green screen and read from the prompter. I really enjoyed the tour and I now have a good understanding of how TV evolved.

Joe Bellamy – Fifth Ave - 5th avenue – the high life. Big shops, big price tags, big billboards, big everything. Fifth avenue will set you back a few bucks but its definitely a must see location of New York – for all the sports fans the NBA store is a must.

Amrinder Grewal – 5th ave - 5th avenue portrays America’s enthusiasm for shopping and shows the high end life of the variety of actors, singers and entrepreneurs that dominate it. From a reasonably priced Gap outlet to the high flying Louis Vuitton fashion giants it will leave rich smiles but poor wallets. It is a must see landmark and is one of the many that New York has to offer.

Daniel Davies – Knicks - The atmosphere was electric in Madison Square Gardens as the New York Knicks faced the Utah jazz. The final score was close and the Knicks won 99-88.  I have really enjoyed my time at the basketball and would love to return again.

Harry Yorke – Knicks - The world’s greatest basketball team!! The New York Knicks won 99-88 to the Utah Jazz. Star man – Jeremy Lin. Over all of the best sports atmosphere you could go to in the world of sport.

Stuart Ricketts– Top of the rock - At the top of the rock it was surprisingly warm. The sun was bright which lit up the city. The 360 degree view was breathtaking of central park and the empire state building.

Aaron Beeson – Top of the rock - As I climbed the height of the Rockefeller centre we were amazed by the projection that was shown on the top of their glass elevator. Then as we opened the doors the fresh clean air hit us and we were mesmerized by the stunning 360 degree views around Manhattan, Brooklyn, queens, and it dawned on me how extremely expansive the new York sky line really was. A fantastic experience that truly cannot be missed.

Mel Kerwin – Yankees - The Yankee stadium was very interesting learning all the facts about how much and how big it is. It is surprising how many different sports are played there other than baseball.

Daisy Russell – Yankees - Our second day in New York – wow. A great start to the day with a visit to the Yankees Stadium, we had a tour of the stadium and were told its history and how popular it is to both new Yorkers and tourists. The stadium and pitch were amazing. I could not believe just how big it was. We also got shown the memorial garden in the stadium which was dedicated to retired baseball players and the victims of 9/11.

Emily Pearson – Unos - Today we went for lunch at Unos we got treated to a delicious menu with lots of pizza, pasta and big bowls of tasty salad. The food just kept coming out and we didn’t known when it was going to stop. We then had a cookie which just melted in your mouth and the chocolate chips just eased out. We were all so full but couldn’t turn down another slice. It was amazing and amazingly served. Great bit of the day. 

Alex Harrison – Museum - If you are doing media or just interested in it then this is the place to go – amazing.

Hayley Clark – Ice Skating - What can I say ice skating at the Rockefeller centre and amazing experience. We were located in the middle of the town amongst some of new yorks best shops. Everyone had so much fun even at the siding watching everyone else.

Danielle Fox – Ice Skating - Ice skating today was amazing, the people there were so kind and helpful. The ice rink was never too packed which was good as I am not a confident skater. I really enjoyed myself and recommend that you go ice skating there.

George Kelly – Ground Zero - The 9/11 memorial is a very moving a emotional place to be and it is a very big eye opener. As you go round looking at the thousands of names of the FDNY ‘the unsung heroes’, the people in the buildings and planes, it really does touch your heart.

SPECIAL MENTION – Stephen Wickes and Ben Woodley helped a lady in distress when she fell over after we got off the ferry from Ellis island – they ran to her aid and picked her up off of the floor – heroes of the day!