I could also have called this post “NYC, the good the bad, the yummy and the ugly”. Spent a lovely week there just before hurricane Irene hit New York city. Being busy as hell limited my free time obviously, but I still enjoyed every minute of my time in this magical city. Here’s a few things you should not miss out on when visiting the Big Apple, New York City.

1: The Ugly

Let’s start with the Ugly…

There are many beautiful women in the city of New York, but I don’t think anorexic is the new beautiful. More often than not, I was disgusted by the body shape and size of the women in this city. Every where you look, young girls and women with bones showing, knees protruding out of their legs and bodies so small that their heads look like lollypops. It seriously gets to you after a couple of days and you start to think what do these women eat. Is life so busy in this city that there is no time to eat? If you are out and about in the late afternoon to early evening they are out and about in their trainers, popping out of yoga studios and gyms all over the city. My question, however, was how could you be so body obsessed? There is so much more to life than being a size zero and a celebrity look-a-like.

Not only is this Love monument much nicer than the one in Malta, it should also tell you "Girl, love yourself!"

2: The Yummy

From starvation by choice I am brought neatly to my next point, the yummy. How can you not take time to eat and enjoy a meal when you are surrounded by so many rich cultural food experiences.?

I love good food and NYC is the place to make the most of every experience possible. In one week I ate Italian, Mexican and French cuisines. (Oh, and if you are wondering I actually lost weight the week I was there).

If you are a tourist in NYC forget the chains, try the little bistros, you can really find some super eats just along the side of the road. You may pay more than 10 dollars a meal but for the gastronomic experience it is well worth it.

I had the most delicious tuna tartare. Steak and Fresh fish. Delicious.
My new friend Laura took me to a French food restaurant called Benoit on West 5th Street also was amazing. A poached fish and a gorgeously prefect creme caramel, the likes of which I’d never tasted.
Just before I left the city I just had time to try a frozen yogurt from pinkberry a hip frozen yogurt joint.

A seafood pasta to die for

OMG Creme Caramel from heaven

3: The Good

Now to the good, the very good I should say. If you love brands and want to get a new wardrobe, New York is the best place for this….especially during the sale times. If you are a bargain hunter then I would actually recommend you take a trip one hour out of the city and go to Woodbury commons. 230 brand shop outlets… you need longer than a day to get through it all but take a backpack and load all your stuff in. Examples of bargains to be found:

• Mark Jacobs Sunglasses for $68
• Giorgo Armani leather belt from $180 down to $38
• Maidenform panties from $15 down to $7.50
• Gap platform wedges from $89 down to $23
• Two pairs of heaven for your feet,Aerosoles sandals down from $80 each to $23 each.

World's lagest store, not big enough for me in a frenzy.

Also good: the streets

Getting around the city is easy once you know how. The bus will only cost you $2.25 a trip and if you go up a street and need to go across on an avenue, that is classified as a transfer so it is free.

And very good: Nail salons.

Nail salons in Malta are expensive and garish affairs. In NYC, however, they’re a mainstay of the beauty industry, and fast, fun and cheap. Got all my nails and tootsies done for $20, including tip, and got sworn at in Mandarin. Poor Chinese girl had probably never seen toe nails so bent out of shape. Sorry, that’s what competitive basketball does to your feet. But damn was she a guru with a nail file!

4: The Shoes

Shoes. Yes, shoes need their own category, in any place in the world. But in NYC it is even more justified. The shoes in NYC are simple amazing. I found it a little ironic how popular the stiletto platforms were, especially when these women are generally walking around the city all day long.

So my advice for women shopping for shoes in NYC is this… wear comfortable shoes to get around; stylish flip flops and cute ballerina shoes are perfect, but once in the shoe shops go for those gorgeous pair of platforms in patent red…

5: The Bad

As to the bad, well, in my opinion, there is no bad to NYC unless you do not go with an empty suitcase and get hit for extra baggage charges on your way home! I happen to be a suitcase packing guru, so this does not apply to me.