THE BIG APPLE

Start spreading the news......I'm leaving today........There's a song in that (Mr Sinatra!!). Yes I'm off to Manhattan, New York City for a week. A mad dash there and back to take in the spectacular city of New York. I've never been and a friend (who just ran the New York marathon in 3hours 26 minutes - yes you can see that I am surrounded by extremely active people) is staying on for a week and asked a few of us to join her. It will be hard leaving my beautiful family at home - however the children are in the hands of my extremely capable hubby (thanks sweetheart!).

I am travelling with 1. a foodie, 2. a shopper, 3. an outdoor fitness freak and 4. one who is into the arts and music , so needless to say we will be condensing a month of experiences into a whirlwind trip of 7 days.

I am looking forward to taking in the cultural differences and simply experiencing one of the worlds most exciting cities. If any of my lovely American bloggers have some advice for a few 'newbie' Australian chickadees - please let me know?

Tips I have found handy for long haul flights:

• No alcohol
• Lots of water
• Don't eat everything that's on offer just because it is there
• Try to keep your bodies natural circadian rhythms in tact using the eye mask and ear plugs
• sleep when you should be sleeping (not watching yet another movie)
• taking melatonin before bed on the first few nights

I plan to blog daily and will let you know if I have found 'the perfect coffee' or the BBS (best banana smoothie) or if I break my wrist whilst ice skating or roller blading in Central Park (I'm exhausted already).

Oh almost forgot to mention - we have booked some tickets to the Broadway production of "A Steady Rain" with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig!!!! need I say more.

Wish me luck

Kate x

Travelling...be prepared

The last 2 days have been hectic (I think I need to read my last post!) with a quick down and back to Sydney to do some promotional interviews for our latest book. I was the good 'girl guide' and took some snacks with me so as not to be caught out- hungry, with low blood sugars and dehydrated. For most travellers they are eating on the plane or grabbing a quick bite at a convenience store which may not always be the best option. This leaves you feeling exhausted and 'worst case scenario' you end up with a cold or getting sick. Fresh fruit is a great snack however you may have to surrender your innocent banana or apple at the airport! Packets of fruit and nuts (Sunbeam cranberry and macadamia are particularly nice) or a healthy muesli style bar ('Carmen's' fruit muesli bars are tasty and compact) are great to roam around the bottom of your bag for emergencies. Grab some fruit and small yoghurt's to pop in a bar fridge at the hotel and pre-order breakfast as room service so you are not tempted by the visual splendor of the buffet in the morning. This morning my co-author and I had a small juice and muesli with yoghurt which was filling and very tasty, however as we checked out, the restaurant was filled with guests that looked like they were chowing down before swimming the English Channel. Be proactive and don't let yourself get over-hungry and grab a couple of healthy snacks - whatever the situation

great quick snacks for the whole family

• fruit and nuts
• wholegrain crackers and cheese
• yoghurt with natural muesli
• wholegrain rice cakes with avocado
• fruit scone with light Philly cheese
• small smoothie
• dried fruit and cheese
• light cream cheese dip with carrot
• celery with peanut butter and sultanas
• mountain bread with grated cheese and salsa

Kate x