Great Boudoir Nights Out 12
New York City April 21st to 27th
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Wednesday 21st April
Our trip started about midday on Wednesday 21st April, when the Essex Boudettes met up at Jodie’s house to travel en masse to Heathrow airport. I had arrived at Jodie’s earlier than everyone else and she was still getting ready, after managing to fix her washing machine, I can exclusively details of Miss Lynn’s pyjamas, but as I hope to return to the Boudoir I will keep quiet on this matter. Eventually everyone arrived and fortunately for us the dreaded M25 was reasonably clear and with Maureen keeping us endlessly supplied with Humbugs and Werthers Originals we were able to make good progress.
Upon reaching the airport we made the most of the last few hours in male mode and visited the bar for a few pints, then a trip to MacDonald’s and topped that off with a visit to Smiths to stock up on reading material, after first viewing the Times and Guardian, I finally selected FHM and Maxim, which included the annual top 100 competition. It was then time to board the plane and I took my seat next to Sarah and Tess for the flight, the in-flight movies were not particularly good, so it was a case of indulging in red wine and reviewing the top 100 women in FHM.
I think we must have been discussing the models clothing rather than making the usual laddish comments, as one of the stewardess when speaking to Nas guessed that we were the group of trannies, I wonder if the shaped nails, long hair and high heels and mini skirts were also tell tail signs. The rest of the journey was uneventful with intermittent sleeping and reviewing the shops we were going to visit.
Just prior to landing at JFK airport we were handed out US Visa forms to complete and the questions caused endless amusement. 1. Had we handled livestock? Did my fish count? 2. Was I currently involved or ever been involved in espionage? 3. Did I have any contagious diseases? and finally are favourite which asked about Moral Turpitude. As usual US customs tend to have the minimum number of desks open and take great pleasure in making you wait in line, before asking endless meaningless questions, before finally agreeing to let you into the country.
As we boarded the coach to take us to the hotel we realised that Stacy had been stopped by customs, and had been asked to open her case. When she had been walking through Jodie was by her side, so the customs guy assumed the shoes he found were Jodies, when Stacy pointed the shoes were hers the customs guy rapidly closed the case and let her go.
It was a 45 minute journey from the airport to our hotel which was very close to Central Park, the hotel looked small from the outside, but once we went up the escalator to the Lobby it became a Tardis and just expanded. I was sharing with Terri and we took the lift to our room on the 19th floor. The room was sparsely decorated but very clean and tidy and after initial problems of being unable to locate the light switch Terri and I set out unpacking. I thought I had over done it on the shoes, but when I saw Terri had at least 12 pairs I felt much better.
After a quick shower we set off down to meet the others in the hotel bar, and when we got there a full night club was just starting, the bar apparently was one of the top 10 places to be in New York, so when in Rome. I remember in Gran Caneira we promised ourselves an early night the first night and I believe the same promise was also made here, but after several beers and then several more we were still in the bar at 2am when it closed and what became an almost nightly event we were asked to leave as the bar wanted to close.
Thursday 22nd April
Thursday was a really nice bright morning and having taken the precaution of two neurofens before bed, my head was not to sore. I was up and ready for breakfast by about 10am and remarkably Miss Gray had also surfaced, I had arranged to meet Meredith my friend from Brooklyn at the hotel at 10.30am and whilst some of our gurls went out shopping with Nas the rest of us strolled to the nearest Deli to indulge in breakfast. I am not a big fan of breakfast but do like American pancakes with maple syrup and whilst the other gurls had various other breakfasts it was a good time to introduce them to Meredith. Meeting a group is always tough but meeting them in guy and then having to meet them again in girl mode in the evening was going to be tough on her.
After a leisurely breakfast the group split and Tess, Sarah, Meredith and I decided to indulge in a bit of window shopping at the recently opened Time Warner Aol shopping centre, initially it was window shopping but then Tess set the standard for the week by flashing her credit card and buying a small back pack. We managed to escape the rest of the shopping centre without parting with anymore of our money and set off for a walk around Central Park.
If you have never been to New York coming across central park in the middle of this concrete jungle is a major surprise, reading some literature the park has over 24,000 trees and 58 miles of paths, on this occasion we cut our walk a little bit shorter. We wandered around a few miles and spent a few minutes watching a baseball came, and both Sarah and I decided we could do better. We then got a drink and sat down for an hour chatted and watched the world go by, we were unsure which drink to buy and Meredith somehow persuaded us to try Mountain Dew, well if you get a packet of Tate and Lyle put orange juice in it, Mountain Dew would still be sweeter. Sarah and I bravely tried to drink it but at some point had to give up on it. At about 2pm Meredith got the train back to Brooklyn, she would join up with us later and then the three of us returned to the hotel for our makeovers.
After a quick shave and a few seconds to decide what to wear I grabbed my wig and made my way along to Jodies room where the well oiled Boudoir machine was in full swing, I found a suitable place to sit and awaited my turn to be made up. After this was done I gingerly (I had a wig, make up and jeans on) made my way back to my room to get ready for the night. I decided on a short skirt, boots, fishnets and top with flowing sleeves. By this time both Sarah and Tess were ready and we were awaiting the arrival of Meredith, I had known Meredith sometime, but this was the first time she had met Nicola. She claims she was surprised that I did not put on a high-pitched voice to open the door. Reintroductions were quickly made and the four of us then grabbed our bags and lipsticks and headed for the hotel bar. As it was a warm dry night we went to the outside bar and after some initial stares from the other guests we soon settled in, to wait the arrival of Jodie, Nas and the gurls who had the later make overs.
We were all finally ready and we parted the hotel en masse to go to Lips which is a Drag Bar restaurant in Greenwich Village, in which you are served by tv waitresses who later in the night perform various numbers. Lips is an ok place for a first night out to get your bearings, but the food is not brilliant, but the drag shows were good if a little short. Since the flight it was the first time we had been able to sit down together and talk and it was also the queue for the cameras to come out, for the first of many times over the next few days. The only unfortunate incident in the night was when Nas had a glass of red wine knocked over her, by the time she had changed the restaurant kitchen had closed and she was unable to get any food.
We left Lips about 12.30 and stood outside to get cabs back to the hotel. It was at this point we had our only negative comment on the trip where a passing motorist yelled abuse at us, but hey us gurls have thick skins and can take a bit of yelling from one idiot. Once back at the hotel I decided it was enough for the first night and went to bed, whereas some of the gurls hit the hotel bar until 2.30am.
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Friday 23rd April
Going to bed fairly early must have done me some good as I was up by 8.30 and managed my one and only run of the holiday around central Park, it was nice to be running in a nice green area early in the morning, but I was frustrated with all that grass still being made to run on the road.
After my run it was time for a shower and once again to my amazement receive a phone call from Miss Gray before 10am to inform me she was awake up had finished her first packet of cigarettes of the day and was ready for breakfast. Once again breakfast was at the diner nearest to the hotel and if the waiter noticed Tess’s red nail varnish he did not comment. When we finished breakfast it was time to start shopping, on my morning run I had noticed a shop with a 60% off sale, which only shows a tranny can always spot a bargain even in male mode.
We went into the shop had a look around and the owner was only to willing to let us try on the clothes and shoes, which made us feel very welcome. Tess and Sarah ended up buying shoes and I got a pair of brown suede shoes. We then decided it was time to go up market and we headed up town for the serious shopping, after Tess and Sarah had several last cigarettes we eventually went into Bloomingdale’s where we were told there was a big shoe sale. Unfortunately after looking on both the 2nd and 4th floors we were unable to find anything we liked, so then decided to do some guy clothes shopping. Sarah eventually purchased some Versace jeans, but both Tess and I told her she should have gone for the bright red trousers and black see through shirt.
Lunch was at a Pizza shop and I think we stuck at like a sore thumb as we were the only ones eating pizza with a knife and fork, none of that figure stuff for us we have standards. After lunch it was a leisurely stroll back to the hotel to prepare for the evening. As I had an early make over yesterday I was booked in for later so was able to have a nap and a bath before my allocated time. As the weather had turned colder and wetter I decided to where Jeans and wrap over top that evening.
The rain prevented us from returning to the outside hotel bar so it was a quick drink in the inside bar which was gradually filling before getting into Taxis for the drive across town the restaurant called East of Eighth. The taxi had a bit of trouble finding it and we had to end up running across the road in the rain, with chorus of amusing comments from the car drivers. The restaurant appeared to be very big, but unfortunately as we were such a big group we where in one corner and could not see the other customers. The waiters in the restaurant were very attentive and the full was the usual American size portions although at the time of writing this I cannot remember what I ate. After the meal we were discussing which club to visit, when a couple of local told us what they believed to be the best place. Unfortunately the rain must have kept all the local girls inside that night, as the club was very sparsely populated, but this was The Boudettes on holiday and were determined to make the most of it and settled down for a few drinks and some photos opportunities.
We then decided to return to our hotel to get last orders at the bar there, I suppose the guests had been warned the night before, but seeing 12 trannies walk into a bar most be a shock for anyone, but unlike some experiences in the Uk, everyone here was positive. When the bar closed at 2.30am a group of us got talking to a few girls who were trying to get us to out again to another club, but as by this time it was 3.30am we all decided that bed was the best option.
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Saturday 24th April
As Sarah and Tess were going shopping, all day I had the day free to spend with Meredith, and I therefore got up early and got the tube (subway) across to Brooklyn. I have ridden the subway before, but not alone and was struggling to work out whether I was going uptown or downtown, so I asked a local. He turned out to be even more confused than and twice made me miss my train, before somebody else put me on the correct one.
I eventually arrived at Meredith’s only 15 minutes late and after a quick drink we set off to do some shopping at her local centre, when girly shopping I like the brand Guess but can never find their men’s wear in the Uk. I know there was a shop near Meredith and I purchased two pairs of jeans, after which we went to the local park where Meredith insisted I taught her how to play football. Its been a few years since I played and as I was always a goalkeeper, my ability outfield was always a bit suspect, but playing an American, a girl and someone who did not know the rules gave me a slight advantage and I believe I scrapped a narrow 36- 1 victory. After a few minutes to recover from my victory we then went off to have lunch and to find some shoes for Meredith to wear in the evening, we managed to find a bargain for her in her local shopping area, we then returned to her house to pick up her clothes for the evening before getting back on the subway for the return to the Hotel.
I had arranged with Jodie for a late make over that evening and she also agreed to do a make over for Meredith. Meredith had never seen a Jodie make over before and was fascinated to sit in the room and watch me transformed from my male self into Miss Smith, before she was made over herself. We then returned to my room and got dressed and funny incident happened where Meredith laddered her tights, so I ended up supplying her with tights for the night. I decided to wear what Jodie refers to as my Turkey dress which is black with feathers on the hem and bust, I also had a matching bag which I picked up last time I was in New York.
The meal this evening was a Chez Josephine, which is run by Josephine Bakers son, and I got into a cab with Tess, Sarah and Meredith for the short journey to the restaurant. Again the cab struggled to find the restaurant and we were dropped off within walking distance of the restaurant rather than right outside, this was not really a problem, but the wind is a nightmare when you have a wig on. We were the last to arrive at the restaurant and the group were on two large tables, which meant their were only two tables left, both of which only seated two which was fine as I sat with Meredith.
The menu was the most extensive so far and I chose endive with cheese and walnuts, which had never had before, it was a strange taste at bit like lettuce, but very enjoyable. I followed this up with one of my favourites Duck that again was very good. The atmosphere in the restaurant was great with a piano player, which you could hear, but was not to loud and occasionally a trumpet player joined in. The owner also made a point of regularly checking up on us and even bringing people over to meet us, which was great.
The club on Saturday was called Ina’s, which is called The Silver Swan during the rest of the week; it was the best club we attended during a visit. The club is run by n energetic Thai girl who appeared to spend most of her time either being in or taking photos. The mix of people in the club was very similar to the Way Out club in London, which the Tranny chasers hovering in the back ground as usual. The music was better than the way out (but as someone stuck in the 80s) I would say that, the good thing was you were able to speak to people and I got to meet two girls who I had been speaking to on the web for sometime. I think at one point in the night I was even dancing, but due to sore feet that did not last long and I soon sat down and had another drink. I cant remember exactly what time we left, but know the bar at the hotel had closed, so it was back to Tess and Sarah’s room where Vodka and coke was the order of the day before hitting the sack at about 4am.
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Sunday 25th April
Next morning I instantly regretted the vodka from the night before, but after a shower and wandering about for a while, I felt much better, unlike Sarah and Tess who had yet to surface, eventually the pair of them surfaced and we set off for our usual breakfast venue. This was the only time on the trip that it was raining during the day so we had a leisurely breakfast before deciding to have a wander about in some of the local shops.
Tess along with a few of the others girls was going to the theatre in the afternoon so left Sarah and I to go back to the hotel, we continued to wander a bit longer before going back as we both had very early make over slots. When we got to Jodies room it was really quiet nobody was being made over and after Sarah and I had our faces and hair done we sat about for a few hours talking and eating and having a good laugh, strangely it was one of the best few hours of the trip.
I decided on saving my new dress for the last night and after a few problems with working out how the cross over cord at the back worked, with the help of Nas and Meredith I was finally ready, although the cord hanging down the back was a little distracting. The restaurant for the nights meal was in the Paramount Hotel, which was the same hotel chain as the one, we were staying in, I got into the cab for the drive to the hotel and as we drove away, one of the hotel staff was waving at me, which I thought was nice. However when we pulled up at the restaurant I was unable to get out of the cab on the left side, because my cords were stuck in the right hand door I tried pulling but was stuck, I had visions of the dress ripping and having to eat dinner in my pink knickers and hold ups, but luckily I was able to get out without the dress ripping.
Once inside we had some time to wait for our reservation and for Nas and Jodie to arrive, and so we sat and had a few drinks it also gave the staff time to make up a table for 18. Eventually everybody arrived and we sat down for the meal, to celebrate our trip both Stacy and Sarah purchased bottles of champagne, but I stuck to my usual red wine. I only remember ordering a main meal, but there was a problem with my food being forgotten and it did not arrive until everybody else had finished theirs. As I was finishing my meal a few of the girls had gotten up and we talking to a real group of girls who I believe were from New Orleans, I don’t know what was being said but there was some roars of laughter coming from the real girls, it’s good to know that somebody finds us amusing and will come over and talk to us.
After we had finished talking to the girls from New Orleans it was time to do a trannies 2bd favourite pastime (shopping being the first) yeah you guessed it posing for pictures. The hotel had a great entrance with a big flowing staircase which had about 25 steps, I only know the number because I think some of the girls had their pictures taken on every step, it was then on to the sofas and finally a few pictures by the plants before we finally left to get cabs back to the hotel. Upon getting back to the hotel I decided that I had had enough for one day and opted for the bed option rather than anymore drinking.
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Monday 26th
Monday was the day when most of the girls were going home, but I had booked an extra night to spend some time with Meredith, however Terri started her packing I thought I would start packing my girl stuff at the same time. We then made one last visit to our regular diner and we tried to order breakfast without the waiter asking us follow up questions, Like how you want your eggs done? Etc, I think only two of us managed to achieve this task.
After breakfast it was back to my room, to help Terri with her packing, due to buying so many new things Terri was struggling to shut her case and had one pair of shoes in her hand luggage, now these were no ordinary shoes they were stilettos with long metal heels. On seeing these in there Nas told Terri they could be deemed a weapon by security and they were switched across to my case, and a day later I managed to smuggle these lethal weapons back into the Uk.
A group of us decided we wanted to do some minute shopping as I had already agreed to meet Meredith down at Greenwich Village we all decided to board the subway to Greenwich. After only getting lost twice we eventually met Meredith only 5 minutes and she took us off to one of her favourite restaurants for lunch. After all the rich food over the last few days it was great to have a simple salad, which was really nice and set us up nicely for a couple of hours of shoes shopping.
With Meredith leading the way we set off round the village and after the first few shops where the gurls struggled to find any big sized boots we finally hit the jackpot at the Shoe Closet at 9 West 8th Street. In most of the other shops we were struggling to find any big sizes, but in the Shoe Closet not only were sizes up to uk 10, but they also had a wide range and the two girls in charge Yvette and Yfat were only to willing to help out out and let the gurls try on as many pair as they wanted.
I also took pictures in the shop, but these were in guy mode they are going there, Tess, Sarah, Sara and Stacy all got boots, but there was a bit of a problem with Sarah and Sara, both them wanted a certain pair of boots in black in size 9 or 10, but there was only one pair of blacks left the only other pair in that style was green. The gurls sportingly decided to toss a coin for it, with your truly being the official coin tosser, the coin came down in favour of Sara Campbell and after a few tears from Miss Gray we left the shoe closet to move on.
The intention after leaving was to then get a cab back to the hotel, however the lure of more shopping became too much for both Tess and Sarah and they both disappeared into shops for more purchases. I was in the shop with Tess and she was buying a diamante choker with matching earrings, meanwhile Miss Gray was buying a scandalously short leather outfit from the shop next door, and I must admit I was very tempted by something similar. Eventually we all finished shopping and tried to get cabs back to the hotel, which was very difficult, firstly there were no cabs about and then a few refused to take us in that direction, and we were getting a bit worried about getting back on time.
We just about managed to get back, and everyone retrieved their cases from my room, Meredith and I then waved the gurls off to the airport, and made our plans for the next day.
The whole trip was brilliant from the beginning to end Jodie, Nas and Maureen worked so hard to make us all look great every night and I believe by the end of the work they had done over 70 make overs which is an amazing effort. Everybody had a great time and a few days after we got back the e-mails were already being sent round as to where we are going next year. Watch this space.