NYC - Day five - 9/3/09

Our last day in New York City was planned as we needed to be at the airport for our flight that was due to leave Newark at 18.30.


We went for our breakfast in Times Square at a Deli that we had eaten at once before. We then caught a yellow cab from there up to the Guggenheim Museum. Tim was keen to explore here and I was keen to look around central park. We decided that was what we would do. The park had a 'jog clockwise' only rule. There were people of all shapes and sizes, with and without dogs, jogging around the lake in the park. The water looked lovely and the park peaceful. Tim enjoyed the Guggenheim and treated himself to a book. A few hours spent having fun!


We then caught a taxi back down to Bryant Park. It was our most expensive ride in a taxi in NYC and cost us all of $10. Very reasonable.

Bryant Park was great. There were many Americans having their lunch in the park in the sunshine and Tim and I joined them. The park had seats and tables of all shapes and sizes, wicker seats, swinging seats, park seats and garden seats. It was lovely being in this 'green' area and a free Wifi spot by the skyscrapers.


After lunch we popped to the Post Office to post our last few cards home and then strolled back to Times Square for one last look.

Times Square was bustling and we sat for 1/2hr just watching the world go by before we strolled back to the Hotel for our shuttle bus collection. We had an entertaining trip back to the airport - at a fast speed! We checked in, went through security and then had our evening meal and another rest.

Our flight was due to leave at 6.30pm and we didn't board until 7pm. There was a very rude lady in the cabin crew that entertained us and a few other passengers for a few minutes.

The flight back was long and tiring and I was not enthralled. I knew however, that I needed to do this to get home so got on with it. I was too hot, tired and my feet and legs were swollen. Tim was asleep across some seats in another part of the plane but he did join me before we landed.

It was now 10 March 2010 at about 7.30am. The purple parking people were there to collect us as we went through to collect our baggage - a good service that we would recommend. They took us back to pick up the car and our long drive back to Herefordshire.

NYC - Day Four - 8/3/10

Day four began with Breakfast and we walked down 5th Avenue and stopped off at a Starbucks for a coffee. They were not quite on every corner, but there were lots of Starbucks around. I purchased a New York Starbucks Mug for James and we headed off for Macy's - a must if you visit New York.

Tim had visited Macy's on his last visit, so he took a stroll to an electrical store a couple of blocks away from Macy's called B&H. We agreed that we would meet on the chairs out of the front of Macy's.

Macy's was fab! There was so much under one roof. I spent a while gawping at the designer handbags before strolling off to the souvenir area where I bought some gifts to take back for friends and family. When I had visited all I wanted to see in Macy's, I left by the grand entrance at the front and took up residence in a comfy chair to watch the world go by. It was noisy and busy and the 'NYPD' were staking out the street, controlling the traffic and I have to say that I felt very safe.

Tim arrived back with a present for me - a lovely Nikon Camera in Red. He began to tell me about B&H and I decided that I had to see this for myself! Tim was knackered and his knee/ankle was beginning to hurt again so we hailed a NYC yellow cab and headed back to B&H.

Well, for anybody who likes electronics or gadgets it was paradise! A store that sold most things at very reasonable prices. I bought a media card and a case for my camera and watched as the conveyor belt system above my head ensured that your purchases arrived at the checkout as you had settled up with the cashier. You then left the store and moved in to an area where you could sit down and check/admire your purchases. Many bins full of packaging as people took their purchases off. Well worth a visit if you go to NYC - or visit their website at www.bhphotovideo.com


After this we decided to stroll up towards the Empire State building. I was pretty sure that I wasn't feeling brave enough to climb up it and Tim had been before. I stood at its base and you couldn't see the top. The inside was beautiful, all marbled and intricately engraved.

We decided that it was time for some lunch and we visited the Europa Cafe inside the Empire State Building for a huge salad. You purchased your bowl of green salad from spinach to green leaves etc. You then could choose from a huge list what you would like adding to your green salad. Each addition was individually priced. I had mushrooms, raisins, turkey and cucumber. This was then inserted into a chopping machine that cut it all into cubes. It then came out of a shoot into an aluminium bowl. The dressing of your choice was added, mixed up by a very jolly fellow and then put back into your salad bowl. The additions were priced and then written on the lid of the salad bowl and you paid at the checkout. The shop was obviously popular with Americans working nearby but despite the fact it was busy, the queue moved quickly. The salad was made in a very artistic way with lots of smiles and polite service. I am sure that even if you didn't like salad, you would have enjoyed this. It was easy to eat and easy to get your five per day and disguise the things you don't like. I told Tim that I would love 'a chopping machine'. If I had one, then I could eat salad every day.


After lunch we decide to pay a visit to Central Park and the Zoo. It was a delightful Zoo and I really enjoyed my visit there. The animals were very active and all looked healthy. The Polar bears, the snow leopards, the red panda's and the penguins were my favourite and the tropical house was interesting also. We finished our visit just as the Zoo was closing and were able to just fit in a drink at the cafe before it closed.


We had a walk around part of the park before heading off to 5th Avenue and the Apple Shop. This was our third visit to the shop in the time we had been in New York. James had booked Tim into an 'Aperture three' workshop which he attended whilst I spent and 1hr on SKYPE chatting to the kids.


This was an end of a long day and the chance to taste a real American Beef burger before strolling back to Times Square. We visited the Hershey’s shop for some more gifts, collected "Buzz Lightyear" from the 'Toys R Us' shop and back to our hotel for a rest!

NYC - Day Three - 7/3/10

On day three, we awoke, showered, and dressed and made our way to the subway station. Times Square was busy on Sunday morning as we walked through. We caught a train to the ground Zero site. This was strange for me to visit knowing what tragedy had struck there. The site was boarded off and the new buildings were climbing up with their metal construction appearing above the ground level and cranes resting on the top of the buildings.








We went for breakfast in a traditional cafe on the corner of the world trade centre site. Tim and I talked about his last visit here a few years ago whilst enjoying our first meal of the day. After breakfast, we walked down to catch the ferry over to Liberty Island to see the statue of Liberty. I was very excited about seeing this but also mindful of the comments from my children that it was not as big as they expected it to be when they visited. The Sun was shining, it was a beautiful day. We queued with our tickets that we had purchased over the internet. It took approx. 1hr to go through the airport style security and to board the ferry. We managed to get a seat on the top deck but there were so many people that it was almost impossible to see the view of Statten Island as the ferry left on its journey to Liberty Island.



As we arrived at the island, I agreed with what my children had said about the statue. It was beautiful, but not as impressive as I thought it would be. Tim and I decided to go straight to see this rather than to explore the island or have a coffee. Boy was I glad that we did! We had to queue for a further 1hr for yet more airport style security. I do think that this was over the top even for the USA!! Whilst 1hr was a long time, it became a longer queue as the day progressed. When we got through the security, the lift was out of order so we started to climb the 156 steps to the base of her feet. On arriving at the base, I walked out and felt that it was just a bit too high for me. I walked around the base, admiring the view, but with my back pressed firmly to the concrete wall! Once round was enough for me and I started the decent to the ground.



I had a mooch in the shop and queued again for a souvenir and then went outside to wait for Tim. We decided to have lunch before we caught the ferry to Ellis Island. We ate Fish and Chips in a 'Liberty Torch' shaped basket, outside in the sun, admiring the views across the bay to Manhattan. It was very warm for early March.


With lunch over we boarded the ferry to Ellis Island. This was a short trip giving us great views of Liberty Island. Ellis Island was not as interesting as I had expected as the history didn't really grab me. Tim had been before so we decided to have an enormous glass of diet coke and sit and admire the views out in the beautiful sunshine. We then made our way back to the ferry and crossed back to Battery Park where we had started off that morning.

Tim then took me back along the side of the World Trade Centre site and down to see Wall Street and then back down to Broadway.




The shops were great and it was so busy for what was a Sunday afternoon. We walked miles and miles, stopping in a park for a rest and enjoying the free Wi-Fi that is readily available in all the parks in the city. We pressed on looking in shops on Broadway for as far as our legs could carry us. We then decided that we would go to the next subway station and catch a train back to as near to Times Square as we could.

We were both so tired that evening we had an evening meal, paid a visit to 'Toys R Us' in Times Square (with it's Ferris Wheel inside)and then strolled back to the Hotel and watched a film and then went to bed.

Another day in NYC over.

NYC - Day Two 6/3/10

Day two saw us waking up to an American Breakfast - fit for a king! Sausage and pancakes was an interesting taste. We ate in a Deli on the corner of Times Square and were able to watch the world go by and to read the news up on the illuminated TV Screens high up on the buildings.

After breakfast we headed to the Subway station to get a train from Times Square to Bloomingdales. Whilst walking to Bloomingdales, we passed a newsagent that was setting up and I bought a couple of American craft magazines. Bloomingdales was an interesting shop and I purchased a present for James's girlfriend Gemma and one for Greg's Fiancee Lucy. There was an auction for "Alice in Wonderlands tea party". These had been created by designers and were being auctioned off for charity. They were charming to look at.


After Bloomingdales and a walk around the other shops we headed back to the Subway Station and caught a train down to Chinatown. This was a fascinating area and very busy which made it difficult to look around and walk along the street. We did a bit of shopping before going back to the Subway station.

We caught another train to a shop called "The Ink Pad". It was a small shop with a lot of craft items and 100's of Stamps. I bought some bits for my New York Scrapbook. Unfortunately, they didn't have any Martha Stewart Punches, but the lady was very helpful and told me where I could obtain some. With that it was back to the Subway and a train ride to 96th Street. Between 96th and 100th street there was a Michael’s store. It was heaven to a crafter! Tim sat and watched a film on his IPOD Touch whilst I shopped and looked and shopped more. I found him chatting with two sweet older American ladies who were fascinated that he was watching a film and confessed to having an IPOD touch for her music but didn't know she could watch films on it!

We caught the subway back to Times Square and the hotel. We had a rest and a wash and then went off in search for something to eat. We went to a well known American Pizza chain where Tim ate two enormous pieces of Pizza and I had some meatballs with spaghetti. It was very good. After this we went for a long stroll past radio city and back to Times Square and the Hershey’s Shop. We spent some time watching the world go by in Times Square before heading back to the hotel for bed.

NYC - Day One 5/3/2010

Hello

Well, we left home at 4.30am to get to London Heathrow. It was quiet and dark with not much traffic. We were leaving our car with Purple Parking for the duration. We arrived there at approx. 7am and had the car photographed with us in it by 5 camera's and then we parked up. We took our suitcases to the trailer on the purple minibus and sat for approx. 10mins before the driver called us for our trip into Terminal 4.

The whole process was smooth and we arrived after a short time at Terminal 4.We made our way to check in and then through security. What a performance! We were then ready for our breakfast. Time disappeared quickly and it was time for boarding. This was the moment I had been preparing for and it was here. I have had a fear of flying for many years and here I was boarding an airplane with Continental Airlines.

The flight was not too bad if you ignore takeoff, turbulence and landing!!! I had a nice American sat next to the window who closed the shutter after we were air bound. The flight was approx. 7hrs and I managed to watch a film and then look out of the window as we circled New York. It was a strange feeling and just about bearable.

On arrival at Newark we ran the gauntlet of immigration and baggage. By the time we left the airport it was 2pm. Our Shuttle bus was with us in 20mins to drop us at our Hotel. We had a bumpy journey through New Jersey into New York. We thought that the roads were bad here with pot holes but I can say that the roads there were much worse. The weather was warm and sunny and our hotel a welcome sight.




We had a short rest at the hotel which was just off Times Square before heading out to see the sights and have something to eat. We walked for a long while from Times Square to Fifth Avenue and back enjoying the sights and sounds before finding a Chinese Restaurant for our evening meal.



By 10pm we were safely tucked up in bed having been awake for almost 24hrs. The noise of cars hooting and sirens were something that I was not used to being a country girl so It was difficult to drop off to sleep. I woke at 4am and went back to sleep at 5am and then was wide awake at 7am, ready for a shower and breakfast and day two.