NEW YORK 2009
A View To Remember
Me and Gill
Two girls…. who Love Sex in the City…… go to New York
So lots of complaining about men…. talking about sex…… drinking cocktails and buying shoes.
We arrived at Heathrow T4.
Checked in on touch screen, very easy and fast.
Check in luggage, allowed 22 kg, mine was 22kg, how is that for skill…. Must be getting good at this packing, with all this travelling.
Time for breakfast and then to buy some lippy…..
Plane, nice with larger leather seats and my own tv, all good so far
OH No!!!!! a large group of competition cheerleaders, boys and girls, are in our part of the plane. And even worse the Coach or should I say loud mouth/big head is next to me…….Keep getting flashes of me in hand cuffs, hmmmm
Time to put head phone on, listen to some music and do some studying for my Divemaster.
view from the window
Half way there….. god it is painful flying….. Two knowledge reviews done, 4 more to go.
Had a moment of panic as we were leaving the plane, the cheerleaders said they where staying in the Holiday Inn….. Hope it’s not our Holiday Inn, guess we will have to see.
Passport control was a nightmare we stood still in a queue for nearly an hour and it took one and half hours to get through. By the time we got to the baggage ours had been removed from the conveyer belt to make room for another flight.
Got to hotel, Holiday Inn Midtown,. which is ok. It is on 57th Street between Columbus Avenue and Amsterdam Avenue. Or should I say between 9th and 10th….No sign of the cheerleaders!!!!!!!!
Streets of New York
Time for walk about!!!!!!!!!
Directing Traffic
We made are way to Time Square,
which Gill thought was square, hmm……..
naked cowboy where are you!!!!
No naked Cowboy, we will have to keep looking for him.
Cheers from me
Had dinner in Carmines……. A New York Italian Family Restaurant (think Frankie and Bennie’s without the burgers)…… Drinks very expensive, $9 each that’s about £6.50 and they where small glass……
and cheers from Gill
This was a very different type of restaurant for us in the UK. You choose a Starter, Main from the board, so good so far, then the waitress tells you that each choice will feed about 4 , they only do family size portions, you are meant to share.
Salad Starter
We have a salad and Pasta Carbonara and it was by far the best I have every had, that is the salad and the pasta, but sooo much.
Pasta Carbonara
It was washed down by 2 cocktails, Sangria, and came to $53 each with tip,
doggy bag
and we had to come away with half of it in a brown bag.
Walked around Time Square and booked to go to a show tomorrow night, at the Marquis Theatre….. 9 TO 5 – The Musical. When we went to pay a very nice Lady and Gent gave us a voucher to use to get discount and we saved $20 each.
Time for a very needed sleep we have been up since 4am uk time.
Day 2
Pancakes and bacon
Started the day with breakfast in the Brooklyn Dinner……. Pancakes and bacon with orange juice and coffee for me
omelette and a cup of tea
and omelette and a cup of tea for Gill.
Then on to a busy day.
Its a really sunny day again, but pants**** I have lost my sun glasses.
So having found somewhere to by a cheep pair of sun glasses, on to the Rockefeller Centre.
Rockefeller Centre
ice-skating rink
The Ice-skating rink is in use this time , when I came a few years ago there were stalls set up instead….
Art Deco
The rink is surrounded by eye catching Art Deco detail.
fountain
St Patrick's Cathedral
Around the corner is St Patrick’s Cathedral. The New York skyscrapers dwarf this Gothic Roman Catholic Cathedral which has been there since 1988.
From there we go down to 42st to find the Grand Central Terminal.
Grand Central
natural light
Where natural light streams in through high arched windows, while the crowds whisk by on polished marble floors.
the clock
The Chrysler Building is just around the corner.
Chrysler Building
This was built by the American automaker Walter P Chrysler in the 1920s. It is decorated on the upper exterior with re-creations of larger-than-life re-creations of auto parts – bonnet ornaments, hubcaps, radiator grills etc. When it was finished it was briefly the tallest building in the world.
Lift door
Then on to Bryant park for lunch and a bit of people watching. The park was named after the poet William Cullen Bryant, who’s poetry was primary about his love of nature.
Bryant Park
It is behind the New York Public Library and is often seen in films, where there is need for an outside meeting at lunch time and is THE spot for many working Americans.
lunch yumm!!!
We had a Roast Beets Salad, which had caramelised walnuts and goats cheese. Yummm.
nice shoes
We manage to slip in a bit of shoe shopping.
Next we go to the Empire State Building.
Empire State Building
To queue is unreal but I manage to smile nicely to a man in a orange top, Very divecrew, and before you know it we are jumping the queue to go on the sky ride tour, what it is to be a woman….. This includes a simulated helicopter ride of New York, It cost twice as much but that is much better than a long queue…..
King Kong climbed it, a B-25 bomber collided with it, daredevils have parachuted off it, and lightning strikes the building an average of 100 times a year.
views
The views of New York are fantastic…… It is well worth paying for the head phones to get the full tour.
very clear day
Taxi Taxi!!!
By the time we have finished we are now in a rush to get back to the hotel as we are out to the theatre tonight. Tried to get a taxi, but that didn’t work.
pedal taxi
So we asked one of the pedal taxis if they can help and for $20 we found one to take us back to the hotel, he said he could do it in 15 mins, it took 25 but then he was Caribbean.
Quick freshen up and change and then power walk to the theatre…. Only just made it to our seats before the start of the show….
9 to 5
9 TO 5 was good, Stared the actress from West Wing, Allison Janney and the music from Dolly Parton. The actress who played Dolly, Megan Hilty, was very good.
The Marquis Theatre is in the Mariot Hotel and after the show we went up to the View Lounge which revolves and watch the lights of the New York skyline go by as we drank a champagne cocktail that cost with tip $22.50 each. Och.
Time Square
A slow walk back to the hotel through Time Square.
light up the night
Stopping for a Hot Dog on the way, ending a long day.
hot dogs
Day 3
Applejack
The time difference is going to kill me, woke up at 6am wide awake. This is going to be a long day.
Start today with breakfast a Applejack’s. Another American breakfast.
grab a Taxi
Then grab a Taxi, the way to do this seems to be to run up to one where someone is getting out, this putting your arm out like you see on tv doesn’t work. Off to Battery Park to get the ferry across to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Statue of Liberty
The monument to American Independence. The copper-clad statue that is the symbol of America.
We had to queue for 30 mins to get tickets and then 1hour to get on the ferry. Got a good position up on deck ready the take pictures of the lady as we approach the island that Liberty stands on, then my camera jams, to say I was “pissed off” properly doesn’t cover it.
Once we had arrived Gill goes for water while I do repairs….. Got the camera working, feel better know!!!!!
Gill
The best way to do the island is with the audio tours as this give you all the information about the building of the statue.
Me
Grab some lunch and then back on the ferry to Ellis Island. Good position again and this time camera worked, got some good photos.
lunch time
Ellis Island
Ellis Island, where the 12 million immigrants to the United States passed between 1892 and 1954. Again the best way to go round Ellis is with a audio tour.
Where 12 million arrived
Many of the people that arrived having scraped together the fee for third-class or steerage on an ocean liner would arrive in New York poor and often ill from the voyage.
Main Hall
They would then have to undergo medical, mental health, legal and other examinations to determine their fitness to enter the country.
For most immigrants, this was a nerve-racking few hours and for some this would last days or even week, and two per cent were deported having failed.
Manhattan
Back on the ferry to Battery Park.
Sky line
Twin Tower Globe
Look out for the world globe at the entrance of the park as this was found in its present condition when they cleared the rubble from ground zero. It used to stand in the court yard between the two towers.
Police car
Trinity Church
We walk up Broadway to the Trinity Church and Wall Street.
Wall Street
Then on to Ground Zero, there is nothing to see as it is all now fenced off.
What it will look like when finished
Ground Zero
Time to shop in Century 21. It is open until 9pm, so we will be a while. This is like TK Max but very big, we got lost twice and had to phone each other. I got a bag, but no shoes all the one’s I liked they didn’t have in my size, nothing different there then.
We got a Taxi back to the Hotel, into the bar for something to eat and our first Cosmopolitan Cocktail, well first two!!!. Then bed…..
Cosmopolitan's
Day 4
Today is Central Park. But first we need to eat, so off to Moonrock for Breakfast. More orange juice, coffee or tea with bacon and eggs.
Kenny
Me & Gill in the rickshaw
We start off by having a guided tour, with Kenny, in a rickshaw. He pointed out the house that the rich and famous live in around the park as well as the sites it see in the park.
Bethesda Fountain
We stop at the Fountain from friends for some photos.
Friends
At Strawberry Fields I get asked to be in a music video that some armature movie makers are filming, cringe cringe, but think of Josh and go for it….. I had to come walking down the path holding hands with this, nice guy, and the go up to where the girl is singing in front of her guitar case and write a best wishes note and place it in the case… I’m famous!!!!!!!
Then on to some retail therapy.
After which we went back into the park for a slow walk around and some relaxation.
We start in the west bottom corner walking round Centre Dive up to Pilgrim Hill and then round Conservatory Water. Following the path past the Boathouse to Bethesda Terrace and Fountain from Friends.
Then walking back through the trees of The Mall and out of the east gate.
Walking back up 5th Avenue, we popped in to Tiffany & Co to order a nice something – in our dreams. And then on to Trump Tower for a coffee in the Starbucks.
On the walk back to the hotel we find a nice little restaurant called Pazzanotte and stopped for dinner. They have a two for one on the cocktails, Peach Martini and Blood Orange Martini, so we had to have some of those to go with my salad and Gill’s prawns.
Stagger back to the hotel and to bed zzzzzzz
Day 5
The weather has turned and doesn’t look good. Breakfast at Moonrock again. By the time we had finished it was starting to rain very lightly but optimistically we set out for Brooklyn Bridge in a taxi. But by the time we get out it is rain hard. Walking out onto the bridge is very wet and windy, quick photos and back to the streets.
We make are way up Broadway stopping in many shops, time goes by so fast its 5 before we no it……. We are very wet and still have a lone way to go before we get to Macy’s so time for another Taxi.
Dinner in Macy’s, a two for one deal on a 3 course dinner, so that’s what we go for. Gill has soup I have salad then we both have steak and fries followed by ice cream with a cookie.
Then another Taxi back to the hotel, very wet and cold. Up to the room to pack and get warm……. I’m laying in bed watching lightening through the window and really hope the rain has stopped tomorrow, there is nothing worse than have to fly home in damp clothes with damp hair ……….
Day 6
Packed and ready to go… Just enough time for a bit of shopping and a foot massage before the Taxi to the air port…
Check in only to find we have to get a bus to another terminal….
Now just have to wait for boarding, so to pass the time we have one of those massages where you sit in a chair where you lean forward and keep your clothes on… The guy that works on me is very strong, its painful, but afterwards it feel fantastic……
Onto the plane, for the flight home… I hate night flights, but HA HO……
An old couple get on first and think they can just sit where they like…….that’s a good start…….. Another couple have got such a heavy hand luggage bag they cant lift it into the locker and then expect ME to do it for them, I don’t think so…..
After a bit of cat napping and some food we are back home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
