Our ship sailed into Miami early Friday morning and it was rather sad disembarking after 15 glorious days of being pampered. I heard some crazy people saying they were ready to get off. I don't know, call me strange, but for some reason I like not cooking or cleaning or washing or ironing or having to make decisions other than what to choose off the menu.
Well, they dragged me off kicking and screaming and put me on a plane to New York. If I can't be on a cruise ship, then I am happy to settle for being in New York. "New York, New York. Start spreading the news."
We managed to catch an earlier flight and landed around three in the afternoon. We caught a bus into our downtown Manhattan hotel and got caught up in Friday afternoon traffic. It was fun though as we shared the mini bus with some interesting people and had a few laughs as we got to drive all over Manhattan dropping them off.
Our hotel is right in the heart of the financial district overlooking the sight where the Twin Towers were. We spent our first evening strolling around the area, and found a great Irish pub (that's right Tina - another Irish pub) off Wall Street where we had a tasty meal and an enjoyable pint.
Day 2 saw us up at the crack of dawn, and I mean the crack of dawn, walking down to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. We caught one of these fabulous free ferries and enjoyed the beauty of the sunrise over the city. The morning light really is beautiful and the skyscrapers looked stunning as the sunlight hit them. Brooklyn Bridge took on a warm glow and the lady herself, the Statue of Liberty, stood as proud and erect as ever.
On disembarking from the ferry we descended under ground and tackled the subway. We travelled uptown and emerged at Columbus Circle on the edge of Central Park. A bite of breakfast and we were ready to test our walking shoes to the max.
The day had to be experienced to be believed. The air was crisp and clear, the sky blue, and the park, a green oasis in the busy city. We wandered through the winding paths amongst trees with a riotous colour of leaves changing ready for the fall. We spent several hours lapping up the peace and beauty. People were walking, jogging, running, sitting, ... breathing in ... life. "Imagine all the people, living life in peace ..." That's right, we found peace in the park and Strawberry Fields, the place John Lennon wrote about and overlooked from his apartment. We also found many squirrels, statues, ponds, a fair for dogs (yes, you read right - a dog fair) and all the while an unbroken trail of people snaked their way around the park on the Terry Fox fun run.
After several hours we dragged ourselves away from this lovely place and began the long walk home down Broadway. Broadway runs about 8.5 kilometres all the way from Central Park to the south end of Manhattan Island. We used this as our main route, but took a few diversions along the way.
Apart from a stop to check in online at one of the city's free wifi hotspots, our first main stop was Times Square. Times Square - YEAH! Busy, bustling, flashy, trashy, glitzy and dazzling! One can't not feel infected by the atmosphere. Giant billboards advertised all the Broadway shows making it a theatre goers heaven. The signs flashed and big TV screens were ever changing. Helen and I even appeared on one big screen and managed to snap a picture of our 15 seconds of fame.
Peeling ourselves away from the crowds, we took a side trip along 42nd Street passing high class streets such as Madison and Park Avenue on our way to Grand Central Station. This huge central hub of transport is a beautiful building that sees thousands of commuters and sightseers daily. We stood and admired it, and enjoyed overlooking the main concourse. I kept expecting a mob of flash dancers to appear and start singing, "Doh, a deer, a female deer...", but no such luck.
A short stop for a light lunch in a nearby deli gave us the sustenance we needed to keep going. We stumbled upon a lovely literary walk along a street dotted with quotes about reading and poetry. This took us to the New York State Library which was another impressive building. Then back onto Broadway and on to the Empire State Building. We have been to the top in the past, so we were pleased to avoid the long lines waiting to ascend. Frank and Helen had not been before, but wanted to follow the path of King Kong. They chose to buy a fast pass and took advantage of the gorgeous clear day to witness spectacular views of the city.
Here we parted ways as they climbed and we walked ever onwards along the long street that is Broadway. The rest of the way was punctuated with wonderful street fairs and markets which meant we had to slow down and browse and yes, sample some of the delights.
The first we happened upon was a food and drink festival at Madison Square Park; the next, a fresh produce market at Union Square on the edge of Greenwich Village. I did not know that so many varieties of carrots, potatoes, eggplants and pumpkin existed, but there they were - an amazing array of colours and shapes adorning the stalls and attracting the Village people. This square was also full of musicians and chess players and Hare Krishners and political activists, adding colour and noise and the wonderful variety that makes up life.
The next market was quite long. Traffic was blocked off along Broadway for about six blocks and the street was lined with the most fabulous food stalls (corn on the cob, Greek souvlaki and real pita bread like you get in Greece, hotdogs, corncakes with melted mozzarella cheese sandwiched between... you get the picture). Also there were stalls selling everything from cashmere scarves to Apple accessories. We eventually emerged and weary footed by now, plodded on home as the setting sun made another spectacle of light playing on the massive skyscrapers. What a day!
Helen and Frank arrived later having taken a slightly different route down Fifth Avenue. Over dinner (you guessed it ... in another Irish pub) we swapped stories and relived the wonderful wonders of the day.
Day 3 - Frank went toBoston to visit friends and Helen, Reg and I ventured uptown on the subway again. We travelled to the east side of Central Park and enjoyed another leisurely stroll across to the west side to spend time in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Where does one start? We decided to spend our time in the Egyptian wing and the area that housed the Impressionist painters. Breathtaking to say the least. The collection of paintings rivals anything I have seen in any other museum. Before leaving, we found the Three Graces sculpture for Reg (his favourite piece of art work in the world) in the Greek and Roman rooms, so his day was made.
Outside we joined the throngs of people sitting on the stairs enjoying the lovely Sunday sunshine and partook in a hotdog from a street vendor. The hotdog was a bit disappointing (Vancouver hotdogs win hands down), but the setting was great and the street buskers provided great dining music.
Helen and I did some further exploring of the Financial District later in the afternoon and also walked across the Brooklyn Bridge along with thousands of other Sunday afternoon walkers.
Day 4 and we must away to our next stop, Las Vegas. Before heading to the airport we did a spot of shopping at Century 21, a gigantic department store over the road from our hotel. Probably a good thing we didn't venture in any earlier or we would have gone crazy. As the advertising says, prices are up to 60% off 100% of the time. The bargains were amazing, but we knew we only had a suitcase each and so left many a great bargain behind. Just so you know I am not exaggerating, I bought a pair of Sketchers for $30 that I know cost well over $100 at home.
We are now sitting in Terminal 3 at JFK Airport which is the worst airport we have passed through on the trip. And no free wifi either, so this will be posted from Las Vegas. I will probably be richer then and able to afford to pay for wifi.