It was a tough journey to the Big Apple. We set off from our London apartment at
9:45AM Sunday morning and arrived at our New York Hotel at (London time) 5:00AM
the next morning. A couple of us without
a wink of sleep. It was midnight New
York time, which meant we still had a good amount of time to get a bit of sleep
in before daybreak. Driving into the
city at that time I was struck by the truth of the words ‘the city that never
sleeps’. Our hotel was at the corner of
7th and 31st – opposite Penn Station and what a spot it
was. A short walk north to Times Square,
East two blocks to The Empire State Building, a couple of blocks south to the
Flatiron Building and an easy subway ride south to Greenwich and Downtown.
Despite having the luxury of a subway at our door we did a LOT of walking – it’s the best way to see NYC. To walk amongst the hustle and bustle, listening to the talk on the street (sometimes colourful, sometimes sad, always interesting) and watching the traffic pass you by. All the while gazing upwards to the city – it all seems to be in the sky!
Like all big cities you could spend a year and not see everything you want to, and you leave with things on your list for next time. I feel like we did New York justice for the girls, there are definitely still a lot of things on my list for next time! I wonder when that will be?
For this visit we ticked off Times Square, Rockafella Center, St Patricks Cathedral, Central Park (the girls even ice skated in Central Park), The Empire State Building, Flatiron Building (more scaffold), the high line (the girls did this with Mum and Dad – when we went back to do it all together it was closed due to high wind ☹), Chelsea Market, Greenwich Village, Washington Square, Friends Apartment block, Sex and City apartment, New York State Library, 9/11 memorial site, Battery Park, Staten Island Ferry, Brooklyn Bridge and all the bits in between.
We lost a bit of time doing The Empire State Building twice. Our first attempt was on our first day, from the time we left street level to the time we got to level 86 the fog had completely covered the viewing platform – we couldn’t even see as far as either of the rivers or Central Park. I was SO disappointed that as we left I asked if there was any chance of being able to re-visit when the weather clears up. I was directed to see the manager and sure enough with the passing over of his business card, our second visit (at a time of our choice) was secured! Win! So we waited a few days and made the ‘climb’ just after sunrise and it was well worth the effort – the girls couldn’t believe what they’d missed out on the first time.
We also lost an afternoon when we ‘by accident’ found ourselves with tickets to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon – wwwhhhhooooohhhhhh! We booked some last minute tickets, online, to a special segment taping during the afternoon. We arrived to find the filming had been cancelled – as compensation we were offered tickets to the full show! WOW – two wins in two days. Thank goodness for the babysitters. The show was awesome – we didn’t know any of the guests, but that didn’t matter. Jimmy Fallon is such a great host and seems to be a genuine guy – he stood in amongst the audience during one of the breaks chatting and answering questions. If just being at the show wasn’t enough at the end I high fived with JF ….. and she never washed her hand again!
Mum and Dad celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary while we were in New York – what better way to celebrate. We had drinks at The View, the Marriott Hotel’s revolving restaurant on the 48th floor on Times Square. Then for dinner at a pub – a super fun night. 12 months to organise the 50th!
We also managed to squeeze in a Broadway show and The Knicks basketball. Andrew went to the basketball and Mum, the girls and I went to The Lion King.
Despite having the luxury of a subway at our door we did a LOT of walking – it’s the best way to see NYC. To walk amongst the hustle and bustle, listening to the talk on the street (sometimes colourful, sometimes sad, always interesting) and watching the traffic pass you by. All the while gazing upwards to the city – it all seems to be in the sky!
Like all big cities you could spend a year and not see everything you want to, and you leave with things on your list for next time. I feel like we did New York justice for the girls, there are definitely still a lot of things on my list for next time! I wonder when that will be?
For this visit we ticked off Times Square, Rockafella Center, St Patricks Cathedral, Central Park (the girls even ice skated in Central Park), The Empire State Building, Flatiron Building (more scaffold), the high line (the girls did this with Mum and Dad – when we went back to do it all together it was closed due to high wind ☹), Chelsea Market, Greenwich Village, Washington Square, Friends Apartment block, Sex and City apartment, New York State Library, 9/11 memorial site, Battery Park, Staten Island Ferry, Brooklyn Bridge and all the bits in between.
We lost a bit of time doing The Empire State Building twice. Our first attempt was on our first day, from the time we left street level to the time we got to level 86 the fog had completely covered the viewing platform – we couldn’t even see as far as either of the rivers or Central Park. I was SO disappointed that as we left I asked if there was any chance of being able to re-visit when the weather clears up. I was directed to see the manager and sure enough with the passing over of his business card, our second visit (at a time of our choice) was secured! Win! So we waited a few days and made the ‘climb’ just after sunrise and it was well worth the effort – the girls couldn’t believe what they’d missed out on the first time.
We also lost an afternoon when we ‘by accident’ found ourselves with tickets to The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon – wwwhhhhooooohhhhhh! We booked some last minute tickets, online, to a special segment taping during the afternoon. We arrived to find the filming had been cancelled – as compensation we were offered tickets to the full show! WOW – two wins in two days. Thank goodness for the babysitters. The show was awesome – we didn’t know any of the guests, but that didn’t matter. Jimmy Fallon is such a great host and seems to be a genuine guy – he stood in amongst the audience during one of the breaks chatting and answering questions. If just being at the show wasn’t enough at the end I high fived with JF ….. and she never washed her hand again!
Mum and Dad celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary while we were in New York – what better way to celebrate. We had drinks at The View, the Marriott Hotel’s revolving restaurant on the 48th floor on Times Square. Then for dinner at a pub – a super fun night. 12 months to organise the 50th!
We also managed to squeeze in a Broadway show and The Knicks basketball. Andrew went to the basketball and Mum, the girls and I went to The Lion King.
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