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USA 2016
You either love New York, or you hate it. For those who have visited they always know which category they fall into. Peter and I have both visited New York previously, but not together, so there was no way we were going to bypass on this trip. As we have found with most large cities, we camped out of the city. There was an option to camp at Liberty Park within eye's view of the Statue of Liberty but we chose to bypass. We arrived in the outskirts of New York about 4.30 pm on Friday afternoon and the lady at the camp office could only offer us a "dry site". No, this has nothing to do with alcohol! It means that you are given a patch of asphalt, no water or electricity hook-up and certainly no sewer hook-up but you were able to stay in your RV close to down town New York. This patch of asphalt came to nearly $100 a night which when you compare to hotel prices in the city I guess isn't too bad. Yes, there were bathroom facilities but a walk away. A hotel, even at a significantly higher cost, suddenly became appealing and I didn't need to suffer the stress of Peter having to drive in the city traffic with a caravan behind. Let me say, he wasn't bothered about that at all and he is certainly well experienced driving in bumper to bumper traffic on the freeways having to change lanes often, following first one exit to a roundabout and then the next all at speed. Quite hair raising let me tell you. (For Gill not me!!!) So we booked into a camp on the outskirts of the city, had a relaxing day on Saturday and took the train into the city early Sunday morning. Soon we were wandering up 7th Avenue towards Times Square and our hotel. The hum of the city was all around us, the yellow taxis everywhere. We all know the stock standard sights of New York. We had a short list that we wanted to visit just to confirm we were in the Big Apple. First on the list was to queue at the Times Square discount show tickets booth. The queue only took an hour and then it was choice time. Being Sunday night we only had a choice of five shows - for me the decision was between 'Chicago' and 'On the Town' and 'On the Town' won out. What do a lot of locals do on a sunny Sunday afternoon - we joined them walking, as they rode bikes, skated, etc in Central Park. There were street sellers hawking the sales of hop on, hop off bus trips, hire bicycles, horse and buggy rides, bikes with buggies, and any other way they could get your money. It was hot, and there were crowds everywhere. We especially enjoyed watching some of the street theatre artists - they are so clever. Dinner and a show was on the plan for Sunday night so back along 7th Avenue, past the crowds in Times Square. The theatre was packed, and the show being a musical was just what you would expect - beautiful costumes, amazing dancing, excellent voices and a story line that could be followed. We really enjoyed it, but both felt it wasn't the best musical we had seen. If we could choose again, it would be Chicago! After the show Times Square was packed with people, so we joined them to savour the atmosphere, drink coffee, eat New York cheesecake, people watch, enjoy the street theatre, watch the ever changing neon lights, and generally enjoy the warm evening. It was wonderful. For me, one of my favourite things about New York are the bagels. So Monday morning, with no tea and coffee facilities in the room, I went for coffee and bagels from the food truck parked around the corner. I just knew it would be there - they always are. They were the nicest bagels I have had for ages - if I am in New York again I will have the same breakfast again. Again, when in New York do what the locals do. We caught the subway. Let me tell you this can be confusing, Peter finds it more confusing than driving. When checking signage it says "uptown" or "downtown" or even "midtown". I had no idea which we were going to - to me they were all similar. So I asked the attendant, and of course she offered the same solutions. So I pretended I knew what she was meaning, except she said something about 'R' or was it 'arr' but I did understand to go down the stairs on the right! A train was just pulling in so on we got on. Nothing on our train said Staten Island or ferry terminal so recheck and found we were on a "Q" train so needed to get off, transfer to a "R" train and all was good. We reached the ferry terminal. So like everything in New York, there were crowds waiting for the ferry but on we went and sailing across the harbour we had beautiful views of the Statue of Liberty. In the distance we could see all the queues of people waiting to climb the statue. The views of Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge, Ellis Island (the way station for immigrants from 1802 to 1954) and Governors Island (which was originally the Army and Coast Guard base) also were wonderful, and by doing the return trip we could see them all again. Next we walked to the famous Wall Street - it was around lunch time and the financial area workers were all streaming out of the offices for their lunch break. The stock exchange stands majestically for all to see. Of course, the 911 memorial is now an important visit for most visitors to New York. It is easy to find, within walking distance of the ferry and Wall Street, and has a serenity all of it's own. Even though there were crowds of people, everyone was respectfully reading the names of the victims, perhaps thinking back to where they were at the time of the bombing, checking out the one surviving "pear tree" which was nursed back to life when found in the wreckage of Ground Zero, quietly looking at the two pools which have been set in the footprints of the original Twin Towers, watching the thirty-foot waterfalls as they descend into the centre void. It was very moving. There were queues for the memorial museum but these were three hours long and we didn't have that time. The One World Observatory is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and stands elegantly overlooking the memorial pools. It is possible to ride in sky pod elevators to the top of the building in less than sixty seconds but we chose not too. Another adventure on the subway and we collected our bag from the hotel and joined the queue for a mid afternoon lunch/early dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner in Broadway. You haven't experienced New York until you have been to this restaurant. A special thank you to our friend, Julia, for the heads up! This is a 50's themed diner on Broadway with an extensive menu of American classics. What makes it extra special is that all the waiting staff sing to entertain the diners. The staff are auditioned for their ability to sing, act and dance and use their experience at the diner as a stepping stone towards roles on Broadway. The diner was packed, the entertainment exceptional and the bucket was handed around for tips as well as the usual 20% expectation to the meal charge but this was insignificant when compared to the cost of a show and we enjoyed this "live show" for about two and a half hours. It was a wonderful end to our two day stay in New York.
- comments
Julia Love Gill n the fat suit! Glad you enjoyed Ellen’s.
gill.peterhosie Thanks Julia - just as well the size is not reality. Ellen’s is certainly popular.