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We decided to drop off our car early, as the parking fees in Manhattan were so high, so we took it to JFK and then took the Airtrain and then Subway to Times Square.This was a lot easier than we thought it would be, even with all our luggage, in the rain, and it was much cheaper than taking a taxi.Now, you may be wondering how on our backpacking budget we managed to find a hotel on Times Square - well the truth is we didn't.My brother, Andy, booked us into the Crowne Plaza on Times Square for our final 3 nights, and the room and view were fabulous!We got up to the 24th floor and looked out onto Times Square and down Broadway.We had quite a lot of rain in our first couple of days, so it was great to be able to sit up here in the dry and watch everything happening down below.
Later that afternoon, we took a walk along the few blocks around our area, just taking in the atmosphere and looking up at the towering buildings.We walked down to Madison Square Gardens and went into a few shops, including the Hershey's store and M & M's store.It's amazing how much tat you can at the M & M's store and how many different varieties of a few chocolates you can buy at the Hershey's store - of course Graham bought some chocolate!We also stood for a while watching one of the screens which projects the image of the street up every so often, so got a picture of ourselves up on screen.
The next day we had lots of rain, so we bought an umbrella and set off walking to the NY public library, as it was not too far from our hotel.Still, by the time we got there we were soaked through, but the library was fantastic - such an amazing building, and a small museum/display inside about its history.Now those of you Sex And The City fans will be presuming that I wanted to visit it because of the movie, but it was actually Graham's idea, and he's never seen the movie (or so he says!)We then walked to Grand Central Train Station, which is again a very impressive building inside.There was also a small exhibition over from Ireland, including a section about the Titanic, so we had a quick look at this.We then walked to the base of the Chrysler Building to get photo's, and were considering going back to the hotel to dry off, but the rain started to ease off.So, we decided to walk to the Brooklyn Bridge.The problem was that our map did not go down as far as it, but we just thought we would head south and eventually find it.Well, it took a couple of hours, and we first found East Village, China Town, the Court House and the UN building, but eventually we made it.It was great to see the other places on the way too.East Village seemed very relaxed and full of nice coffee shops, and China Town was huge.We then walked a little way over Brooklyn Bridge and then decided to take the subway back home - we were so tired!That evening we took a walk out into Times Square, so we could see it at night from the ground.The evening was really nice, so we got some take away, and sat in Times Square to eat it.
The next morning we knew the weather would be good, so we got up early to do all the things we had missed out on the day before due to the weather.So, we started at the Rockerfeller Centre.We paid $21 each to go up the tower, and the view was fantastic.We had been advised to do this, as you then get to view the Empire State Building, plus it's cheaper and less crowded than the Empire State.We spent a while up there, getting our bearings and taking hundreds of photos, and then we took the subway to Whitehall to get the ferry to Staten Island.The ferry journey is about 30 minutes long and is free, and it takes you straight past the Statue of Liberty.We managed to get to the front of the boat both ways, (10 weeks in India taught us how to get to the front in a crowd!) so got great views of the statue and of Manhattan on the way back.
We then walked up to the financial district and saw Wall Street and Ground Zero.It was so packed with tourists here, and there was much construction work going on as they are building a museum there.There has been much controversy about this, but considering the crowds of tourists there to see the site, there must be a demand for it.Next we took the subway up to Central Park and took a short walk in the south of the park and found somewhere to sit and watch some kids playing softball.The park is so huge, which is great as it must be prime real estate.We then walked back to our hotel, for a well deserved rest.
That evening we went down into Times Square to get some food, and I decided to check out how much theatre tickets were, as there was no queue at the ticket office.They had some 40% discount tickets for 'Avenue Q' on the 5th row from the front, so we decided to take them and hurried off to the theatre.We were still in the clothes we had been wearing all day, and in our flip flops, but it was too late to change.The production was at the New World Theatre, just off Broadway on 50th street and 8th/9th Avenue, and it was fantastic.I had not seen it before, but knew some of the songs, and it was great to see them in context and done by such amazing performers.It was so funny, and Graham enjoyed it too, so we were pleased we had made the last minute decision to go.It was still expensive, but how many times are we going to get to see a Broadway show - that was my convincing argument to Graham anyway!
So, it's our final morning.This afternoon we shall take the subway and Airtrain back to JFK ready for our evening flight back to London.
Maggie x
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Kelly Kang I left some coments but suddenly my computer shut down..ㅡ.ㅡ' After reading your story... I thought about my last abroad trip. I regret that I didn't write my journey story....like you And I will visit those places you mentioned above in U.S.A