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S: so we had finally arrived in the Big Apple, I was so excited. Although James had organised everything and I had complete faith in him (well 99% lol)
We landed and made our way to Manhattan where we were staying with a chap called Chickie, via the subway. After a quick freshen up, Chickie treated us to a Japanese dinner that was amazing. We both had broths and we felt like we were back in Asia again - definitely cured the want for a broth.
We made our way to Staten Ferry which is a free ferry that runs from the mainland to Staten Island for workers etc. We boarded the ferry and eventually found a spot by an open window and waited to see the main lady of New York. The Statue of Liberty appeared in all her glory, it really is a fantastic view. So we basically went straight to the island and back again, as we had a very busy schedule to keep to.
J: we then found the famous Charging Bull of Wall Street. A little bird (thanks Debbie) had told me its lucky to kiss its balls. Not shy of a dare, in front of a street full of people, I got down and gave them the kiss they deserved. Sam was telling me she hadn't got a picture yet so my lips were puckered for nigh on a minute. Even the other tourists were taking photos of me.
We then walked down Wall Street, taking in the New York Stock Exchange and even popped into Tiffany's to satisfy Sam's curiosity. While heading to our next destination we quickly stepped into Trinity Church, which was a beautiful church inside and out. Then we made it to the 9/11 memorial where each Tower once stood. In each position the ground has been sunken and a water feature permanently flows into a bottomless centre. All the victims names are written around the edge, it was a slightly erie place to be. Standing in between all the sky scrapers where so much devastation had taken place. I still remember I had skipped a day of college and watching it on the news as it was happening. We found out between the two towers is a tree that survived the devastation, it's called the 'surviving tree,' it's quite amazing to think what it had endured.
S: Bloomingdales was next on the list to go to. It's a massive department store and we had great fun at the perfume counter with a lady that was a laugh and let us try out many of the perfumes. James wanted to visit the Apple Store, which is actually underground and open 24 hours. It's a very large building and full of the latest Apple products. I had explained that I needed a coffee before I entered as I knew we would be in there for hours. Luckily they had the air con set so low James left quite quickly, I was secretly pleased lol. The last place to visit for the day was Times Square, it was full of people and so bright you could easily wear sunglasses, even at night. The amount of TV screens is quite mind blowing, with every type of advertising you could imagine. But it was great to walk down the street at night time taking in all the atmosphere and enjoying life. After a red eye flight and an entire day on our feet, I fell asleep on the subway back to the apartment, New York is going to be a busy one!!
J: we woke up wanting an American breakfast, so we headed towards Times Square. And after deciding against the hour long queue for Stardust cafe and especially as they had finished breakfast, we headed into Applebee's. We had a fantastic breakfast with eggs, bagel, pancakes, unlimited coffee and maple syrup, whilst enjoying the view over Times Square. Next we headed to Madame Tussaud's, I found the wax work models were incredible to look at. A lot of the famous people were shorter than I expected but we did get to go to a 4D cinema experience which fun and made Sam jump.
S: I have watched 'the Cake Boss' on TV for a while before we came travelling and I knew there was a cake shop in New York that I wanted to visit. So after getting through the queues of people I ordered a cannoli and a red velvet cupcake to share excitedly. They were lovely but the decoration on the cakes are much better than the actual taste which was a big disappointment to me, but you have to try these things. We visited Macy's just to have nose really, we couldn't afford anything but it's a great store and certainly caters to every need. We had brought tickets over the internet to go to the 9/11 museum. It was a beautifully laid out museum which is a real tribute to those that have lost their lives and to the service men and women who risked their own to save so many others. It was really well set out, and explained everything from the morning of the devastation, the moment the planes hit the towers and the aftermath. We had downloaded an app to our phones, and they gave us an in depth commentary. It was incredible to see the fire engines pulled out of the rubble and how much they had been destroyed, it's unbelievable to think anyone survived. They had a memory wall with family members speaking about people that had died, and they had personal belongings found in the clear up. They also found notes that had been written from people from the 78th floor and up, urging the emergency services 'not to forget about them, which had been thrown from the windows. It was a really touching museum about an event that I'm sure nobody around the world will ever forget that day.
J: while waiting for the night to come we had an excellent pizza in a lovely little Italian restaurant. Once dark we took Chickie's advise and we headed to cross the Brooklyn Bridge at night to get the view of the city that never sleeps. To begin with we were under the bridge and couldn't work out how to get on top of it, but after asking the many police about we got to the start realising that's were the police station was. The walk over was like being in the movies, the city looked stunning and the bridge was beautiful. We really enjoyed the slow walk over. Then once in Brooklyn we got back on to the subway, and Sam fell asleep..... I decided to take her home as the city had clearly got the best of her.
S: the next morning we went to breakfast with Chickie who knew the best breakfast spots and we enjoyed an almond flavoured croissant filled with Nutella and fresh strawberries. Empire State Building was next on the agenda, we had actually brought express tickets which we thought would just get you past the first 2 hour queue, but in fact it was like being famous and we skipped every queue in the tour. We got to the 80th floor and began our educational journey through the rise of the Empire State Building. It was actually built in less than a year and the total building cost of $635 million in today's dollars. We finally made it to the observation deck at the 86th floor and the view of New York City was truly magnificent! We could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance, the Chrysler building and Central Park. It's was great to see the high view of the city and get context to where things where and the size of the city. At the bottom of the Empire State Building we found a gem of pub/brewery/steakhouse. James was in heaven and ordered a beer sampling platter, and to match it we ordered a mans sized portion of ribs to share, they were the best ribs we've ever tried; New York is not good for the diet!
J: finally it was time for something I booked months ago and was always on my bucket list; we headed to a Yankee's games at the home stadium! We got there early and after a visit to the shop and the bar we sat down in our bleachers seat. This is the area that the louder fans sit, it had a fantastic atmosphere and we made friends with the guys around us who helpfully explained the game to us, we did the really classic thing of a hotdog and plenty of beers which seamed the normal thing to do. The Yankees won and the fans made the experience unforgettable. It was a game that I wish never had an end as we were having so much fun.
The next morning we headed off to pick up a rental car for our last road trip, it was the cheapest way to get about. I just made the cheapest booking but when we got to the rental agency we only managed to blag a Dodge Charger, It was a free $500 upgrade! We were both like a pair of kids in an icon muscle car driving away.
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