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After we reached Times Square the other day we ended up getting repeatedly sidetracked and failed miserably in our quest to reach the green lady. It's understandable really; the Toys R Us in Times Square has a frigging full size ferris wheel in it and the M&Ms store has huuuge tubes that reach from the floor to the ceiling and are filled with every colour M&M you can imagine.
Then as we started to make some headway it started raining - not just drizzling like it does back home but really chucking it down. It wasn't helped by the fact that workers kept sweeping deep puddles of rain off the roofs of buildings and onto the heads of unsuspecting pedestrians below.
So we took refuge in Grand Central Station, which is beautiful and just like it is in the films. We paid something ridiculous like $11 each for a jacket potato with grease then headed home via the Chrysler building. The crazy thing about NYC is that there are so many skyscrapers that you genuinely don't realise you're at a landmark unless you look up - we walked past the Empire State earlier and didn't even notice.
Yesterday we started off in Central Park with all of New York's dog walkers and hardcore fitness fanatics cycling/running whilst yapping into their mobiles. One man was even telling whoever he was talking to that he was a 'walkie talkie' cos he does a 'whole lotta walking and a whole lotta talking', which summed it up really.
Got lost looking for Belvedere Castle but eventually found a smallish lookout tower after about an hour going round in circles. It emerged that this WAS Belvedere Castle. The tour guide there admitted that it was a 'fake castle for the tourists'!! They should have put that on the park map; it would've saved us a helluva lot of time searching for it. Afterwards we spent some time sunbathing and just chilling in the park's Strawberry Fields.
In the afternoon we visited a flea market on Broadway that ran all the way from Columbus Circle to the top of 47th Street then went to a free brewery tour at Chelsea Brewing Company. The free tours run every Saturday from 2-6pm and last about half an hour; they tell you how beer is made and let you taste some of their brew.
In the evening we went to the Rockefeller Centre's observation deck, 67 floors up. You can book tickets in advance to avoid waiting in line so we booked them for around 30 minutes before sunset meaning that we got to see the skyline in the light, at night AND watch the sunset. We thought this was pretty smart of us but we weren't alone in our ingenuity; we walked round once then grabbed a good spot in front of the sunset and just refused to move. Soon it was five deep behind us. Jak didn't know whether to be angry or flattered that people were treating him as a human tripod and balancing cameras on his head.
Despite the crowds I would definitely recommend the Rockefeller Centre: you can see for miles and (unlike on the Empire State) you can actually see Central Park and the Empire State Building from the observation deck. Plus they have nifty flashing lights in their elevators...what more could you want?
We both have blisters on our feet and sunburn. We're not just being wimps though - we walked so much that the sole of my left sandal split clean in two :-(
- comments
Lindsay It feels like I'm there! Love it, and love you, and miss you!
sally Wow! It all sounds amazing...I love reading all your news, you don't seem so far away when I can picture what you've been up to. Sounds like you are having a great time...shame bout the sandals...were they cheep Primani ones?! Hope you taking lots of pictures...keep us updated...I keep checking you Itinery and trying to keep track of what you are up to...Love you lots and missing you loads...xxxxxxxx