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Day 67 New York - Saturday
NB - Bring up Google maps so you can follow the days zig zagging of city streets.
After a late night we did not wake as early as intended. Though once out on the streets we certainly covered a great deal over the course of the day.
Heading eastward on West 15th Street we reached some market stalls in Union Square. Strolling through the markets we also made a quick detour into Trader Joe's Wine shop to check out the cost of beverages sold at his establishment (we would return later to make our purchases).
Now heading north along Broadway we reached Madison Square Park (not to be confused with the Garden). Here we discovered a dog park so Margaret got to watch the dogs at play. Being a Saturday morning there were lots of folks out enjoying the sunny day. There was a couple of entertainers putting on a show for children.
At this point we started to follow 5th Avenue, taking us past the Empire State building and on to the New York Public library. We went inside the libraryto check out the recently reopened Rose Reading Room. The timber panelling adorning the walls and ceiling along with the ceilings artwork are truly magnificent. I assume those individuals who go there to study have learnt to block out all the tourists coming in to view the room.
On exiting the library in 5th Avenue we came to the corner with 42nd street. Crossing Madison and Park Avenues we came to the Chrysler building. Unfortunately, the exterior was being cleaned (we were to find a number of buildings undergoing this type of work) so we could not see the lower floors for scaffolding. The lobby which is normally open to the public was also closed so we only saw this area from a few feet inside the entrance. The three elevators we saw all had doors adorned with artwork.
Walking back up 42nd St we past Grand Central station where we saw a shoe shine man in action with clients on the raised seat having their shoes polished. Continuing on up to 6th Ave and then heading down to 50th street (are you with us so far?) we passed Radio City Music Hall on the left and the Rockefeller Centre on our right. As we had tickets for the Empire State Building we decided not to worry about tickets to take us to the observation desk of Rockefeller building know as Top of the Rock. They were also doing work on the skating rink in the plaza at Rockefeller Plaza as we walked passed.
Once again back on 5th Ave we found ourselves at St Patricks Cathedral. Although according to the noticeboard there was no Mass scheduled when we went to go in we discovered Mass in progress so we headed back down the Avenue.
Next building of note was Trump Tower. We count ourselves fortunate the man was not around. Another two street blocks and we had reached Central Park. Before beginning our explorations of the park we stopped at a local Starbucks for a coffee. We were starting to get use to their coffee plus they offer free wifi.
At the park's entrance we discovered an information booth and the elderly gent manning the booth was both friendly and helpful. He marked the main things we should see if walking (all of which we had identified in our research) and told us the distances. We were impressed when he spoke in kilometres. His reply to our comment about this was that so many visitors come from parts of the world that use metric, it only makes sense for him to know metric. He also believed the US should adopt the metric system. (Fun Fact - there are only three countries that still use the imperial system - Liberia, Myanmar and USA)
Heading up the centre of the park we passed Chess and Checkers House. There are table provided where you can play games borrowed at the building eg chess and checkers. Walking further through the park, we pasted the Dairy Visitor Centre which was once a dairy within the park. This dairy provided milk and a farm experience to the city children. We moved further up the Mall to the first set of "things to see." We arrived at Bethseda Terrace and Fountain which adjoins the Lake where row boats can be hired from the Boathouse to go rowing on the lake. Still in this area we found Bow Bridge which crosses the lake at a narrow point.
Walking more to the west side of the park we arrived at Strawberry Fields named in honour of John Lennon. This part of the park is close to the apartment building where John was shot and Yoko still lives there today. A guitarist had taken up temporary residence near the mosaic singing some of the Beetle's songs. Some of the tourists joined in the singing. It was a profitable afternoon for the guitarist as he was financially rewarded for his emotional appeal.
Making our way further north in the park we came to Belvedere Castle and then onto the Great Lawn. At this point it was getting late so we headed back down along the eastern side of the park. This took us past the statue dedicated to characters from Alice in Wonderland and also the model sailing boat pond. Children and some adults were crawling over the statue so it was difficult to photograph all the characters in the statue. The model sailing boats were keeping both children and adults entertained. There was a light wind which allowed some of the more skilled enthusiasts to sail the boats around the pond.
We then made our way back down 5th Avenue until we reached 15th Street. After a bit of dinner and a rest we rugged up to head back out to see the city sights and lights from the top of the Empire State Building. Great views and we were lucky enough to have a beautiful clear (if chilly breeze) night.
By the time we got home and to bed around 2am we had walked 30km during the day. It was a long day!
PS we also visited the 3 storey M&M store in Time Square. Hint do not do this on a weekend when it is filled with parents and their children.
As people take their dogs for walks in the evenings they call into bottle shops. It is really funny to watch the dogs eagerly approach the counter and either sit obediently in anticipation or jump up in anticipation……. They have containers with dog treats and the dogs know this from what we can only assume is regular patronage.
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