May 21, 2013 - NY day 4 Downtown

Today we explored the Downtown area. We began with the 9/11 memorial, which was an ordeal to get to because of the huge numbers of other tourists, but surprisingly respectful and understated - not a single American flag in sight. We saw the nearly completed Freedom Tower last night on the cruise, but it was good to see close up. It will have an observation deck and be the latest tallest building in the city. A short walk took us to Wall Street and the US Stock Exchange. Unfortunately a great part of the beautiful facade was covered by a...

May 20, 2013 - NY day 3 Greenwich Village & Flatiron district

The weather forecast for the week was grim, with Monday being the best day, so we tried to pack many outdoor activities in today. As it turned out, it was a beautiful day, a bit misty at first, but warm and sunny by mid morning. Not a thundery shower in sight. We began with beautiful Greenwich Village. It is a very genteel, orderly area very different from chaotic Midtown. Washington Square Park is lovely, and the huge numbers of squirrels are fun to watch. We found another gourmet supermarket. It is certainly possible to eat well here. The...

May 19, 2013 - New York day 2

Our luck with the fine weather had to end sometime, and today was the day. It did not stop all day, making the crowded streets even harder to navigate with the umbrellas. We started at MOMA, the Museum Of Modern Art. We arrived early hoping to beat the crowd, but so did the crowd. Thanks for the tip to buy a New York Pass, Amy. We got to skip the queue. As with most modern art, some was good, most was beyond us. We saw some Monet waterlilies that brought back memories of Paris. We caught a train to Grand Central Station, which lived up to...

May 18, 2013 - David's birthday and Ground Zero

Its David's birthday today and a Happy Birthday to my lovely husband. The weather has turned a bit dismal as we made our way to Ground Zero at the World Trade Centre site. Sort of goes along with the mood you have when you visit the Visitor Centre. There was a huge wait to get into the grounds of Ground Zero and see the official Memorial waterfalls so we gave that a miss and had some soup at a local diner. (Not a bit like the Brooklyn Diner in Times Square). Plastic bowls and cardboard cups and lots of noise. We walked along to St. Paul's...

May 18, 2013 - New York day 1

Well, after an interesting arrival, here we are in New York city. Our apartment is in the Garment District. Today we just wandered soaking up the atmosphere. We walked to Bryant Park, a small oasis in a large urban jungle, past the grand New York Library that we intend to tour tomorrow, through maniacal Times Square, even at midday, and onto the Ninth Street Food Festival. This was mostly street food, not too much gourmet stuff to be had. Kevin had his first New York hot dog. We walked up to Central Park along 59th Street and down 5th...

May 17, 2013 - Cruising around Manhattan

Today is the warmest day so far and we went early to Circle Pier to book for a cruise around New York. We took the full Island cruise which is two and a half hours. We all enjoyed it and saw all the sights. Ground Zero, The Statue of Liberty, the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges and many more bridges along the way, hearing some of the history of New York and the people who've come and gone. Also seeing the site where the plane hit by Canada geese and disabled landed on the Hudson River with no loss of life. An amazing feat. We went back to...

May 16, 2013 - Central Park

After a leisurely breakfast we went with mum and dad to Central Park. Its very nice and warm today and we took a horse and carriage ride around the park. It was very relaxing and we all enjoyed it. The park is very big and so lovely in the springtime. Lots of famous people live in the streets bordering Central Park and the driver pointed them all out. We got off near the Plaza Hotel made famous by Crocodile Dundee and other movies. After a visit to the Apple Store we went into the huge toy store next door to look at the amazing toys and...

May 15, 2013 - Mum & dad arrive in New York

After resting and getting supplies we went to the airport to meet mum and dad arriving from Canada. It's great to see them again since last year. The taxi ride took a long time as we hit peak hour but we finally got back to the apartment in Times Square. We went around the corner to The Brooklyn Diner which is a really nice restaurant, and had fish and chips American style, with a really big serve which we polished off pretty well since we were all hungry. Afterwards walking through Times Square was amazing. So many people. Mum and dad...

May 14, 2013 - Up, up and away!

4.45 am Ahrgh!! So early but must catch the 7.30 am flight to New York via Sydney and LA. every Melburnian will tell you they hate flying to Sydney before a long overseas flight. 14 hours to LA. Slowly, slowly through US customs at LA airport. (Never thought we'd get out!). And catching the 10 a.m. flight to New York. Arriving about 5.10 p.m. It's so good to be on the ground again.

May 10, 2013 - Leaving NYC

Our last day in NYC today. We meandered around today - see Kev's notes- and ended up at the "Cold Stone Creamery" tasty ice creams where they smash flavours together ie vanilla ice cream,caramel sauce,roasted almonds and bananas..Kev originally found the shop near Times Square ( when he was actually lost )then couldnt find it again , and I accidently found it again - really great flavours etc I am sure the idea ( or franchise) will take off in Oz soon enough! We have been back 3 or 4 times so are clearly working on expanding our girths to...

May 10, 2013 - Bose @Gringotts

We came across this really cool store: B &H. Not smokes but the largest electronic store in the world. They make half their income from retail and half from sales to the corporate and entertainment world. Impressive, but unremarkable. Remarkable is the customer experience. This massive store is staffed by Orthodox Jews. All skull caps, flowing beards and long twirly hairy bits at their sides. These guys are warm, informative and quirky as.... Hell (!). To top it off, after you select your purchase, they put into a uniform large green box,...

May 8, 2013 - Fabric Heaven

Day 6 in New York OMG ! Still feels awesome / surreal to actually be here- as I wander along I need to pinch myself .... --you can take the girl out of the bush , but you cant take the bush out of the girl! NYC: Such a Big place : Big skyscrapers, Big Sights, Big people... As much as I am enjoying the experience here I also feel a wonderful new appreciation for small, quiet( relatively) , simple ( lifestyle of ) Perth. We have been blessed with sunny , beautiful weather and have been really busy doing all the sights: did the boat trip...