The countdown begins!

The hotel is booked, the flights are booked, and we're just waiting on the Cyclones' tickets going on sale... can't wait to go back!

The Last Farewell - almost!

Last full day in the city,so we wandered north a little, checked out a couple of craft shops I wanted a look at, and ended up having lunch in the Parker Meridien, a very posh hotel on 56th Street.

We weren't quite as out of place as you might think, because behind this curtain,
lies one of New York's best kept secrets!

A small room, about 15 foot squared holds an old fashioned, down and dirty burger joint that would look more at home in a roadside motel! Oh, but the food's good!

Had a wander round the bottom end of Central Park. Some day, we'll spend a day or two exploring all of it, but not today! Next stop was FAO Schwartz. Little bit disappointed, as they didn't have nearly as many collectable dolls as last year - but they did still have the baby dolls that creep Chris out! You can also make your own muppet, but as they come in at $100+, we decided not to. They didn't look as good as they do on the website, either.

Back to the hotel to pack, via drinks at Trump Tower!

This evening, we headed back to Coney to watch the Cyclones again, this time beating the Williamsberg Crosscutters. :) I could make a habit of this!

We're now almost packed and ready to come home. Check out tomorrow is 11am, so we'll mooch about a bit, before heading to JFK at tea time. Flight is DL154, leaving JFK at 10pm, arriving Manchester 10.10am the next morning.

I don't expect to get a chance to update this from the airport, although you never know, so we'll see y'all when we get back to good old Blighty!
Today's pics here.

Confessions of a shopaholic

Did a fair bit of shopping today - down to Century 21, where this week's stock seemed a bit better than last! Up to 34th St next, wandered round Borders and then clothes shopping along 34th and past Macy's.

Since we couldn't agree on a Broadway Show to see, we decided to go to the cinema tonight, and saw Ice Age in 3d. Techniques have improved since the days of red and green lenses, although you do still need glasses. No Oscars, but a good way to pass an hour or two! Afterwards, we wandered along 42nd street, as far as Grand Central Terminal. That place is massive, you could easily get lost in it. It also appears to have a patrol of national guards! It was a pleasant evening for a wander though.

Tomorrow is our last full day, I can't believe how fast it's gone! Tie up a few loose ends, finish off any shopping, then pack for Thurday, I guess.

No pics today, I'm afraid!

An Intrepid Adventure

Chris's choice today, so we were back down to the Hudson and the piers again, this time to visit the USS Intrepid, which is now the Museum of Air, Sea and Space. We missed a couple of bits that Chris couldn't access with his stick - watching one kid take a tumble down one of the near-vertical ladders was enough to make us appreciate our limitations! (The kid was ok, and got his just desserts for messing on the stairs!)

The place is huge, and a big kid's dream! More planes than you'd know what to do with! The biggest of the lot is parked on the pier beside the aircraft carrier - Concorde. It's surprising how small it is inside.

We skipped the USS Growler - they have a porthole you need to get through to be able to go on the tour - and neither of us were game for climbing through holes 18 inches off the ground!

Headed over to the East Side for lunch and some shopping. We found an O'Neill's bar on Third Avenue, which does great burgers!

Came back to the hotel to grop off the shopping, and grab a siesta - oooh, foot soak! This evening, we mooched round some of the touristy shops on Times Square, and indulged in a bit more people watching. The atmosphere's great round there, really chilled out! We keep talking about going to a Broadway Show, but we can't actually agree on one we both want to see!

Today's pics are here.

Let's go round again...

Back down to Pier 83 and the Circle Line today, this time for the 3 hour cruise right round the island. First half was very similar to the Harbour lights tour, but once we got past the Queesnboro Bridge, we saw parts of the island that you wouldn't necessarily recognise as Manhattan. Round the north of the island is very hilly and wooded, as opposed to the urban jungle downtown! A lot of the undeveloped land up there, and the New Jersey Palisades on the opposite shore, were donated to the city by JD Rockefeller, to preserve them as parkland.

Dinner was back to Lindy's for the best steaks we've ever had. And, of course, cheesecake! What can I say!

Evening was spent wandering round Rockefeller Plaza again, and watching a rather unusual spectacle - Manhattanhenge. The city grid is off true north/south by about 30 degrees, so a few weeks before and after the equinoxes, the sun sets right along the streets. A blinding spectacle! ;)

Today's pics are here.

From Top to bottom!

We covered a lot of Manhattan today!

Met up with friends, Tug and Paul, outside Sylvia's in Harlem, where we had some good ole soulfood for lunch. Some of the best chicken I've ever had!

Next, we had a wander round Harlem, past the Apollo Theatre, and on to Morningside Park. Harlem seems like a separate place to the rest of Manhattan, it has a very different feel to it. The buildings seem lower, the streets seem wider and the infamous grid system isn't quite as prevalent. The street vendors' stock reflects the differences, too. Loads of incense and home stuff, fewer pictures of the Empire State Building, CDs and DVDs, rather than handbags! It feels like a place people live, rather than go to.

Next, we hopped on the subway, right to the other end of the city, down to West 4th Street and Washington Square park, where we mooched about and watched the numerous buskers. Among the best were Castle Critters - hand-puppets lipsync-ing along to easy listening, and Tic and Tac, two performance artists with some fantastic banter, who finish with a leap over 5 audience members!

After than, we headed back up to Midtown, and Times Square, where we took advantage of the deck chairs on Broadway for some more people watching.

After we said goodbye and went our separate ways, we chilled for a while and wandered round the shops at Rockerfella Plaza, before grabbing some dinner and heading home.

Tomorrow will definitely be a chill out day!


Todays Pics here.

Water Wonderful World

Headed back down to Coney Island today. Imagine Skegness with sun and sand! Wandered along the boardwalk, ate hotdogs at Nathan's, and wandered through the shows. Ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you, the freak show is alive and well in Coney Island. From Snake-girls, to headless women, from the smallest lady to the biggest rat, they're all on show! We didn't stop and see any of them though!

We did stop at the Aquarium, to go and visit the walruses again!

The evening was a lazy evening, spent people watching on Times Square, followed by a walk past last year's hotel. It's amazing what's changed! Scaffolding's come down, scaffolding's gone up, and a whole building has disappeared. Nice, quiet, lazy evening!



Today's pics here.