I have been back from my long holiday for three weeks and it is time to wrap up my posts about it. After Rhode Island we got on a train to NYC. As with our Canadian train journey we travelled business class, but on Amtrak that was not as special. The Canadians gave us a nice meal and drinks, but on this train we got nothing apart from bigger seats. Neither of these trains was very quick. They just seemed to amble along compared to our mainline UK trains and as for Eurostar that does 180mph this is a snail's pace. The views were nice anyway.
We stayed in a hotel full of tourists close to Times Square. Compared to other places we visited NYC was noisy, crowded and a little dirty.
On our first evening we took a walk. We passed the Intrepid aircraft carrier that is also a museum. I did not go on it, but my daughter did. I would have liked to have seen their Space Shuttle. Dinner was nice burgers at the P.S. Kitchen vegan restaurant. My daughter had been seeking out good places to eat. After that the wife and I wandered and found ourselves by Macy's and got a ridiculous ice cream. That was one of several places we saw some rats. They are everywhere.
The next day we took a walk along the High Line which is a park on what used to be the elevated railway. We used the open top hop-on-off bus to get around to get an overview of what was around. We made use of the Go City Pass that lets you pre-pay for a number of attractions. It works out a fair bit cheaper than paying for each of them.
As part of our general stalking of David Bowie we wandered past the building where he used to live, but there is nothing to see. There was a Japanese street market where we got some nice food.
New York is full of famous film locations. We sought out a certain fire station used by the Ghostbusters. There were some flashing lights inside that we assumed were part of the attraction, but then an actual fire engine came out, so it is still in use.
Last time I was in town it was not too long after the 9/11 tragedy. Now there is a monument and a new tower. We did not go in the museum, but we did pop into the new mall, but is impressive. That could be used for a science fiction movie.
Something my girls really wanted to do was a Broadway show. We went for Shucked, which is a funny musical about corn-growing folk. When we came out lots of rickshaws were lined up blasting out music and blowing bubbles as they tried to attract customers. At $7 per minute we decided to decline.
The next day was more exploring. We found the Rockefeller Center where a tennis court had been set up. A load of kids were knocking some balls around with some pros who I think may have been US players Shelby Rogers and Reilly Opelka. The US Open was about to start, so tennis was everywhere.
There is a lot of nice architecture in the city, although it is getting dominated by new glass slabs everywhere. One classic is Grand Central Terminal. This place caught my eye as it reminded me of the song Chattanooga Choo Choo.
Next up was the Museum of Modern Art. They have quite a collection, but it does not all work for me. I do like seeing stuff by artists like Salvador Dali. They have plenty of Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Picasso, Matisse and many others I was unfamiliar with.
Next up was a guided cycle ride in Central Park. This was also on the City Go pass. The park is huge and so you need a bike to see much of it. The place was packed on a Sunday afternoon. You can see some of the new slender skyscrapers that have gone up since I was last there. Apartments in those go got many millions. The guide had lots of fun details for us. We visited the Shakespeare garden that has all the plants mentioned in his plays and Strawberry Fields that is a memorial to John Lennon who was murdered nearby. A band was playing some Beatles songs there.
As well as seeing a show the girls wanted to go to the Museum of Broadway. They have loads of props and costumes, but also have some set recreations. With the music playing you could almost feel part of the show.
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They have the obligatory glass floor so you can look straight down.
Later we took a boat trip that went a fair bit of Manhattan Island. You will have seen the lady with the big torch, so here is another large person. There was a guy doing a commentary on the boat who had loads of details about the history of the place. It would have looked very different when the first settler arrived.
On our final day we started with breakfast at a diner rather than the hotel buffet that was always the same.
Most of the day was spent in the American Museum of Natural History. I had been before, but there is so much to see. I can recommend doing the free guided tour that gives you some highlights. The place does remind me of the equivalent in London, but mixes in human cultures as well. They have some great dinosaurs and this one was enormous.
That evening we got a taxi to Newark to catch our flight home. New York is an amazing place with so much to see, but it can be overwhelming. We saw a nice selection of places on our trip, most of which were new to us. I had only be to the US and Canada for work previously and so had little time to explore. This time we could dive deep. It was tiring at times, but very satisfying. People we dealt with were friendly and helpful. The company who organised it for us did a good job.
Our next holiday may be closer to home and I do not intend to fly again for a while.
It looks like you had a great time and you packed a lot into your trip. When I went to the intrepid they had a Concord there.
They moved that plane for re-painting. We saw it on our boat trip. I remember when they did the last flights and I saw them fly into Heathrow. I never flew on it though.
Ah, okay. I remember the day we went to the museum. We walked from Battery Park up to The Intrepid and we were so tired by the time we got there. Totally sunburned too!
Manhattan is big. I think I walked a lot last time I was there too. At least with the tall buildings you can generally find some shade. We used the subway a couple of times. That is easy now you can use your credit card, as you can on the London system.
Oh really? I didn't realize you could use your credit card now. I did a quick Google Map and it looks like we the walk we did was about five miles. Not super long, but I wasn't in as good of shape back then either. It's definitely big. I'd like to get back there one day with my wife.
We walked a lot each day. If I went back I'd consider using the bike hire scheme. You can ride all down the west side without going on the road. I think you need to pick the time of year when it's not too hot or cold. I found five days was enough, but then it was the end of a long trip.
That's about the amount of time I would probably go. Four or five days. The biking thing does sound pretty interesting. For Central Park alone I can see how it would be worth it.
Ha wow that is unexpected. Cool you got to see that!
I hadn't heard of Edge before, but it looks like they did something very new with visiting the top of tall skyscrapers.
Here's the proof.
Last time I went up the Empire State, but Edge may give better views. There are so many really tall new buildings around that area. I was thinking that the old churches which are still there would have been the tallest things when they were built, but are now hidden away.
London has also had an outbreak of skyscrapers recently. I assume there is demand for living or office space there, but it will be expensive. I prefer to live closer to the ground, but I did work on a 19th floor for a few years.
I miss New York. It's been 5 years. The big apple smells but I love Brooklyn haha.
I can see why it would appeal to some, but it's not somewhere I would want to live.
That warship aircraft Carrier looks stunning and wow I would love to see something like that in person especially as I grew up building those model boats, planes and tanks.
Some great shots in this post :)
that is a great view and the obligatory glass floor just wow!
If I go back I'll do the air museum. There just wasn't time to do it all.
I tried to find photos that were not like you always see from there. I have plenty of the Empire State and the Statue of Liberty of course.
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The last time I was in New York was in 1979. Doesn't seem like much has changed. Rockefeller centre and rats everywhere!
I'm not sure I'll be flying anywhere either.
It seems like a colossal pain in the neck tba.
Looks like you had a good time though?
You would notice all the new buildings. I saw a difference from my last visit, but the classics are still there. We rode on the subway and that seems quaint compared to London.
I've done a lot of flying over the years and I'm bored of airports.
It was a good trip that went pretty smoothly.
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Yep I've done a lot of long haul flying and find it super tedious now and the london airports are so massive it takes forever to get to the aeroplane. I'm done with it.
Glad you enjoyed the trip. 👍🏼
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BEER.You did pack a lot in indeed, I would love to know the company who organised at some point, might come in handy.
That edge viewing glass floor though… are you allowed to stand on top of it? Although i dont think i would be able to even if its allowedbb. I get chills just imagining it.
I expect it is really strong if they are going to let people wander across it. My other half was nervous about going on there, but she got used to it. Safety will be a high priority for an attraction like that. They have done a good job on blocking the view with walls and metalwork.
Im sure its safe. Its the fear factor which im having doubts i could overcome haha.
The orange tree actually caught my attention
What kind of tree is that?
It looks weird to me. That's amazing!
It's a sculpture. You can read about it here.
Congratulation! I hope you enjoy your New York trip. Times Square is most amazing place.
Wow.. $7 per minute to ride a rickshaw/tricycle, thats crazy! You can do that here in The Philippines for a tiny fraction of that price lol. Nice mini holiday vlog, a road trip across the USA is a dream of mine I've not yet accomplished.
Those rickshaws are aimed at tourists. There are carriages in Central Park that may charge even more. You can hire a bike if you just want to get around or take the subway.
The USA is massive and I've just seen a little of it. Maybe I'll go back to explore more some time.
Looks like you are enjoying a lot. keep enjoying <3
We're home again now.
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Amazing city
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Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Your post has been manually curated by the @pinmapple team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!Vacations are very important for relaxation of the mind. When a person comes back from a vacation, his mind is working much better and is much more relaxed and after a few days he is back to his routine. Food looks so tasty.