New York... 6th Day...

We packed a lot into this day...

Andy turns 40 in January and he decided to kick off the celebrations early by taking a helicopter flight over the city.

He had a fantastic time, despite it being rather short at about 15 minutes duration. He also managed to get some good shots of some of the sights:

Afterwards we hopped onto the Staten Island Ferry for what we thought would be a quick trip over to Staten Island and back in order to view the Statue of Liberty. We chatted to a New York man on the ferry who kindly gave us a $2 note and $1 coin, both of which are rather difficult to come across over here. We also managed to get some photos of the Statue...

...as well as some pics of some other cheeky monkeys!

After disembarking from the return trip, we headed for Grimaldi's for lunch, but soon discovered that to get to Grimaldi's, we'd have to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge first. We put aside our rumbling tummies and strolled across the bridge, enjoying the icon and all the views it provided of both Manhattan and Brooklyn.

We also noticed the many 'love locks' attached to various parts of the bridge.

When we finally reached Grimaldi's, it was after 2pm, and we were grateful to be seated at a table straight away. We ordered one large Grimaldi's pizza to share, and as Liam has already reported, it was very very good!

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New York - Day 5

Another day of snow showers...

Back to Times Square for some shopping. We were caught up by these familiar faces to pose for a photo, which, as it turned out, we had to pay a tip for!!

'Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes'...

We lunched in 'Bubba Gump Restaurant' right in Times Square, which originated in the Forrest Gump film from the 1990s, and we also visited Toys R Us, the Swatch shop, MM world and the Hershey's shop.

Later, we battled through the snow to visit the New York Public Library. This was an absolute haven on such a cold and bleak day. We entered right where the children's section is, and spent 3/4 of an hour in the warmth reading books. Bliss...

Our time in the Library was far too short, and the gift shop there was especially tempting. Perhaps, if there's time, we might try to make a second visit???

 

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New York: Day 4

Clear. Bright. Sunny.

It was the perfect day for using our Empire State Building passes and viewing New York as far as our eyes could see.

(And, as it turned out, for as long as we could stand the bitter winds and sub-zero temperatures at the top!)

It was so cold up on the viewing platform, which is open to the elements, that there was solid ice on the ledges! Brrr! But the views of this huge city were nothing short of spectacular.

It was with relief that we soon went back inside to thaw out!

After a little shopping, we stopped off at Times Square that evening to experience all the glitz and lights. By this time, the freezing temperatures we experienced at the top of the Empire State Building had now settled down on the streets, so after a few quick pics, we headed for home and warmth!

 

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Guest Post: by Beth in New York

This is my new watch that I got in a shop called Swatch. I really like it (especially the dogs)!

I got these three fingers painted in Toys R Us. In the bottle

of nail polish one side is nail polish and the other

is a special pen that can draw on the nail polish when it's wet.

I bought this gorilla in the Empire State Building. Her name is America.

In a shop there was a big display of cheese (like the one in the photo).

I thought it was weird that there was so much cheese.

In China Town we went to Nom Wah's Tea Parlor for lunch. It is an awesome

Chinese restaurant and has quick service.

These lobsters are alive! I knew because their eyes were moving.

 

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Guest Post: by Liam in New York

Hello there family and friends!

I have been living in New York about one week and if I have to put New York into two words they would be:

Amazing and Cold.

Of course that's really three words.

Although it is quite fun to be here... Especially if you want to be trapped inside a giant bubble:

Anyway, yesterday we went to the Empire State Building.

And this is one of the many views:

After we looked at the views, we went to the gift shop and I was quite surprised to see this Lego version of the Empire State Building right in the middle of the store. (The gorillas are so cute!)

The food is probably one of the best bits about New York.

Shirley, our Big Apple Greeter, told us to go to Grimaldi's for lunch one day...

AND IT WAS A GOOD THING SHE DID!!!!

It was, in fact, a bit too good! It was the best pizza I have ever had!

The hardest thing here to take a photo of is the Statue of Liberty.

Why? Because we only saw it twice: Staten Island ferry and from the top of the Empire State Building. You're either moving or very high and far away. It's still pretty though.

Anyway I enjoy New York and will enjoy blogging in Orlando!

 

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New York - Day 3

Back to Central Park today for the free ice skating. It was a much more enjoyable wander along the pathways without the snow blowing in our faces this time. With everything covered in a blanket of snow, it was oh-so-pretty, too!

I couldn't help but find this sign amusing...

These little guys are everywhere. Getting up close to one was a rare treat!

And the skating. We couldn't have asked for a better time or conditions. First, it was free, and anyone who knows us knows how much we like bargains and/or freebies! As well as that, they were giving out free hot cocoa, cookies, popcorn and hot pretzels during the morning. Despite the other hundreds of people there, we had a blast. Skating around outdoors in the open air, the sun shining, and with Christmas songs playing was just magical and is an experience none of us will ever forget!

(We did have quite a giggle at our girl. Towards the end of our time, she was getting very good at skating, and also quite confident. We watched from the sidelines as each time she passed us, a different part of her body was covered in ice. She thinks she fell over about 20 different times!)

 

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New York - Day 2

Scene 1: The Night Before

It was like Christmas Eve... All the weather forecasts were talking about tomorrow's snow, and I was like an excited kid not able to sleep waiting for Santa to come! From my bed I can see out a chink in the curtains and I kept looking out the window most of the night to see if the snow had begun yet. Alas, 'Christmas morning' arrived, but 'Santa' hadn't. And yet, we were just about to go out for the day when the first flakes of snow started drifting down. Yay! We couldn't contain our excitement as we went out into our garden courtyard to experience these first flakes of snow.

Scene 2: A Tour with Shirley

We had arranged through Big Apple Greeter to meet up with one of their volunteer guides for a part of the day. We met Shirley, a retired school teacher, who has lived in NY all her life.

Shirley knows the best places to take tourists like us, so we met her at the Time Warner Building by Columbus Circle, where she took us up to a rather posh hotel lobby to admire the views of the southern tip of Central Park and the snow!

Despite the freezing weather, we walked through the lower end of Central Park in the snow (now combined with winds it wasn't so pleasant, but for us Aussies it was a fun new experience all the same!). Shirley had brought some nuts to feed the squirrels with, which Liam and Beth both enjoyed doing. We passed the Wollman Skating Rink where they told us all skating over the weekend would be free due to a promotion with a local radio station and decided to come back the next day when hopefully the weather would be better.

Shirley then took us to The Plaza, again a rather posh and well-known place, where we stopped for a hot cuppa and a chat. (See first pic). We so enjoyed these couple of hours with Shirley and took away some good tips and knowledge about NY.

Scene 3: Wandering in the Crowds and Snow.

After saying goodbye to Shirley, we attempted a visit to the infamous FAO Schwartz toy store, where it seemed almost half the people in New York were also trying to visit! We had a short wander around, but decided to come back again on a weekday when hopefully there will be less crowds.

For lunch we warmed up in a local pizza joint, where we ate true-blue New York pizza for lunch. I don't know what it is, but NY pizza is really good (and big!)

After a long day out, we arrived home to our snow-filled garden courtyard - ripe and ready for our first family snow fight!

We learnt a lot about snow:

1. Each flake really is uniquely designed, symmetrical and intricate. Beautiful.

2. Combined with wind, being out in the snow is unpleasant. It accumulates on your clothing, on your bag, on your eyelashes or hair, etc, and as you walk it blows straight into your face sometimes - not so nice, but not too bad if you wear glasses like I do!

3. Snow really is powdery and soft on the first day it falls. Later, it becomes slushy and dirty. When it rains after snowing, it washes the snow away, or makes it icy.

4. We're not true New Yorkers: we love snow!!!!

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New York, New York... Day #1

Here we are at last... In the city that never sleeps, at Christmas-time, no less.

And, yes... It's freezing!

Here's something we don't get at home... Road-side Christmas tree stalls all over the city streets, selling fresh, new real trees for Christmas. Walking past gives you the smell of lovely fresh pine.

We braved the icy-cold weather and walked the High-line today. The High-line was once a railway line running for about a dozen blocks that has been converted in recent years to a funky urban walkway.

We stumbled across some great city views along the way, at one point spotting the Chrysler Building off in the distance.

And this view was a real surprise - with the High-line crossing busy Tenth Avenue, here was another photo opportunity to capture another classic New York City view.

There's plenty of iced-up old snow laying about from last weekend's snow, which Beth in particular found fascinating and heaps of fun.

Just wait until tomorrow's real, fresh snow to fall!!!!

Brrrrr!

 

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