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Travel : New York, New York

Matt and I finally set foot in the States for the first time on 7 November 2003 at 10:45 pm and hailed our first yellow cab to take us to our hotel (the 3 star Radisson on Lexington Avenue and 49th). This was the Big Apple in its autumn splendour with its own special magnetism, unrivaled by any other city. It is the center of world finance and trade; the international hub of advertising, publishing, entertainment and fashion, and the creative core for arts. Museums, galleries, Central Park, Times Square Rockefellar Center, the Empire State Building, 5th Avenue - you name it we were there to experience it all. Now in the city that never sleeps we decided to go to bed so that we would be fresh to start the tour the next day.

DAY 1:

After grabbing a LARGE muffin and coffee from the Starbucks (these coffee houses are everywhere) on the corner we set off for Grand Central Station. Along the way we saw the Chrysler building which was rather impressive. We set off fairly early so it was wonderful to be able to appreciate the immensity and grandeur of the station without the hustle and bustle of passengers. Many shops and restaurants there as well as the Grand Central Market for gourmet foods. We continued our tour to Times Square - a very happening place with huge neon lights and billboards everywhere. We then walked along Broadway towards Central Park and along the way popped into a Hershey's chocolate store. Central Park is a long and narrow 843-acre haven and the Fall foliage was impressive and the ice rink was full of people enjoying the sun as it was a beautiful day. Saw many horse-drawn cabs. Quite a sight to see huge buildings along the outskirts of the Park. Enjoyed a hot dog and pretzel in the park for lunch and walked towards the Belvedere Castle and around the Jacqueline Onassis reservoir. Visited the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum which was really impressive and "James Rosenquist: A Retrospective" was on display there - pop art. The building itself is a work of art. Enjoyed looking at a bit of pop art. Bought a city pass at the Guggenheim which meant no waiting in ticket lines and entitled us to The Guggenheim Musuem, the American Museum of Natural History, the Empire State Building, The Circle Line Harbour Cruise, Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum, Museum of Modern Art. From the Guggenheim museum we walked down Fifth Avenue observing world-famous stores. Popped into St. Patrick's Cathedral where we watched the end of a wedding. Popped into The Trump Tower office building - nothing fantastic. That evening we caught a cab down to Little Italy and enjoyed a delicious Italian meal in a small family run restaurant called "Rocky". It was a lunar eclipse that night so very festive atmosphere.

DAY 2:

Again to kick off the day we visited Starbucks and ordered our LARGE muffin and coffee and headed towards the Empire State Building (Fifth Avenue at 34th Street) who has regained its status as New York City's tallest building after that horrific day on September 11, 2001. Had to wait in a queue for 2 hours but gave us time to read up on some fascinating facts. Construction completed in one year and 45 days, working seven days per week including holidays, at a completion rate of 4.5 stories per week; 7 million man-hours, employing as many as 4,000 men per day; completed in 1931. At night the building is a light show unto itself: from sunset till midnight the top 30 floors are aglow in a rainbow of colors, keyed to avariety of special events. The wait was well worth it as from every possible angle the Empire State Building offers an unparalleled feast for the eyes! This is among the most striking buildings in the city, the nation, even the world. The observation deck on the 86th floor is open to the general public, offering an amazing view of the city. From the Empire State Building we could see the Flatiron Building which was built in 1902 and is one of the first of New York's skyscrapers. It is held up bya steel skeleton. Also could view the GE Building, Woolworth Building (one the tallest building in the world at only 60 floors), the shimmering Chrysler Building the impressive MetLife Building to name just a few.

Enjoyed a delicious ENORMOUS bagel lunch at a diner before heading towards pier 86 to visit the Intrepid Museum (www.intrepidmuseum.org) which is a retired aircraft carrier that now holds all manner of airplane and other military exhibitions. It is comprised of 3 decommissioned U.S. Navy vessels: the aircraft carrier U.S.S. INTREPID, the submarine U.S.S. Growler, and the destroyer U.S.S. EDSON.


The U.S.S. INTREPID was commissioned in 1943 and fought through numerous campaigns in the Pacific during World War II, including Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history. She survived several kamikaze, bomb, and torepedo attacks. During the Space Race in the 1960s INTREPID served as a prime recovery vessel for NASA. After serving three combat tours during the Vietnam conflict, INTREPID ended her service career in 1974 as a Cold War-era anti-submarine carrier, monitoring the Soviet underwater threat. After retirement, INTREPID was destined for the scrap yard, but was instead transformed into the world's largest floating Museum in 1982. It was really interesting especially watching a family of boys really enjoying this army like adventure.

We then joined the queue to board the Circle Line tour which cruises down the Hudson and up East River passing Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and under Brooklyn Bridge amongst others - perfect way to view the Manhattan skyline. In the queue we bumped into SA friends from London who were also there for the weekend (small world or what?). We decided to join them later for a drink that evening at the Rainbow rooms (on top of Rockefalla centre). Took a limousine ride back to the hotel to get changed. New York is full of limousines. Saw the famous ice rink at the Center. The view overlooking the city from the 65th floor was awesome. After two cocktails each we joined Wayne and Lisa at the "Blue Water Grill" situated on Union Square. This was a fantastic seafood restaurant with a live jazz band playing. We enjoyed a great meal and combined with excellent music, wine and company it made for a memorable evening.

DAY 3:

Slept in a bit this morning and then after the now familiar Starbucks muffin and coffee took a taxi down to Lower Manhattan to Ground Zero where the World Trade Center was destroyed in 11/9/2001. Humbling to be there as there is a huge gap in the skyline and it obvioiusly reminds you of the day the tragedy struck. Century 21st departmental store. We then walked to Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange (New York's world-famous business district) passing Trinity Church along the way. We walked up to Pier 17 and window shopped in the shopping mall there and thens strolled to the Fulton Fish Market (closed at the time but still smelly!) and to Brooklyn Bridge which connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. We then headed to Lower East Side to Chinatown. What an experience - really packed streets and lots of imitation bags and stuff. Canal Street: Full of hustle bustle, loudmouths and shysters selling every knock-off you could imagine. Half of the stalls were closed as the cops had just been through the area. When the cops are rumoured to be in the area the vendors simply close their rollup doors (like a garage door) and go sit on the other side of the street and have a smoke pretending they don't own the shop... funny to watch! We had lunch there and Matt's choices were unappetising and huge portions again - he had sliced -duck-on-a-bone, pasty-parboiled-pork-dumplings and wet-dog-soup. I enjoyed delicious chicken fried dumplings and sweet and sour chicken and fried rice. Energised for a bit of a shopping trip at Macy's and Banana Republic and Ann Taylor. Took the subway to Macy's. Early night that night.

DAY 4:

Up early and on the Amtrak train from Pennsylvania station to Washington DC. Madison Square Garden right there were many sporting events/concerts take place. Amazing place and we did an on-off bus trip around the relevant museums and memorials. At the Arlington Cemetry we saw JFK's grave and watched the changing of the guard at the Unknown Soldier. Since it was Veteran's Day (11 November 2003) when we were there, all the WWII, Vietnam War and Korean War veterans were strolling around the memorial in their relevant uniform of choice...a lot of them clad in leather jackets and riding Harley Davisons. On our return to NY we went to a fantastic steakhouse called "Smith and Woollensky" on 3rd Avenue and 49th Street - if steak were a religion this would be its cathedral. Simply the best steakhouse I have been to as the gruff, colourful old time waters tender outrageous slabs o'beef and fantastic wines.

Washington D.C.

Amtrak
New York (Penn Station) at 8:10 arrive at 11:25
Washintong at 17:10 arrive at 20:27
Tourmobile Sightseeing from Union Station
US Capitol
US Botanic Gardens - popped in to go to the loo
Washington Monument
Went past the Jefferson Memorial on the bus
Lincoln Memorial where the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Korean War Veterans Memorial were. It was Veteran's Day.
Crossed over the Potomac River into West Virginia to see Arlington Cemetery. Here saw President John F. Kennedy's gravesite, Tomb of the Unknowns where we watched the changing of the guard.
White House

DAY 5:

Only one shopping day left so we spent it at Sak's Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales - classic brown bag, shops around Rockefella center and other boutiques. After that it was back to the hotel and into our last cab before jetting back to mud island.