Annie's holiday: New York

Hi Everyone
NEW YORK- well we made it and this means that the holiday is heading for home in a couple of weeks. We spent a very busy time in this famous city firstly taking the hop on hop off bus all over doing the uptown one day and the downtown another. As well as that we bought a 7 day ticket to the subway and we walked and walked all over.
Our first day of adventuring took us, unexpectedly, to a festival in Eighth Avenue where most of the road was closed off to traffic and the street was lined with stalls of food and fair for miles. Eighth Avenue is like most streets in New York very very long and wide and is part of the grid system of naming streets and avenues. The Avenues run from north to south and the streets from east to west. It makes finding your way around clear and simple if you know in which direction you are facing because when you come up from the subway you really need a compass to know in which direction to head or you do like us and walk to the next street to know if you have headed in the right direction.
There are over 8 million people just in New York City and there were a lot of them there this day.

Eighth Avenue and the throngs of New Yorkers and tourists

Stayed around the area until dark to visit Time Square by night- nothing like this place anywhere that we have seen on our adventure. Flashing lights, crowds of people just stopping and watching, massive billboards and of course the hundreds of yellow cabs.

Time square by night

The hop on hop off bus took us downtown to Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial site. We were very lucky to obtain tickets to the new 9/11 memorial reflection pools and surrounding grounds. You need to obtain a ticket which gives you a time and date that you can obtain access to the site but this has to be done online which we didnt know until arriving there. One guy in his usual abrupt New York style said no way today but I asked another more hospitable New Yorker and he handed me 2 tickets for 12.15 that day so off we went feeling very lucky indeed.

The security to this site, right next door to where they have started work on the new trade centre which when finished will house 7 new buildings the tallest being 104 stories high, was unbelievable- more than going through the airport.

Inside the site are two reflection pools that are a foot print of the original twin towers and around the edges of these pools are the names of all those that perished on that fateful day. It was a very moving experience and one that if you get a chance is a must see.

This is going to be the tallest of all the new towers and is only half finished is going to be twice this size when completed. There are 3000 working on this site around the clock to get this completed.

One of the 2 reflection pools. They are simplistic in style and there are purposely no flowers on the site. The water cascades from the sides down to the floor of the pool and this water then flows into the smaller square in the middle.

Closeup of side of pool

The side of the reflection pool with the names of all the departed.

From there back on the bus to Battery Park to catch the Ellis Ferry (part of the hop on ticket) to the Lady of New York - the Statue of Liberty. A most impressive monument.

On ferry heading to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

The Lady of New York standing proud and tall. She has become an international icon of freedom and liberty, the most recognisable symbol of democracy in the world.

We were very fortunate to have booked tickets to see the New York Yankees(baseball team) play the Tampa Bay Rays. Sitting in the new multi million dollar stadium we were entertained by the crowd as well as the players warming up. Game starts to the whole stadium singing 'God Bless America'- very patriotic these Americans and then they all start singing 'Take me out to the ballgame'-entertaining to say the least. The game starts and as well as the most impressive mastery of skills I have seen there are all sorts of distractions in between innings. They have competitions running where they pick someone from the crowd and ask them questions to win prizes. And what I found unbelievable were the Vendors. These are the guys that walk up and down the isles selling everything from candy floss to hotdogs to beer to icecreams you name it you dont have to move everything is bought to you. They were also very entertaining. All in all it was another must see.

New Yankee Stadium

Closeup of the Candy

Candy on the left and popcorn above just 2 of the numerous items available for sale

We were also fortunate while in NYC to see 3 very good but very different broadway shows, actually 2 broadway and one off broadway show.

Firstly we saw Fuerza Bruta, an off broadway show that was nothing like I had experienced before it stimulated the senses there were no seats in the theatre and all of the action was overhead. At one stage they had people swimming in a pool on top of you- am not doing this show justice by my explanation think Simony is the one to ask.

Then Memphis was the next Broadway show and how good was this. We loved the historical storyline and the singing - out of this world.

Then came War Horse-different from the other 2 shows but wonderful. It is a play about a horse being enlisted into WW1 and his young owner enlisting, although only 16, to try to find him. A very moving and enthralling performance. At times the audience were teary and gasping as they were transported back to the trials and historical events of the time. The use of puppetry was unimaginable as the actors brought the horses to life, if for no other reason but to see the use of puppetry you have to see this if you ever get a chance. I was amazed at the talent and imagination used.

Shopping was another activity that we undertook in NYC so much so that we have both bought another suitcase and they are both full.

Lunch in Madison Square Park near our hotel(The Gershwin) after shopping

Of course, a trip to NYC is not complete without taking a trip up to the Top of The Rock, Rockefeller Building that is but unfortunately the day we picked to go it was a bit cloudy but still could see for miles.

The Rockefeller Building

Famous picture of workmen building the rock

From the top with Empire State Building behind Mez's head

Had a busy and great time in NYC mastering the subway,although not as easy or as good as London, shopping, shows, the baseball and walking through lots of suburbs on our early morning walks- need to do a lot more of these when we get home as the food is not the best for the weight situation.
Some of the sites of NYC below-