The Big Apple!

Selfie with Ian at Times Square.

After a long trip vis Los Angeles, we finally arrived in New York at about 4.30 in the afternoon.  It was great seeing all the Autumn colorus as we flew in to land through the clear Autumn air.  The only down-side was we arrived at peak period for the evening work traffic, and it took quite a long time to get into Manhattan and to our Hotel on Times Square.  The streets around Times Square were particularly crowded, but we figured this was just normal.... only to find out later from Ian that President Obama was seeing a show called "Hamilton" with his wife and a few friends - needless to say the security was pretty intense, and we didn't get to see the President!

After settling into our hotel we caught up with Ian (our brother-in-law) for a quick walk around Times Square and the surrounding district to get our bearings.  Jeremy (Tim's brother) was not able to join us tonight as he had a rehearsal and performance of a Choir he was in.  We went on to have dinner at a lovely Burger Joint (where else would you go for dinner in the USA!), which had great craft beer on tap.  One beer Tim had tasted like Pumpkin Pie in a glass!

After that we saw the lights of Times Square and took a selfie (as you do!) and wandered back to the hotel - via the M&M's and Hersheys Chocolate stores - for a sleep.

Jem, Ian and Kellie at the Central Park Zoo.

Despite setting the alarm for an early start, we ended up having a bit of a sleep in - after which, we had brunch at the Westside Diner on 9th Avenue before meeting Jem and Ian back at the hotel.  We then caught the subway up to Columbus Circle (the bottom of the Park).  I think that Central Park remains one of the landmarks in Town Planning.... and to think that the city bought the land in 1853 for $5 million, is mind boggling.  A fantastc investment in the future - to have 843 acres of parkland right in the middle of one of the worlds most iconic cities.

We started our walk at the bottom of the park walking from the Columbus Circle to the Pond and on to the Zoo... one of the first zoos in USA.  After having a (very) quick look at the Delacorte Clock, and seeing the half hour chimes, it was onto the Dairy - past the Ice Skating rink (and yes, they were skating already), Carousel and through to the Sheep Meadow.  It was then on up the Mall - a magnificent row of trees in their full Autumn colours - to Bethesda fountain and terrace and the Lake to watch the boats being rowed around.

Our tummies then got the better of us, and we decided to head to the West Side for lunch, via Strawberry Fields (dedicated to John Lennon) who lived qiute close by at the Dakota Building.  Ian directed us to a restaurant where we met a couple of theatre types that he knew.... a girl who was in "A Chorus Line" on broadway and the movie about that, and the current lead of "An American in Paris" also on Broadway. One of the biggest cities in the world, and you can still accidently run into people - amazing!

After re-charging our batteries with a spot of lunch, it was back to the park and onto the Conservatory Water where we watched radio controlled sailing boats (anyone remember the Stuart Little movie?).  We then kept walking north, through the Rambles and past Cleopatras Needle the the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then back across the Great Lawn to the Belvedere Castle - that gave us a great view of the Park looking north.  We then left the Castle past the Swedish Cottage (the home of the longest continuously operating marionette theatre in the country) and onto the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in the northern part of the park.

Our legs had just about expired, so we decided to catch the subway from 103rd Street back down to near the hotel as Ian had to get ready to work.  Jem stayed with us for a drink at a "speakeasy" on 46th Street, before we had Thai food at a local restaurant for dinner.  Back to the hotel for a quick Skype with the kids (that were at home) before going off to bed to try and catch up on our remaining jetlag.

Montage of the World Trade Center and the Momorial Pools.

We awoke this morning to another fantastic day in New York – unseasonably warm weather and clear skies!  Our main target today was the World Trade Center and the Memorial, so we hopped on the subway to make our way down.  When we arrived, there were lots of people milling around, but it was not as busy as it could have been… we were able to see the two memorial Fountains – both identical pieces of spectacular architecture that were a very appropriate dedication to the people who were killed in the events of 9/11.

The fountains were deep square pools, with waterfalls on each side that were the exact same shape (square), size and location of the footprints of the original twin towers of the old World Trade Center and were surrounded with groves of trees, whose leaves were turning orange in the Autumn coolness.  Around the top of the square pools were “handrails” which were engraved with the names of all those who died in the events of 9/11.  Towering over these pools was the new Freedom Tower which looked fully occupied and functional presiding over these memorials.

We then entered the Museum, which was set below the ground, and went down as far as the foundations of the original towers.  In fact, you could view the base of the steel pillars that made up the infrastructure that held up the original twin towers.  There was the full story of the events around the 9/11 catastrophe, as well as remnants of the building, including the last steel pillar standing and twisted steel girders where the planes had impacted and that were bent when the building collapsed.  Tributes were paid to all those that died, and a special mention was made of the Fireman and Policemen that lost their lives trying to save those in the building.

At various times both Kellie and Tim found the whole tribute overwhelming – for instance Tim was watching some tributes where they gave a brief summary of some of the people who lost their lives.  At one stage they mentioned a lady who had worked for one of Tim’s client firms – Marsh & McLennan.  It was very close to the bone and very overwhelming…. There were many examples of this for both Kellie and Tim.

After the emotion of the World Trade Center, we headed off to walk to the Staten Island Ferry terminal to take a ferry trip across to the Island (made famous in a Billy Joel song that is a favourite of Kellie and Tim’s).  We did not have time to see much on Staten Island, but the ferry ride gave a different perspective of Manhattan and a birds eye view of the Statue of Liberty.  From there we walked up the east side of Manhattan Island to the East Village where we explored a few of the shopping strips in the district before landing at a bar to wait for Jeremy. 

As it turns out the bar was owned by an Australian (probably a giveaway as there were photos of Bob Hawke, Paul Hogan and INXS in the toilets!).  Our friends Ben & Sarah joined us for drinks before we walked a few doors down for dinner at their favourite Mexican restaurant.  It was great to catch up after such a long time and felt just like old times.  After we had our full of Mexican it was time to catch a cab north to the Hotel to catch some z’s.

Visitng the theatre....

Jem and Ian came in to meet us at the hotel this morning, before we headed off to have some brunch at a local diner.  It was more overcast today, with some misty rain… reminded us of England a bit – except much warmer (23 degrees).  Interestingly Jem had seen on facebook that one of his New York friends had posted a photo of their yard today (green grass and plants) and the same day last year (all white and covered in snow!)…. We certainly have had the luck of the weather this trip!

After brunch, we caught the subway down to Washington Square and visited the Park and Washington Square Arch – it was a beautiful park, an oasis in the middle of Greenwich Village.  We then set about exploring the Village – starting first with New York University and some notable café’s and establishments and then onto the house they used to film the outside scenes from the Cosby Show (not actually in Brooklyn at all!).  It was then on to Bedford Street where we saw the skinniest house in New York at 75¹/₂ Bedford Street – people such as Cary Grant have lived there in the past…. hardly the salubrious accommodation you would expect of a movie star!

Further along is Cherry Lane, a picture postcard laneway with a quaint little 108 seat theatre, right next door to where Carly Simon lives.  Barbara Streisand was once a production assistant at the theatre.  Further along is Chumleys, a famous old New York speakeasy during the prohibition era, which coined the phrase to “86”… coming from when the call was given “86 everybody” which was the signal that the cops were coming and everyone was to exit out the side entrance laneway to 86 Bedford Street.

Nearby is Grove Court, one of the Villages best kept secrets.  A quiet corner of Manhattan that is now in high demand.  Near here is the apartment that was used to film the outside of the apartment block from the sitcom “Friends”… a favourite with Tim & Kellies kids.  It was then past a few more historic taverns, Inns and cafes as we meandered our way through the Village, before we headed down Hudson Street to the Meatpacking District.

The cobblestone streets of Gansevoort Plaza and its shops of food, cafes, and clothing stores were all filled with character, but we moved on through the Meatpacking District to commence our walk along the Highline.  The Highline was an elevated railroad that was built in 1934 to help develop the hive of industry that the Meatpacking District had become, and it operated until 1980, when the  increase in interstate trucking caused it’s closure.  In a brilliant piece of urban renewal, many lobbied (and were finally successful) in having the Highline converted to a public space.  It is now a series of parks and walkways along the old railroad, from the Meatpacking District up to West 34^th Street.

It is amazing!  We walked the length of it, and along the walk there are sites like the Standard Hotel (that sits over the top of the Highline!), the apartments, schools and shops of the Meatpacking District and further up there is the warehouses, some converted some not, and new residential developments of Chelsea.  We stopped off at the Chelsea Markets where Ian had to leave us to go to rehearsal.  The Markets were originally the buildings of the Nabisco Biscuit company, but have been converted into specialty food stores and shops of almost every kind.  As we got back onto the Highline and continued our walk up, we had an almost ever present view of the city on our right, with the Empire State Building in the distance, and Pier 59 – which has been converted to sporting fields of all kinds.  Many of the new buildings on the top end of the Highline have striking architecture.  After finishing the Highline we exited near the US Mail Distribution Center… the biggest Post Office I have ever seen, just opposite one of the entrances to Penn Station.

After stopping for a quick drink, we bid farewell to Jem (who had a student to teach in the afternoon), and made our way uptown in the Subway to visit Tiffany & Co on 5^th Avenue for some shopping....!  We then returned to the hotel for a quick change before setting out to meet Jem and Ian again at a local restaurant before seeing Ian’s Show – “Dames at Sea”.  It was a fantastic show with lots of tap-dancing, and only 6 people in the cast!  We had seats in the second front row which gave us a great perspective of just how physically demanding a dancing show like this can be.  It was a hoot!

After a long day, we had a quick relaxing drink with Jem and Ian before tuning in for the night.