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.
Another attraction on our pass was Edge which is a viewing platform 100 floors up. They view is amazing even though it was a little cloudy.
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.
