Holiday Part 2
New York
After breakfast I walked to the Grayline depot for my Manhattan bus tour. This gave us a good look around Manhattan. The guide, Serge was really good and pointed out lots of bits and pieces of interest. Saw Central Park, Chelsea Hotel, Harlem, The Dakota Building (where John Lennon was shot), The Empire State Building, The Chrysler building, 5th Avenue, Times square. We did a harbour cruise which took us out near the Statue of Liberty so that we could all get photos with the statue in the background. We went under the Brooklyn Bridge and had views of Manhattan and New Jersey. We went past Wall Street and the World Trade Centre site. Had lunch. I sat with a older couple from Arizona who were visiting their granddaughter before going on a cruise. Went upstairs at the Winter Garden to the window where you can look down on Ground Zero. There isn’t really anything to see as there’s just construction going on. I debated for ages to whether or not I should take a photo. I didn’t mind taking photos of graves in Boston, but this felt different. In the end I did take a couple of snaps. There were lots of people getting their photos taken in front of the window. I thought that was just tacky. Why on earth would you want to have a photo of yourself in front of a site where so many people lost their lives? I just don’t understand some people.
Went past the United Nations Building - saw the New Zealand and Australian flags. Went to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Apparently it’s supposed to be the largest gothic cathedral in the world. It was undergoing some renevations and restoration. My thoughts? Big? Yes. Impressive? Not really. Sorry, but big does not equal better. There was no feeling in this building, no sense of history. Some pretty stained glass windows but that was it. It’s actually a fairly new church in the scheme of things, and I think that makes a difference. Went up to The Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Plaza which is supposed to give you good views of Manhattan. I say supposed to, because it was raining when we got there, so not much of a view. The tour finished here. It was pouring when I left. We’d been given ponchos in case of inclement weather, so I got into mine. Felt a bit of a dork, but hey I was dry! There were quite a few people out selling umbrellas which I thought was pretty neat. I didn’t buy one -too cheap. (Me that is, not the brollies.)
Saturday dawned bright and clear, but that didn’t stop me from packing the geeky poncho just in case. Today was my day for visiting the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and The Eastside Tenement Museum. It was also a day for standing in lines. I braved the New York subway system from Pennsylvania Station to South Station at the tip of Manhattan. This was the closest station to Battery Park where I would catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I was not impressed with the subway station. Hot, stuffy and smelly. All you could smell was oil and a mechanical kind of smell. There was no ventilation. I made it onto the train okay and got to my destination. It was just a short walk then to Battery Park. I already had my tickets thanks to online booking. I went to stand in line. There is so much security involved. You stand in line to go through security and then onto the ferry where you get packed in like sardines. As I was near the front of the line, I ended up on top which was fine for the view, but it then meant having to wait ages to disembark. I picked up my audio tour and did a quick wander around outside before joining the line to go into the monument. I’d added the monument pass onto my ticket so I could go into the pedestal. They only allow a certain number of people in each day. This was a horrid line out in the sun and took forever. You have to go through security yet again, and they make you chuck out any food and drink and take your fingerprints. But, I got there in the end.
Inside the pedestal, you see the original torch, and get to see up inside the statue. You’re not allowed into the statue itself anymore because in the event of an emergency people can’t be evacuated fast enough. There’s a museum inside which shows how the statue was manufactured and other bits and pieces. Then you can walk up to the top of the pedestal. This was over 100 steps. I really could have done with some water!! I made it eventually. It felt a little claustrophobic climbing up all those dark stairs. Wandered around outside and then made my way back down again to catch the ferry to Ellis Island.
This time I didn’t go up the top, I hung around down the bottom so that I could be quicker off. I had a limited time here because I needed to be at The Eastside Tenement Museum for my tour. Picked up my audio tour. I don’t think the audio tour really added much to what was written on the exhibits, but it did try and give you a logical tour. This is the place where millions of immigrants arrived to be processed for admittance to the USA. You heard their stories, what it meant to them, what they had to go through. I was really interesting. I would have liked to have spent longer here instead of having to hurry through. In the end, I may as well have stayed longer, because I never got to the museum thanks to the subway. I waited for an hour for a train that never arrived. In the end I gave up when I knew that I wasn’t going to make my tour. So, I went back to the hotel. I had a rest and called Mum.
I then headed out to the Empire State Building. More standing in line! I got to queue jump a bit as I already had my ticket. Then had to stand in line for the elevators to the 80th floor. Boy do they go quick - makes your ears pop! We had the choice of waiting for an elevator or climbing the next 6 flights of stairs. After climbing 100+ stairs already, I elected to climb the 6 flights. Get up there and guess what - it’s raining!!! I guess I just wasn’t meant to get views of Manhattan. I pulled out my poncho and braved outside for a couple of snaps. Then had to stand in line for the elevators down. It was dark by the time I finally got out of the building, and it had stopped raining. I went to Macy’s so that I could at least say that I’d been. The place is huge!! It takes up a entire block and has quite a few floors. The exits are labelled with the streets they lead out to. You could seriously spend all day in this store. I only saw a fraction of it. I have never seen so many clothes in one place before. I bought my niece a top. If you show your passport at the visitors desk, you get a discount card.
So ended my last night in New York. Not a city I particularly enjoyed. Too big, too noisy, too many people and cars for me. A lot of the people I found to be really rude and pushy. People just push through doors with little regard to anyone following behind or even coming out. I would probably go back again though, just to do the things I missed. I would have liked to have walked through Central Park, and checked out some of the museums. I wouldn’t mind going back to Ellis Island either. The thing with New York is that you get the feeling that history doesn’t really matter. They’re so pushed for space that they tear down old buildings to building bigger luxury apartments.
New York - Washington
As I had a few hours to fill in before leaving for the airport, I found an internet café and spend a bit of time catching up on emails. Took a bit for my shuttle to arrive, but I got to the airport eventually. It was just a short flight to Washington. I flew into Reagan National Airport, which is in the city. Got to see the Pentagon as I flew in, as well as several monuments - I was able to recognise the Washington Monument. Didn’t take long for my suitcase to arrive, and then I waited for Mary to pick me up. I was pretty sure that I’d be able to recognise her, even though it was 5 years since I’d seen her. Drove to the apartment which is in Maryland, and I got to meet the famous Sophie (cat). Went out to dinner with Aleta and Mal. It was good to see Aleta again, and to finally meet Mal. Had yummy Thai for tea, and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for dessert. Oh, the ice cream was heaven!! It was a nice change to be to with other people than to be on my own. Aleta gave me good advice on Metro etiquette. Which side of the escalator to stand on, and Mary warned me that no food or drinks are allowed on board the trains.