Day by Day Travels

June arrived and Danica and I had a weekend trip planned for New York! Air Philippines had an incredible deal flying out of YVR.  They make a stop over at YVR and let a whole bunch of people off and then load up all the empty seats.  We had a 2pm departure. The flight was amazing, they gave out menus (!) as we reached cruising altitude and we had a choice of eats -as well as wine options- all included with our airfare! Catching up on my movies, before we knew it we were descending into JFK.  Love landing at night as the planes go all the way out to sea and then come into New York from the coast, so you get a wonderful view of all the lights!  Off the plane – no customs as we had all that happen at YVR, and into the taxi line up.  It’s a flat rate into Manhatten- which is awesome as the traffic at 11pm is still crazy.  Danica caught her first glimpses of the city, but not much more than a glimpse.  We got to our hotel in about an hour or so- we were at the Lexington Hotel- in midtown. We checked in and were too pooped to even search for food.  Up to our room- a nice room and a very funky, cool hotel.  We ate some snacks out of the bar and headed to bed.  Friday was going to be a busy day.

Friday we work early and up and out the room!  A stop at the local fresh&co for a healty breakfast and a pretty good coffee. Our first stop of the day was Grand Central Station. No trip to NY would be complete without a stop here. We found our star signs on the roof and then headed down to the whispering gallery for some fun. Then we were off on our day of adventure- we started the long walk down 5th Avenue towards Central Park.  We realized pretty quick that the entire 5th ave was closed down and we started to see a lot of emergency uniforms. It appeard that someone very important was being celebrated. After walking a while and stopping  to ask, we found out that it was the funeral of a fallen fireman. He is the 178th firefighter to have died from causes realted to 9/11.  A pretty sombre sight.
We made it to Central Park and took a stroll through the middle to the Bethesda Fountain, then over to Strawberry Fields and out of the park past the Dakota (John Lennon’s last address). Up to Alice’s Teacup. After all out walking we stopped in here for a tea and light lunch.  Then on to the Museum of Natural History. (or Night at the Museum, museum!)  We could have spent days wandering around this incredible labyrinth. So many things to see and wonder at.  The dinosaur bones were of course incredible.  Before we knew it over 2 hours had passed.  Back out or the museum, we made our way back to the hotel via 6th ave. Stopping at the LOVE sign, the Rock and of course Radio City Music Hall.  We were exhausted by the time we made it back to the hotel, we had clocked close to 15km’s of walking!  A nice little nap and relax and we were  back up and ready for a night on the town.
We caught a cab up to Times Square and Becco. This is Lidia Bastianich’s lower end restaurant – the food was pretty good.  We even saw Lydia walk by.  The restaurant was perfect as it was across the street from St. Lukes theatre and our show for the night. I had booked tickets to see “Friends” a parody of the show.  We arrived a little early and had to wait around- have I mentioned how hot it was in NY.  We were in the 30’s during the day and the night had not cooled down that much, so we just sat and didn’t move too much as we were pretty sweaty.  Before long we took our seats in this tiny theatre off Broadway. The show was excellent- they condensed the entire 10 seasons into 2 hours!  After our show we made our way to the craziness that is Times Square. Oh the lights and the people!! We sat and took it in for a while then made our way down 47th to our hotel. What a day.

Saturday- another blue sky and HOT day dawned.  We decided that fresh&co was good and quick so back we went- the oatmeal was so good! Then it was to the subway, we had a little bit of a challenge getting in to the subway- we bought a ticket for Danica but it wouldn’t let her in so she had to jump over the turnstile!  Then the train we were looking for didn’t look like we had the right station, but google maps said we did.  Then a lucky app Danica has- transit- assured us the train came here on the weekends.  So we found the platform in the underground and were on our way to the tip of Manhattan.  We exited at the Occulus- what a structure, it is beautiful.  A few photos and then we existed at the 9/11 memorial. The second time I have been here and both times it is very haunting to see this site. Across the street is St. Paul’s Chapel- this little church had almost no damage during the attacks and became the muster point for the first responders and searchers.  An amazing tribute of all who helped is up on the wall- a site to see.
After the 9/11 sites we walked down to the pier and the Staten Island ferry, this is a free ferry that goes past the Statue of liberty with some pretty good views (did I mention it was free!) So we took a nice cruise across the river- saw all the hunderds lined up to see lady liberty and were glad we weren’t there.  Got to the other side and then turned around and came back.  Back on the tube and next stop The Highline.  We were pretty hungry by this time so we stopped in at the Chelsey Market for a cool break and snack.  Then up the stairs and along the Highline for some lovely afternoon views.  It was hot so we were very thankful for vendors selling iced lollies along the way (good excuse to sit and people watch too!).  A the end of the line and we were ready for a break.  Back at the hotel and a nap, then we dressed up and headed up to Dos Caminos for some Mexican dinner.  We only had one mouse come out and join us!  A walk up to Times Square and our show “School of Rock” at the Wintergardens theatre.  The show was amazing and we would love to see it again for sure.  After a long day we were done!

Sunday and another scorcher- we had thought it a good idea to walk the Brooklyn bridge today.  Once again we had a quick breakfast and then caught the tube to Brooklyn. When you get off and look across the water to Manhatten it is amazing to see how fast and far those tunes go.  We wandered around the cute streets for a bit, headed to the cobble stone streets and a walk along the river. By then the heat was pounding down so we had to have an ice cream from the Ample Hills Creamery!  It melted so fast we had to gulp them down.  Finally armed with water bottles we started the walk over the bridge- it was SO hot- in the mid 40’s Celcius. It took us a long slow, scenic walk, but we made it across- only one lady fainting in front of us!  At the end of the bridge we sat for a good long while to cool down and remove from the brutal heat.
A look at google maps told us that Soho was really close- so we decided to walk there.  Once again- so hot- there is not much shade on the streets, despite the skyscrapers.  Eventually we made it and the first cafe we found that had cooling and water – we hopped in there and took a load off.  After a gallon of water each, we discovered that the Croatia world cup soccer game was being televised.  So we order a delicious lunch, sat back and enjoyed, the food, water and game. We had too much to see so were off before the game ended.  We got some shopping on in Soho- too many amazing stores to see and too little time.  But we did our best before exhaustion and heat got the better of us.  A short cab ride back to the hotel and a refresh.  Back on the street and up to Times Square- tonight we were headed for Ellen’s Stardust Diner.  The lineup was long when we got there- but this was expected.  About an hour into our wait the owner came out and said- “AC is broken but we still have good food and entertainment”. Some people left and our wait got a little shorter.  We made it into the diner about 70 minutes after we lined up.  What a great spot- all broadway actors not currently working work here and break out into song and dance throughout the dinner.  It was an amazing experience.  After dinner we wandered around Times Square before heading back to the hotel and packing for our departure the next day.

Monday and we had to leave.  But not before a bit to eat and then the MOMA for a morning of modern art and culture.  We loved the museum and all the art. Right by the museum was a Shake Shack so that seemed appropriate for a lunch date to end our New York experience.  Back to the hotel and picked up our bags and we got a cab for the long ride to New Jersey.  I would not recommend getting a flight out of New Jersey as you have to pass through too many tunnels and pay too many tolls.  But this was a great 4 days in the city that never sleeps- we cannot wait to go back.