Days 26-27 Two More in NYC

7th Ave traffic from our window

Never got around to a blog yesterday.  Too full a day and we were back at the hotel around midnight.


My birthday dawned fine and cool for us here.  A lovely day to go exploring.
Breakfast was at a local diner.  A bit crowded and full of tourists, but nice food.  Prices here are a bit like home, so much more expensive than everywhere else in the country.

Then it was on the underground for a ride downtown to the Staten Island Ferry terminal and a ride on the ferry.  No real wish to go to Staten Island, but the ride takes you past Ellis and Liberty Islands and is free.   Something in New York for free is hard to pass up.

Lower Manhattan Island

Someone took our photo

Lady Liberty

The Staten Is Ferry

Freedom Tower from the river

Nearly back again

After that it was a wander around the Wall Street area then back on the trains - we are getting pretty good at them now.

Zippy little police bikes

Someone asked did we see him.  A Times Square icon

We made our way back to Times Square where they sell tickets for Broadway Shows for that night, usually around half price.  There were two huge queues and it took nearly an hour to get to the front.  I left Charleen to look after that and made my way back to the hotel for a nap.  No real need for two to do the job.She came back with tickets for The Addams Family musical and so we both rested up and then went back down to Broadway.  It was a pleasant evening for a stroll down Broadway and we got to the theatre with plenty of time to spare.

The show was very good, starting out the right way with the orchestra playing the familiar da-da-da-dump and the audience responding with fingersnapping Click Click.   Brooke Shields played Morticia beautifully and the rest of the cast did a great job.  Uncle Fester and Grandma were probably the most entertaining characters.

Back out into the crowds and we slowly made our way home, stopping for coffee on the way.

What a great Birthday.

Saturday we kept it low key and just went for a stroll in Central Park.  Now Central Park is a big place so we didn't see it all.  It started with a few locals having a friendly game of baseball and with all the calling out and mild sledging, it was quite entertaining.

Then New York put on a parade - just for us - and we wandered down Fifth Ave and enjoyed the show.  Apparently it was Steuben Parade day, a day when locals from near and far celebrate any German heritage they may have.

It was a very long parade and went for a couple of hours, by which time we were far from home and so had to catch a train back again.  This idea was shared with just about everyone else and the train was more like a sardine can.  Not a big worry as we only went four stops then changed to a marginally less crowded train another two stops to pop up right next to our hotel.  What a great system.

The rest of the afternoon we have taken it easy, only venturing out to Hells Kitchen for dinner.  Lots less tourists and more locals down there and the food and prices reflect.  The language can be difficult to interpret sometimes.  They do speak english - mostly - but with a wide mixture of accents.

Another full day here tomorrow.  Wonder what it will bring.