OK - Still playing catchup...
First stop... My birthday (yes... at the end of January...)
Well - if you have to turn 30, which happens to us all, why not do it somewhere fabulous?
We headed for NY on Friday 27th, and landed in Newark on a glorious sunny day. Cold - but sunny! A shuttle bus ride to the hotel, which we shared with other tourists, where we had the wonderful experience of being embarassed at being British... (I swear that us Brits are the biggest pains in the arses whilst abroad) It was soon time for a pickmeup snack, a snooze and then a rather massive night out on the town. We met up with some friends, and hit Chinatown for drinks and cocktails, and then headed for Tapas somewhere in the Bowery. I seem to remember claiming we were under a booking for "Anna". This was slightly spoiled when Anna actually turned up. But the guy liked us better. Hurrah!
The next day (hangover free!) was my birthday. Ah... 28th January 1976. Seems like about 30 years ago....
We got tickets for the open top bus tours of NY. These were touristy - but for first timers - GREAT! we saw Uptown and Downtown, and the views of the buildings were great. We broke two bus tours with a lovely wander around Central Park. It was a bright sunny, but VERY cold day... Plenty of photos were taken...
A typical NYC view!
Central Park... I want to go back and explore it further!
The Chrysler Building - it has to be my absolute favourite.
That night Michael was treating me to dinner out. So... we got dressed up and headed to a little italian restaurant. Three delicious courses later, and we jumped into a taxi and headed for the Empire State Building. After a minor issue with a lack of ID and pre-booked tickets, we headed up the building to be met by the most staggering city view I have ever seen. It was an incredibly clear night, so we could see for miles.
Inside the lobby of the Empire State Building...
The next day was a slight damp squib. I woke up with a horrid fluey/cold thing and the weather was miserable. So - after a late start, we bimbled around the Rockerfeller centre, and then headed to the cinema for a showing of Munich.
Monday was a better day - We ate at the Carnegie Diner, and headed straight down to the tip of Manhattan to the Staten Island Ferry. This has to be the best bargain in NYC. Absolutely free, and the best views of Manhattan island and more importantly - The Statue of Liberty.
After the return trip, we walked through Battery Park, to Ground Zero, and then headed to Grand Central Station. Annoyingly, people kept walking through it, thus spoiling my photos!
Before we knew it, it was time to get to the airport and head home. A very memorable birthday, and I can't wait to go back there!
Kx
