16 December 2017
Apologies for the delay in blogging. Having just spent five and a half days in New York, I only have time to breathe and write this as I sit on Lufthansa flight 401 from New York to Frankfurt. There is just so much to do in New York, I didn’t want to waste a minute.
We did quite a bit, so I’m going to do this in two parts — a diptych of sorts.
Arrival & Hello Dolly
We arrived at Penn Street Station (34th Street and 8th Avenue) and decided to walk to our hotel which was on 8th Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets. 10 blocks sounds like a lot, however they are relatively small blocks so only around a 20 minute walk wheeling suitcases.
After checking in we decided to get our bearings with a short walk to Times Square — the home of neon lights and lots and lots of people.
In Australia, Nicole had looked into getting tickets to see Bette Midler in Hello Dolly. The two things that stopped her were the price (USD 275 a ticket!) and the chance that we may not get to see Bette Midler in the show if she missed that night. In Times Square we came upon a fellow who told us he had good tickets to see Hello Dolly that night and that the tickets were heavily discounted. After a quick discussion, Nicole and I decided that we would see it. So there we were, having been in New York for less than three hours and about to realise one of Nicole’s dreams.
The show was fantastic! Having seen Bette Midler play the lead role, I can’t imagine anyone else playing it. At 72 years of age she definitely still has it, especially when delivering impromptu one liners. The male lead was the actor who played Miles in Frasier. He was absolutely terrific. All in all a great night.
Empire State Building
The next day we headed straight for the Empire State Building. The views from the top were, as you would expect, amazing. It snowed the night before reasonably heavily, so we had a nice covering of snow on the tops of the ledges which I tried to get into some of the photos. It’s amazing to think of workers building this structure one steel beam at a time with no safety harnesses.
After having a look around we headed back to the hotel for a rest. While Nicole and Katelyn did some gift shopping I headed downtown to photograph the Flat Iron Building, a wedge shaped New York landmark. It really is a lovely building which handily was located next to a nice little park. As I was walking past the dog park there I met Amy, an absolutely gorgeous Golden Retriever.
Rockefeller Centre & Christmas lights
The three of us then headed to the Rockefeller Centre. Unfortunately a gazillion other people had the same idea and so, not wanting to wait for another three hours, we decided to book tickets for a few days time and look at the Christmas lights instead. The Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree looked amazing as it stood behind the ice skating rink. The Christmas light displays on Macy’s and the other Fifth Avenue Store fronts nearby were equally as amazing.
Statue of Liberty & 9/11 Memorial
Friday was a VERY big day. We started with a ferry trip to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty up close. Very impressive and a really informative museum with all sorts of information on the history, development and construction of this amazing gift from the French. I found out that not only was it a gift to the Americans for gaining independence, it was also a not so subtle way for the French to thumb their noses at the British. I can’t believe that for a second …
We skipped the Ellis Island portion as it was VERY cold and we still had to get to the 9/11 Memorial.
The Americans do memorials and symbolism extremely well, and with the 9/11 Memorial they have done an amazing job. The North Memorial Pool and South Memorial Pool were stunning pieces of urban architecture and moving tributes, with the names of all the victims captured around the edges. The new World Trade Centre tower standing behind them provided a stunning contrast and a statement that the USA will forge on and not be bowed.
The 9/11 Memorial Museum really was amazing. After waiting in the snow to get in, we descended into the pit that was so vividly seen on images after the 9/11 cleanup and where you see actual stairs, foundations and steel structures that formed the original Twin Towers. They had on display the two main steel beams that took the aircraft impact at each building. Amazing.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Nicole and Katelyn headed off to see the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical. While they were doing this I went to see the new Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi. I had booked a cinema with allocated, reclining seats and big Dolby subwoofer speakers in the seats. A great choice! There were some serious Star Wars fans present, who clapped and cheered at a number of key scenes throughout the movie. The movie was FANTASTIC and one for the true believers. To mark this auspicious occasion, I had purchased a new Star Wars T-shirt the night before which I proudly wore. May The Force be with you all.
That might do it for now, so stay tuned for Part 2 …
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