Getting High

Monday was another cool but clear day here in the Big Apple.

No sign of any snow and none has been forecast so I think we are going to miss out on a White Christmas. The locals say it just isn't cold enough yet.

Tracey and I went for breakfast at the local cafe while the teenagers organised themselves and then it was off to 34th Street to that quintessential New York land mark that everyone recognises instantly ... a queue!

... I mean the Empire State Building.

It really is a sensational piece of art deco architecture. The picture of the building in the foyer is really huge and visually stunning. Outside on the street the shopfronts were amazing to look at and even the staff were dressed in uniforms in keeping with the style of the building. The building had been refurbished recently to make it a 'green' building and thus saving millions in electricity costs.

We joined the queue. This was the mother of all queues, easily eclipsing anything that went before or is yet to pass. It lived and breathed, snaking its way left and right, up floors, into and out of elevators, even when you think you are at the top ... it still lived! A seriously amazing Queue. For a mere $40 each you could jump to the front of the queue but even then you still had to queue.

We finally beat the queue and made it to the top. It was a fantastic view.

While we were there someone shouted out 'She said YES!!'. I thought she was just happy about getting through the queue but Tracey explained he had proposed. There were a lot of people up there and lots of security as well. That's all I'm going to say about the view, the pictures show things better than I can describe them.

By now it was after lunch so we dropped into Macy's and bought a sandwich. This shop was seriously packed so we didn't get to look around. Tracey and Ewan went there when they first arrived and Ewan is still scarred by the experience.

We headed to Maddison Square Garden to see what was on. The bloke in the ticket booth must have thought we had landed from another planet as we asked what ice hockey games were coming up and was it going to be any good. The next game is between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers which is the equivalent of their local derby and is a big event with fierce rivalry between the 2 teams and their fans. I was told today the joke 'I went to this fight and an ice hockey game broke out' could be very true in this case. Anyway that is going to be Thursday evening's entertainment.

Then we wandered down to the Chelsea district trying to find the High Line. This is an old elevated railway line that was scheduled to be removed until some enterprising locals persuaded the government to leave it and turn it into a public garden and walkway. Stuart said it was worth a look and it was. A great way to turn something ugly into something much more useful.

We wandered from about West 10th street down to West 4th street on the High Line and took some great photos. Someone was doing a modelling shoot while we were walking past ... must have heard I was going to be there (sorry but you all knew that comment was coming!).

Chelsea is a very trendy area and is on the otherside of Manhattan Island to where we are staying so we had a bit of a walk to find the subway station home. The streets were very narrow and quaint, a really pretty part of town. The teenagers were ecstatic about the walk and begged to be allowed to walk further but Trace and I were a bit tired and directed them to the subway.

A feast of steak sandwiches at the apartment for dinner.

Tomorrow a quieter day!Read more