A two week visit to the city that never sleeps
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  • Day 2

    Finally here

    July 8, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    What a long trip! It didn't start too well. Our fight from Wellington to Auckland was delayed. While waiting at the gate, an orchestra entertained us (they were on the flight). In Auckland we had just enough time for a quick bite to eat before boarding our (delayed) flight to San Francisco. The next thirteen hours were spent eating (I enjoyed dinner), watching movies and trying to sleep in the upright position. We were lucky that there weren't any people behind us so we could recline easily. The on board facilities were great and we enjoyed the flight. The airline advised that we had missed our connecting flight to New York and that we were rebooked on a later flight.

    So began the longest 3 hours of our lives as we stood in a queue with about 2000 others to get through immigration. Despite the long queue, they only had 5 agents working and the whole process was quite frustrating. When we finally cleared customs we made a quick change into cooler clothing and checked our bags in for the next flight.

    With 4 hours to kill, we decided to take the train down to the waterfront and see a bit of San Francisco. We walked along the waterfront reminiscing about our last trip there. It seemed so familiar. We had a bite to eat at Starbucks and continued on until we got to Pier 23 which was our favourite spot from last time. Poppy indulged in mini donuts (a treasured memory from before) and we soaked up the atmosphere. San Fran in summer is so much nicer and was bustling with people. There was an entertainer on the stage in the centre. He was a juggler and a gymnast. He did some fascinating tricks while stand on long poles and then did one hand hand stands at the top of the poles. I couldn't watch! Poppy was taking notes and wants to incorporate some of his moves in her acro dancing!

    We couldn't be bothered walking all the way back to the train station so we hired a pedicab - cart pulled by a bicycle. That was great fun and a perfect way to end our little sojourn into town.

    We caught the train back to the airport but then I misread the map and we got off two stations too early. Luckily there is a train every 20 minutes so we made it back in time for the next part of our journey.

    The security for a domestic flight over here is nuts! It was harder to get through than the security to fly here from Auckland. We had to go through a large metal detector. You had to remove your jackets, shoes and everything from your pockets (even tissues and scraps of paper). Those went through the xray machine. Then you had to stand in a portal (similar to the thing that Scottie used to beam people up in). You had to stand with your feet apart and your arms in the "don't shoot" position while the machine scanned you for weapons and explosives. Obviously my arms looked shady because they had to pat them down. Mercina looked like a terrorist. They stopped her and gave her a full body pat down. She was quite horrified by it all. Poppy was offended because they kept asking her if she was under 12. In the end, they decided we were harmless and let us through. Needless to say, our flight to New York was delayed!

    We were also seated apart from one another for the 6 hour flight to New York. There was no food and while they provided a screen for entertainment, you had to buy headphones if you didn't have your own.

    We landed at 6:15am in New York. Coming out of the plane we walked through a large shopping mall full of restaurants and shops. It was quite dizzying. Andrew was waiting for us and we got our luggage from the carousel. We were finally here!

    He took us directly into town to get some breakfast as we hadn't eaten properly in some time. Then, as it was really quiet in town and the sky was clear, we went to the Empire State Building. We rode to the 80th floor to see the panoramic view of New York. It is huge. The land is really flat but the skyscrapers are incredible. There are so many and they are so tall. We could see all the famous landmarks. The Statue of Liberty is tiny! Central Park is huge and very green.

    Andrew has just arrived and we are going out for dinner. Will continue to post after dinner. Hopefully we will figure out how to get photos onto the laptop to add them
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  • Day 2

    Our first day in The Big Apple

    July 8, 2018 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    We walked around the 80th floor for ages looking at all the buildings and getting our bearings. Then we took an elevator to the 86th floor where there was an open air viewing platform. The view from up there was even better. Then we took another elevator to the 102nd floor and the view from up there was even better! We could see for miles as it was a clear day.

    One of the guides told me that they have an annual competition to see who can run up the stairs to the 80th floor the fastest. The record is just over 9 minutes!

    Next we chose to go for a walk around that part of Manhattan. We visited a park which reminded us of Wellington and San Francisco. It was warm but not too hot. We took a taxi to the Flatiron Building which is at the intersection of Broadway and 5th Avenue. It was the tallest building in the world when it was built -20 stories high.

    We found a Lego shop (I think Poppy just quivers when she's near Lego) and spent a bit of time (and a lot of money) in there. Statue of Liberty in Lego anyone?

    By now it was lunchtime so we found a place selling New York pizza and we all had a slice for lunch. Andrew took us to an Italian food market to see all the produce. It was amazing and smelled delicious.

    On our way back to the car, we stopped to see Grand Central Station. It was such a beautiful building. We took lots of photos and had a go in the whispering gallery. It was quite busy although Andrew said it was dead quiet!

    By now we were starting to fade (we had been awake nearly 40 hours) so Andrew brought us to the hotel in New Jersey where we are staying. We had a long nap and freshened up before going out for dinner.

    Andrew took us for a drive around the neighbourhood to show us his old home and the houses. He said the houses range in value from $300K to $25Million! We quite liked the $25 million places and could happily live in those houses.

    We went to a Buffalo Wings place for dinner. It was a large sports bar with heaps of tv screens around the room. The wings were delicious although they were a bit spicy.

    It's now quite late and we need to get some sleep as we have a big day in town tomorrow.

    I'm going to try and attach some photos

    1 -Floor 80 of the Empire State
    2 - Grand Central Station
    3 - Empire State Building - ground floor
    4 - Outside Grand Central Station
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  • Day 3

    A few words about other things

    July 9, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    As with our last trip, there are certain differences we notice. The technology here is quite amazing from the self flush toilets to the ordering systems to the technology in Andrew's car. Andrew has a Tessla which is a fully electric car. The dashboard is space age with two screens giving him all sorts of information. He has an enormous GPS screen and another one which shows him where he is within the lane and where the other vehicles are. Poppy is fascinated by the door handles which pop out when Andrew approaches the vehicle. Mercina likes the extra boot space in the front where the engine is in regular cars.Read more

  • Day 4

    A long day in the hot sun

    July 10, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Apologies for the infrequency of the posts. We left the hotel at 9am yesterday and didn't return until midnight. It's now 9am and we are struggling to wake up and get moving.

    We drove into town and went for a walk around the Meatpackers District. As the name suggests, this is where al the butchers congregated. Even though they have been gone over 30 years, the place still smells heavily of meat. The architecture is very industrial. This is now a trendy place to live and has many designer stores.

    From there we walked to the Highline. This was an old elevated railway line which had been decommissioned a long time ago. It has been turned into a lovely walkway with gardens and pleasant places to sit. All around there are highrise apartment buildings and you can see right into the rooms.One building had claw foot baths which overlooked the walkway!

    We had lunch in a typical New York Deli. It was full of construction workers.

    After lunch we caught a taxi to the wharf. Poppy has been most impressed by Andrew who just steps out into the road and hails a cab. It was her turn and she was pleased to flag one down.

    We took a cruise around Manhattan Island. This was a great way to see the city from the outside. We saw lots of famous buildings and our tour guide was excellent. We understood most of his jokes. For me, the best bit was when we sailed up to the Statue of Liberty. She was an awesome sight and something I had been wanting to see. The cruise was 2.5 hours and went right around the island. It was a great trip.

    After the ride, we went for a walk to see the Rockerfeller Centre. I always thought this was one building but it turned out to be 12. We also visited St Patrick's church which was pretty spectacular.

    Finally we made it to Times Square. It was full of people and very loud - both aurally and visually. There were huge screens everywhere you looked an it was quite dizzying to see. It reminded me a lot of Las Vegas as you could have your photo taken with characters - eg Mickey Mouse, Statue of Liberty etc. It was a great place to sit and watch the people go by although I did feel quite dizzy as there was way too much going on.

    Andrew and Mercina went off to get Oliver and Eva while Poppy and I wandered around. We found a Starbucks and sat outside using their free wi fi. We also visited a souvenir shop and Poppy is now the proud owner of a sparkly New York cap!

    Going to have breakfast now. Will finish this story later
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  • Day 4

    A Long Day in the Hot Sun - part 2

    July 10, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    So I finished this story and then something happened to the computer and now I have to start again!

    Andrew and Mercina met up with Oliver and Eva and brought them back to Times Square. The kids were very excited to show their cousins their home town. We started with a trip to Dave and Buster's which is an amusement arcade. They had a great time playing all the games for an hour or so.

    We took the subway to a restaurant for dinner. It was just like in the movies - crowded!

    Dinner was at a nice pub where we had another great meal. It is so much more fun travelling with a local as they know all the best places to go. A word about the meals - they are huge. I shared mine with Eva and it was still too much.

    It was a long drive home as we were exhausted. Bed by midnight.
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  • Day 4

    Thing I learned in Times Square

    July 10, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Jesus is coming, so it's time I repented my sins

    The aliens have killed some man's family which is why he is begging in the street.

    The CIA are part of a conspiracy designed to destroy civilisation

    You can wear any outrageous clothing you want and no one bats an eyelid.
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  • Day 4

    Culture

    July 10, 2018 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    This morning we had a later start. We drove to the Upper West Side and parked. We tried to find a park on the street (which is free) but we couldn't find one on the right side of the road. It turns out that every second day, the street sweepers clean the streets so all the cars parked on the north side had to be moved by 11:30am until 2pm else they would be towed. Apparently what they do is at 11:30am the people parked on the north, double park their cars on the south side (one way streets) until 2pm when they move them back!

    We walked through Central Park and around the Jackie Kennedy Reservoir. The park was quite lovely and green.

    We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or The Met) which is on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. This museum is full of artworks from different countries and different eras. We started in the Egyptian section and saw mummies and frescos filled with hieroglyphics. It was quite fascinating to learn about the techniques they used to preserve people. From there we moved to the American Wing followed by Arms and Armour. I really enjoyed seeing the knights and the different suits of armour. The Medieval Art was spectacular and they were playing some dramatic music which really set the scene. Things came a little unstuck in the European Paintings section when I heard Andrew and Mercina casing the joint. We figured out that each Monet was worth approximately $7Million and they were trying to figure out how to take one! Eva encouraged us to take a trip to the Roof Garden where we saw some spectacular views. We ended our time at The Met reviewing our own cultural artifacts in the Greek and Roman Art room.

    Andrew took us to Lennich (a famous NY deli) which was further uptown. We had to get two taxis for the 6 of us. I managed to flag one down straight after Andrew and was able to utter those magical words "Follow that cab!". Lunch was delicious. We even managed to watch the second half of the France/Belgium semi final - although the commentary was in Spanish.

    After lunch we took a walk to the Dakota Building where John Lennon lived and died. It was a special moment for me. Luckily there were no other tourists when we were there so I had plenty of time and space to contemplate. We then walked across the road into Central Park to see Strawberry Fields and the Imagine Memorial. There were heaps of people there. Some had brought flowers. A man was playing John Lennon songs on his guitar and we were all singing along. It was great to sit there and reflect on his life and his death and the impact he made on the world. I am really glad we did this as it was something I was really looking forward to seeing.

    On our way back, we stopped in at the NY Barber Museum which was run by a couple of guys who were quite passionate about the history of barbering in NY. Thy gave us a full guided tour of the place. It was very interesting.

    The kids wanted to take the girls to their favourite frozen yoghurt place , 16 Handles. Everyone had a great time selecting their yoghurts and their toppings.

    By now it was 5pm and we were all a bit tired so we returned to the hotel. The kids went for a swim and I updated my blog and had a nap.

    At 8pm we went to Rosa Mexicano for dinner. We enjoyed the food although there was too much of it again!

    Another great day. Andrew is an awesome tour guide. It has been fun seeing where he lived and worked and also learning about the city. We have covered heaps of ground and we have seen a lot. I do have photos to share and I hope to put more up in the morning.
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