Tuesday NYC The End

Today was a real "winding down" day.  We are exhausted.  Hung around the hotel till 11 a.m. to get our boarding passes printed off and get transportation to the airport arranged.  There's construction on one corner of our street so the sidewalk is closed and re-routed and the street is down to one lane, so we opted to NOT try to get a taxi and just got a car service to be here at the hotel.  Hope that works.

After getting that all arranged, we took off walking again.  This time in a totally different direction

SCENES FROM THE GARMENT DISTRICT

down Fashion Avenue around 34-36th Streets in the Garment District...just to see what we could see.  Found the big "warehouse" buildings where the clothes are designed and made...lots of little dress shops (cheap looking and some of the clothes "Made in Taiwan".  LOL.  But it was really interesting.  This walk was in the "working" area of NYC.  These people were actually working; not just walking.  I just wonder where all these people are going.

MORE SCENES FROM THE GARMENT DISTRICT

 

While on 8th Avenue and around 34th, sirens, sirens, sirens.  Fire trucks, police.  They just went around and around trying to find an address, I guess.  Slow, slow progress trying to get through the traffic.  They'd stop, look down a street, then go on and around the block and try again.  This went on for 15-30 minutes and we never saw anything nor saw where they went.  The sirens finally quit.

We kept walking and turned back up toward Times Square/Broadway area.  Went back by the building where we lined up for the Huckabee Show and ate lunch at Fresh & Co, a little café in the walkway (large walkway) between the Fox buildings.  Just as we walked up, Alisyn Camerota walked from one building to the next.  And just as we got up to leave, Julie Banderas walked into one of the buildings.  All are on Fox.

From there we walked on and started heading back towards the hotel.  We had had enough of walking, people, horns, sirens--the whole NY scene.  We decided to go to Bryant Park and just sit a while with a USA Today and our Kindles.  It was a nice reprieve.  It was around lunch time and the park was full of people getting lunch and on their phones. 

Clouds came up and a few sprinkles were felt so we walked back to the hotel mid-afternoon.  Been

Our Hotel (the middle bldg.)

here ever since.  Getting our suitcases ready for tomorrow.

We are SO ready to get home.  It's been a really fun time--except for a few moments (okay, more than a few) on the cruise.  We've really enjoyed NYC.  But it's one of those things for us--been there, done that.   I know there's a lot we missed, but we saw a lot, too.  If we ever come back, it'll be to the Central Park area (Trump Towers is right across---only $700-$7000 a night


Til next time......

A

Monday NYC

 It was an absolutely beautiful day in NYC.  Not a cloud in the sky--what sky you could see.  We bundled up before we left the hotel (we got cold last night) and hit the streets.  (had to unbundle when we got to the park--warmed up considerably)   Went for breakfast and ran across a street vendor selling fruit so I bought some bananas--been craving them and hadn't had one since we got off the cruise.  I ate one at breakfast and had to stuff the others in my purse.

Hopped on the HOHO and went uptown to Central Park.  We entered the Park around 11:30 and started walking.  OMGoodness, it's beautiful.  I can understand why the high $$$$'s for apartments surrounding Central Park on the Upper East and West Sides.  To be able to walk out of your apartment and have this beautiful walking park available is phenomenal.  You can walk 10 steps into the park and leave all the noise of the city behind you 

Strawberry Fields

Our first destination was  Strawberry Fields, a beautiful, quiet section dedicated to the memory of

IMAGINE Mosiac

John Lennon... Strawberry Fields was dedicated on what would have been Lennon's 45th birthday, October 9, 1985, by New York Mayor Ed Koch and Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, who had underwritten the project.

The Dakota-John Lennon's Home

The entrance to the memorial is located on Central Park West at West 72nd Street, directly across from the Dakota Apartments, where Lennon had lived for the later part of his life, and where he was murdered in 1980.  The focal point is a circular pathway mosaic of inlaid stones, with a single word, the title of Lennon's famous song: "Imagine". This was a gift from the city of Naples.^[1] Along the borders of the area surrounding the mosaic are benches which are endowed in memory of other individuals and maintained by the Central Park Conservancy. Yoko Ono, who still lives in The Dakota, contributed over a million dollars for the landscaping and the upkeep endowment.







We just walked around the park for a few hours.  There was something to see at every turn.  Trails meander all through the 800+ acres of the park.  We only covered about the bottom half of the park and certainly not all the little trails.. 

 

SCENES FROM CENTRAL PARK

 

 

We meandered through the park until around 1:30 then came upon The Boathouse, a rental venue and grill-type restaurant.  We ate lunch while people watching....

In line to order lunch

After lunch, we continued thru the park.  There are "entertainers" scattered throughout.  Individuals just gather in various spots.  Take their picture and give them a dollar or two.  I guess that's the way they make their living....All were incredibly talented. Here are a few clips of what we saw talent wise:

.

 

They also sang beautifully!!!

 

 

 

Lots of artists along the Mall in CP

Jackie O's Apt Bldg. 1040 5th Ave

We ended up walking out to Fifth Avenue....just stepped literally from the park to Fifth Avenue and we were right in front of 1040 Fifth Avenue apartment building.   1040 Fifth Ave has one of the most storied floors of any apartment building in the world.   The fifteenth floor was home to Jackie Onasis from 1964 to 1994 and from it, you have some of the best views of Central Park and the reservoir that was renamed in 1994 to Jackie Onasis Reservoir. The apartment that Jackie O purchased in 1964 for $250,000 was sold after her death in 1996 to David Koch for $9.5 million. When David’s family outgrew the apartment in 2006, they listed it for $19.5 million and moved to 740 Park Ave.  It was built in 1931. 



65th Street

We then walked up to 65th street on Fifth Avenue to go up to 3rd Avenue to see if we could find the 50 story apartment building that the Chinese couple that we met on the cruise live in.  We had to cross Lexington, Madison and Park Avenues before we got to 3rd.  There were two buildings that looked to be possibilities.  An extremely nice area.  65th Street is lined with apartments (got a glimpse of one being renovated. )  There were also many consulate offices and/or homes along the way.  We saw the flag of Pakistan flown and started to take a picture, but there was a guard by the door and thought better of it.  Beautiful tree lined street.  Lexington, Madison and Park are lined with shops of all kinds and busy, busy, busy. 

 



 


 

65th Street Apartment

 

Came across this Presbyterian Church that obviously had a school as kids were everywhere...being picked up by nannies, big black cars....just privileged kids.

We went by Engine 54 Firehouse on 7th Avenue (I think).  They lost 19  firefighters on 9/11.  As we

walked down the street, they pulled out to go fight another fire.  I am amazed how how the fire trucks and ambulances DON'T go thru the Times Square area.  It's just gridlocked.  They have to stop and wait for a space to get by.  There's just no where for cars to pull over and get out of their way.  The traffic is so unreal here.  Cars, taxis and buses fly down the streets more or less staying in their lanes---more less than more.  Crazy.







We got back down towards Central Park to the HOHO stop and after about 5 minutes, hopped on the bus back towards Time Square.  Got off and walked very fast back to hotel.  Unloaded my purse, which by now, held bananas, camera, water bottle and much more.  We rested about 30 minutes then relayered and went back to 7th avenue and 47th street (we're on 40th street) to catch the HOHO bus



Chinatown

for the Night tour.  For the most part, it was extremely boring.  Our guide was not very good or informative.  I'm not sure they even went the right route.  But we did go over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn for a wonderful view of the City all lit up.  Unreal.  And seeing Chinatown at night is just like in the movies.

Drove through the projects in Brooklyn and around and then back to NYC via the Brooklyn Bridge and back to Times Square.    There were people on the tour bus tonight  from Argentina, London, Switzerland, Barcelona, Madrid, Holland, Australia, Minnesota and Arkansas.  The tour guide asked us where we were from and she commented that "we gave up Bill Clinton; he's ours now."  Ronnie said:  "you can have him."   We sit on the top tier/open deck and it was cold tonight.  Especially going over the East River on the Bridge. 

Sights and Sounds of Times Square

 

It's been a long day, but we've loved it.  Seeing the Huckabee Show taping (even though we weren't interviewed on air) and Central Park were our two most favorite things.  We'd go back to Central Park if there were more time.  It's lovely.

 

Tomorrow, we have to go down to the internet office and print our boarding passes for our flight home on Wednesday.  When that's done, I hope to just walk around this are and see more of the Fashion District.  We just glimpse sections of it when we are on the bus.

 

 

Goodnight....Ronnie's already asleep.

 

 

A

 

 

 



Sunday, NYC

After a really long day yesterday and late night, we just slept til we woke up.  Left the room and went back to McDonald's for breakfast.  I think Ronnie had dreamed about the Bacon, Egg and Cheese biscuit that he knew was close by.  After eating, we decided we needed to go back to the room and get our jackets...cooler than it was yesterday.  Then we set out.

Freedom Tower

Used our Hop On Hop Off Tickets that we bought online today...we got the All Tour 48 hour...gave us the Downtown, Uptown, Nighttime (not a HOHO), and Brooklyn and Bronx Tours.  We did the Downtown (lower end of Manhattan) and the Uptown (Central Park area).  We decided to just stay on the bus all day and then go back tomorrow to see a certain area if we wanted.



Greenwich Village

So, we got on the Downtown bus (upper tier/open air) and drove.  Went thru Times Square (again--we've spent entirely too much time in that busy place), Greenwich Village, SoHo, Battery Park, Wall Street, Freedom Tower, South Street Seaport, Chinatown, Little Italy, East Village, United Nations Headquarters, back to the TSq area.  It was  a cool tour.  Our guide was Jamaican (or similar) and talked fast and faster--when in the faster mode, his dialect really came out and he was hard to understand.  We got the gist of his spiel, but not all.  This tour without any hopping off took about 2 1/2 hours or so. 

Chinatown

Bill Cosby got his start here-Greenwich Village

When we got off, we got a drink and walked a few blocks and got on the Uptown Bus.  My favorite.  We had an excellent guide.  She spoke slowly and without any accent.  Gave good history and we understood every word.  We left and started out toward Central Park....packed with people:  riding in horse drawn carriages, biking, walking, playing frisbie, all kinds of things cooking, musical acts...you name it.   We went up on the Upper West Side first where normal New Yorkers live.  Nice neighborhoods with stores lined along the area.  Highrise apartments with a shop/store underneath.   We saw the apartment buildings that Denzil Washington and other notables either own or live in....too much information to absorb.  Drove by Museum of Natural History, Grant's Tomb, the Cathedral of St John Divine (huge--too big to even begin to get in the camera frame), Washington Bridge.

SCENES FROM HARLEM

Then we entered Harlem....not at all what we expected.  Clean, neat, safe looking.  I'm thinking EAST Harlem is the area to avoid and we didn't go there.  She mentioned that the boundaries of Harlem had been pushed back after the crime was cleaned up in the 90's.  She showed us the building where Clinton put in an office (to make "a statement") and since then has driven small business owners out and fewer apartment rentals because his action drove the prices up so much.

SCENES FROM UPPER WEST SIDE:

Grant's Tomb



Jackie Kennedy's apartment  1040 5th Avenue across from Central Park

Then we came down 5th Avenue on the Upper East Side where $$$$$'s float down from heaven

Upper East Side Apartments

or Wall Street, wherever.  Apartments, if you can find one, run $50,000 and up a month.  Several million to buy.  Jackie Kennedy lived here.  Joan Rivers has an apartment just off 5th.  The guide commented that the normal (whatever is called normal when you can afford to live here) people really don't like for the celebrities to live in the area because of the attention it brings in.  But there are several that do live in this area. 

The Chinese couple with whom we had dinner one night on the cruise lives in an apartment in this area....3rd and 65th.  We drove past 65th while on 5th and looked down a couple of blocks.  There were two buildings tall enough to be the one they live in.  Very, very interesting.

I really enjoyed this section of the tour where people live...not anything like we live.  They were out walking their dogs, shopping, doing normal things, but so different than our way of life.

There are 8 million plus people living in NYC.  I think, as we drove through all the different neighborhoods that we did today, we must have seen all 8 million.  It's hard to describe the number of people we saw.  Each neighborhood had it's unique food smells.  What a city.

Metropolitan Museum

The Uptown Tour took us to almost 5 p.m. It was getting really chilly on the bus.  There were some areas where the wind just came whistling down through the buildings.  It ended on 47th street and we walked back to 42nd where we had spied earlier the Dallas BBQ Restaurant.  That was where we ate dinner.  Wonderfully good BBQ.  Just right sauce....rivals Mean Pig, Scott.

Walked back to the hotel by 6 p.m and showered and calling it a day.  Not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow.  I do want to go back to Central Park area ...love looking at the Upper East Side apartment buildings.  I know I'll be watching more and more of "Selling New York" on HGTV now--might even know where the neighborhood is that they are talking about.

Young designers get their start here near the Fashion District

Our hotel is on the edge of the Fashion District and we've seen scattered fabric shops on our routes.  I want to walk a little deeper into the District just to see what's there.  We touched on another edge of it today on one of the tours.

NYC is very easy to walk.  After getting our bearings the first day, we've not needed the GPS on the phone at all.  The avenues are numbered and run North and South.  The streets are numbered and run East and West with 5th avenue dividing east from west.  Broadway throws a kink into that grid by running diagonally across, but it's so congested down there, you just try to get out and then re-group. 

A