New York is the most amazing city! It is always busy with people and traffic rushing about at all times of the day.
We went up the Empire State Building, which is about a block from our hotel. The viewing deck is on the 86’th floor, and the view was fantastic – you can see the entire island of Manhattan, and much further on a good day. The queue’s are about one hour long or so, but Lois’ white cane did the trick!
Yesterday we took a three hour cruise around Manhattan, and got to see the different neighbourhoods. We say the 59th bridge (as in the 59th Street Bridge Song), the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the United Nations building.
Ground Zero was very sobering – it is just a very big hole in the ground, with lots of construction happening. A selection of photos of 9/11 were on display, as well as a signboard listing the names of the people who lost their lives. The atmosphere was very sad and thought-provoking.
We also visited the Intrepid museum, which contains a WW2 aircraft carrier, a submarine, and a British Airways Concorde. The submarine was really fun to visit. It was very cramped and quite claustrophobic. The hatches we had to climb through were very small and cramped! I was interested to learn that the crew only showered once a week, and then for only one minute at a time. It must have been really fragrant down there!
The Concorde, which was donated by British Airways is really not a large aeroplane – it is tiny! It might have been a really fast aeroplane, but it is also very cramped inside. You are definitely paying for speed, not for comfort. I suppose that I can say with a straight face that I have now been on the Concorde.
It is a good thing we went to the museum when we did because it is closing on Oct 1 for maintenance for a year or so.
So on this trip, we have been on the following modes of transport : aeroplane, ferry, train, bus, subway, car, horse and cart, spaceship, Concorde, tram, submarine, battleship, amphibious vehicle and of course foot! Not bad going for a couple of weeks.
The weather has generally been very hot, but New York has been raining the last couple of days – just like Cape Town! I am loving the trip, but I am starting to miss the dogs, our food and of course my bed!
I seem to have picked up a cold – I think it is from the air-con and hot weather outside, so I am laying low today.
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