"I loved it - and I don' ..." a New York City Travel Page by sue_stone

We had a fantastic belated honeymoon in New York.

We flew out at 6.30pm on Wed the 21st of April, travelling on American Airlines. Security was tight at Heathrow, and our hand luggage was searched and we were frisked before boarding. Eight hours or so later we landed at JFK (at 9pm local time) and jumped in a yellow cab for a harrowing trip into Manhattan.

Our hotel (Hotel Bedford) was located in Midtown East, on 40th Street, 2 minutes walk from Grand Central Station. It was nothing too fancy, but in a good central location. That night we watched Seinfeld and slept soundly.

Thursday morning started out cold, but the day warmed up to t-shirt weather - great for sight seeing and photos. We started with a hearty breakfast at the Comfort Diner, a typical old style American Diner, with shiny leather booths and unlimited coffee top ups. First sight of the day was the spectacular Grand Central Station. Never seen such a posh train station before! We stood in awe, took a few snaps and were approached by a camera crew to say a few words about ourselves for a local TV news show. Alex grabbed the microphone and did a spiel to camera!

Then we jumped on the subway and went downtown to the bottom of Manhattan, to Battery Park. This is a pretty park by the water, and there is a view across to the (distant) Statue of Liberty, standing on Liberty Island in the middle of New York Harbour. Next we wandered past the Cunard Building, then took photos by the giant bronzed bull - the symbol of Wall Street, and saw the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall. Wandered past the impressive Trinity Church, and then we were at Ground Zero - the site of the World Trade Centre. I was quite affected by it all. Very sad to see the site - which just looks like a huge building site, and to see the surrounding buildings still being repaired.

Kept moving, past the impressive Woolworth Building, City Hall and Park and then got to Brooklyn Bridge. When it was completed in 1883, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world, and was the first bridge to be constructed using steel. It is a beautiful bridge, and we walked across to Brooklyn and back, enjoying the sun and the view. By this time we were hungry again, so headed to Katz Deli (www.katzdeli.com), one of the famous New York Deli's, and shared a 'Pastrami on Rye'. YUM! It is here that the "famous" scene from 'When Harry met Sally' was filmed.

Back to the streets to walk another 40 or so blocks along Broadway, towards our hotel, window shopping on the way, and stopping to take photos of the very cool Flatiron building. Oh, and more importantly, Alex bought a new lens for his new camera. One happy boy.

That night we had an overpriced dinner at the Oyster Bar (www.oysterbarny.com/oysterbar/html/index2.htm) in Grand Central Station. It was a great looking place, but food was average and they rushed our meal.....seemed eager to close at 10pm - and this is supposed to be the city that never sleeps!!?

Friday dawned overcast, and we wandered up to Times Square to check it out and look for some breakfast. Times Square was quite impressive, with all its neon signs, big hotels and you could even watch the filming of 'Good Morning America', at their street side TV studio. Disappointed with the breakfast options we found, we popped into the Golden Arches for a quick B&E McM, as you do. Next we stopped by the New York Library for a quick photo. Then we queued and queued some more and eventually made it to the top of the Empire State Building!! Quite a building, and fantastic views across Manhattan. We took lots of photos. It was pretty amazing being up there - one of those places you dream of going one day. Even more amazing was that I saw a guy I used to work with in London up there!!

Next wandered through Little Italy - not exciting - and had a quick pasta for lunch. Then walked through Soho and found our way to Dean and Deluca, an amazing cafe/deli/gift shop, for an afternoon treat (www.deananddeluca.com). More walking up through Washington Square, listened to some free jazz, and then walked a little through Greenwich Village and along Fifth Avenue to Union Square, where the thought of walking another 20 blocks did not appeal and the subway beckoned. That night we wandered back up to Times Square to see how it looked at night - it was so bright it seemed like day light! We had a quick low key dinner and crashed.

Saturday was another beautiful day weather wise, and a big brekkie was in order, so we headed to the corniest place we could find - Ellen's Stardust Diner (www.ellensstardustdiner.com), a 1950's diner with singing waiting staff! Very entertaining, though a little loud first thing in the morning!! On the way there, we stuck our head in St Patrick's Cathedral, which is a huge gothic cathedral (the largest Catholic cathedral in the United States), with two 330-foot spires. We also stopped for a photo at Radio City Music Hall, a famous art deco theatre, and then moved onto the Rockefeller Centre and Plaza. Next a browse in the Museum of Modern Art shop - the museum itself is closed at the moment, and then more photos at Carnegie Hall, and finally a coffee stop.

The sky was blue and magically, there was Central Park, so we took a leisurely stroll, admiring the squirrels and the New Yorkers soaking up the sun. By some strange twist of fate, we managed to score an outside table at the Central Park Boathouse, and lunched on prawns and Napa chardonnay, whilst watching the row boats and gondola (??!!) on the lake. Most civilised. Refreshed and relaxed, we wandered past Cleopatra's needle, and then out of the Park to take some pics of the Guggenheim Museum. Then, a casual 30 or so block meander down Madison Avenue - window shopping only, our budget didn't quite stretch to designer shopping this trip! Back near the hotel, we couldn't resist a couple of photos of the magnificent Chrysler Building against the gorgeous blue sky.

After a quick refresh at the hotel, we headed back down to Battery Park, and jumped on the Staten Island Ferry - a free 25 minute trip across New York Harbour, which passes close by to the lady herself - the Statue of Liberty. How excitement!! We timed our trip well, so that on the way over, the sun was setting behind the statue, and on the way back, we got to see Manhattan all lit up. Fabulous. To top the night off, we headed to the Beekman Hotel, an art deco hotel by the harbour, with a bar/restaurant on the 26th floor - "Top of the Tower is a sophisticated restaurant and lounge 26 stories above Manhattan. Dramatic decor and spectacular skyline views make it one of the most romantic and memorable spots in the city." So, we dined by the window looking over the harbour and felt pretty special.

Sunday morning bought us the yummiest breakfast of the trip. We dropped by the Brooklyn Diner (not in Brooklyn), squeezed into a couple of stools at the bar and had deliciously creamy scrambled eggs and bacon etc etc (www.brooklyndiner.com). Then we waddled along to the Soup Kitchen made famous on Seinfeld (which was closed for renovations), just to take a photo for Naomi. Next on to the new twinned tower Time Warner Centre, at Columbus Circle, next to Central Park. Then a walk along Central Park West to look at the grand old apartment buildings and see the Dakota Building, where John Lennon lived and was shot. We really enjoyed walking through the Upper West Side - the type of area we would like to live - there were plenty of cafe's, shops and tree lined streets....now we just need a greencard!! More photo opportunities were found at the Metropolitan Opera House, and then I finally managed to drag Alex to do some shopping. We had a browse in Bloomingdale's department store and some other shops and found a couple of bargains - like Levi's for 20 pounds.

That night we wanted to stay close to the Hotel, so we headed back to Grand Central Station. First we had a drink at a bar called The Campbell Apartment - "Campbell Apartment inside Grand Central Station is a painstaking restoration of '30s tycoon John W. Campbell's luxurious office, a nouveau-deco sanctuary of velvet, brocade, gilt, leaded glass, mahogany, marble and single-malt scotch". We then ate at an Italian restaurant, Cipriani Dolci, overlooking the main concourse, and downed a litre of Napa's finest red.

Monday bought the rain. Lucky we planned to spend our last hours indoors - shopping!! So, we had one last fry-up (I never want to see a rasher of bacon again!!) and headed downtown to Macy's department store. Yes sir, we liked it! I especially liked that half a floor was devoted to handbags! Unfortunately, we only had about 3.5 hours to shop, which clearly isn't enough in the world's largest department store. Oh well, we will just have to go back...

We jumped on a bus back to JFK, and after suitcase checks, hand luggage inspections and body frisks again, we were all set for the flight back to London, leaving at 7pm, and due to arrive back into Heathrow at around 7am local time. After dinner and a movie on board, there was time for no more than 2 hours sleep before we were back in London, and the mandatory 45 minute wait to get through customs....

So, we had a fantastic time, but it was a different type of holiday to those we have had since we have been away from Australia. For one thing, we spoke the language. And the skyscrapers - so different from Europe. More like Sydney or Melbourne than London. And the wide, neat streets - so easy to find your way around. A modern city, with a Starbucks (literally) on every corner. But beautiful parks to relax in. And tulips everywhere - gotta love a city with tulips.