Archive for July, 2008
We slept in as these are the last few hours in the Big Apple. There was a heavy thunderstorm during the night and several parts of New York and surroundings suffered flash flooding. By morning it stopped raining. There”s nothing more to do than have breakfast and wait to leave for the airport.
We had to get up earlier than yesterday. This was not a problem since I woke up early because of the very loud noise of a thunderstorm more than an hour before our alarm-clock was to go off. We had booked a bus tour to Harlem (yes, we know the reputation of this NY area). Even after reading up on the net we were pleasantly surprised when we got north of the 100th street. We passed buildings where famous musicians like Duke Ellington, Count Basie and many others lived and got a better understanding of life in the older days. The tour brought us to a church where a gospel choir performed as if it was a real mass. The bus dropped us off at 72nd street, one block from the Dakota building where John Lennon was shot dead in 1980. Across the road we entered Central Park where an area is made into a memorial for the ex-Beatle. Strawberry Fields and the Imagine mosaic is still visited daily by fans.
We walked through the park to the Guggenheim. Unfortunately the museum”s outside is being restored and only part can be seen. From here we went back through the park to Columbus Circle but not before we picked up a geocache that was hidden in the park.
The only thing left to do today was go see the lights on Times Square. The many billboards are flashing from all direction trying to get the attention of passers-by.
After breakfast we walked east from our hotel to the UN building.. As expected we had to pass another security check before we could go on the tour. Since the security council was in session we were not allowed in but we got to see the general assembly and got a very good explanation about the inner workings of the different parts of the UN. Rockefeller center was next on our list? Not to go on the top floor for a view of the city , as we already knew tripods and video cameras were not allowed, but just to see the Radio City Hall front. We then took the subway to the Brooklyn bridge and South Street Seaport.
The subway brought us back to our hotel to drop off some stuff and the it was off to Times Square again for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.before heading to the Empire State building for a city panorama. By the time we got through security (again), up the first elevator to the 80th floor and the second one to the 86th and viewing platform, it was already dark. The view was as spectacular as we remembered it to be in 1987.
As expected we woke up early. This was not a bad thing as this gave us the opportunity to have an early breakfast and be on the road by 8:15. We took the subway to Battery Park and bought tickets for the Liberty and Ellis Island ferry. By 10 o”clock , after passing airport type security screening, we docked at Miss Liberty’s. To enter the monument we had to wait in line an hour to be screened again, this time even more thorough . Inside the base of the statue is a museum that”s worth a visit and we also climbed the stairs to the viewing deck.
We returned to the ferry and went to our next stop, Ellis Island. This was the place were immigrants from all over the world had their first encounter with US immigration after their ships entered the US .
Because of the heat the view of Manhattan was very hazy but improving as we noticed from Ellis Island, we even got a better view of the Empire State Building, now the highest building in NY.
After getting back to Battery Park we took a stroll through Wall Street passed the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) building. 21 years ago, on our first visit here, we were able to go inside and see the “action”. Now part of the street is off limits and there are heavily armed patrols.
Next stop was Ground Zero. Work is well underway for the new and improved WTC tower. I guess we”ll have to revisit after 2012 when the 1776 ft tower will be finished .
Via the South Street Seaport we made our way back to the subway to Times Square from where it”s only minutes to our hotel.
Sunday morning we were picked up at 8 to be dropped off at the airport. At 11:45 as planned we left the gate and flew west for 8h10 minutes to arrive at New York’s JFK airport at just minutes passed 2 in the afternoon. We were pleasantly surprised with the attitude of the immigration officers. This must have been the friendliest we encountered in the 22 years we”ve been in the states. After a long wait we got our luggage and passed through customs to get on a bus that brought us to Grand Central station. Here we boarded a minivan that got us to our hotel.
After settling in we just walked 2 blocks to Times Square for a quick bite to eat. Then it was time to relax and prepare our stuf for Monday, the first full day of our holiday.
For some time now I’ve been geocaching. So far I’ve been searching for caches in Belgium, The Netherlands, Canada and Germany. I hope to add a lot more countries to the list starting soon in the US. We’ll visit New York, Southern Florida and the Florida Keys so plenty of chances to up the found score.
I’ll make some extra comments about caches we find if they are for any reason “special”
Contrary to previous years I will not keep a diary on my webpages during our yearly vacation but instead try to write a few lines in this blog. My guess is this will be easier and take up a little less precious time than keep the regular site up to date.
To make more pictures availlable I also installed a gallery
Brussels, BELGIUM