New York in 2 Half Days

Wednesday 19th September 2007
at 02:23am

Who would have thought that a day could make such a difference when coming to terms with a single city is concerned? OK. Perhaps that’s a silly question. This is New York City after all. I mean let’s face it. Is New York even considered a single city these days or is each “borough” classed as a city in itself?

New York is absolutely magnificent. Our first day there, Monday the 18th proved a little daunting but upon going back today we were disappointed there wasn’t more time in the schedule.

We arrived, via bus, at the Port Authority Terminal on 42nd at around 11. By 3 we had travelled all of about 3 blocks. We were surprised to begin with ‘cause our very first experience was walking through a terminal that, if it were any older, would have been absent of all things discovered post the 1950’s. As we walked out into the open air we were greeted with shadows, construction, beeping horns and people walking into each whilst trying their very best to do the opposite. Not sure of where to go, what to do or how to do it even if we did, we set about trying to find Time Square. This was easy, it was a block away.

Having taken photos from every angle, of every neon, including the Naked Cowboy, who contrary to his name wasn’t naked at all, we ended up not far from Toys ‘R’ Us. Thankfully, this had been at the very top of our list of things to see right from the start. Like a kid in a toy shop (get it?) Ben went berserk touching everything he could and playing with the toys on every shelf his little arms could stretch to. We rode the Ferris Wheel, checked out the Jurassic Park dinosaur, gawked at the replica, lego, Empire State Building and spent a whole lot more money than we intended to.

Upon leaving, courtesy of the hunger pains that had visited, we tried to figure out where to eat. The very first cafe was Planet Hollywood and we figured if this wasn’t touristy enough, nothing was going to be. We sat, Kelly and I that is, whilst Ben ran around like a dog trying to find his tail and Luc gave the screams of “I’ve had enough let’s get out of here already”.

A quick stop by the, I (heart) NY shop and we were set. We didn’t see a tree, a ray of sunshine or a happy cab driver the whole 3 hours or so. In fact, all we did see was 3, maybe 4 blocks of one of the greatest cities this little world of ours has to offer.

Tuesday 18th September

Convinced there was more to see we later decided to come again today. Only this time we were armed with a map, directions to our points of interest and enough cash to catch cabs before the little ones were ready for the “You aren’t really doing this to us again are you?” cries. When I say “we” decided to come again I meant “I” had decided to come again. Kelly only agreed upon my showing her the map with the appropriate destinations circled and enough of an idea about transport to get us where we wanted to go quickly. I did that and everything worked out beautifully.

Now, for those of you that don’t know me very well yet, I tend to get side-tracked easily. Our first job out of the bus terminal this morning was to catch a cab to see the Statue of Liberty. We passed this test with flying colours. Not only did we see her in all of her autumn-sun glory, we managed to get some good pics and enjoy a pretzel that, hang on, truth be told, not enjoy a pretzel that had been on-sale for so long - biting into a piece of concrete would have been easier. Wondering whether we should have eaten it or used it as a baseball bat Kelly passed and I did my best.

Anyway, back to being side-tracked (Ha!). With one stop down we were off to 5th and 55th to find the Disney Store. Walking toward downtown to find a cab I noticed how brilliantly designed and built some of the buildings are in this city. As I looked up at these towers of graceful design and timeless beauty I forgot to look down at the map or left to my oh-so patient wife. We walked and walked looking at Trump buildings, Subway signs and anything that had the words “Wall Street” on them. By this time, as you can imagine, the patience of my wife had disappeared and I was in all sorts of strife. After averting a potentially catastrophic situation that lasted the best part of half an hour, we bundled into a cab, sorted out our differences (my la-di-da-di-ness) and headed to where we should have been half an hour ago.

5th Avenue, 55th Avenue, Madison, Park. What a spectacular part of town we were in. Tiffany’s, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, you name it we found it.....and took photos in front of them. The streets seemed wider here. The park was across the road and the sun was belting down on both us and the hedged planter boxes that lined the sides of the street.

How could a $15 cab trip take you from one city to another so quickly? The difference was remarkable. We had a look around, attempted to eat some lunch, wished we could have stayed longer and found a cab back to the bus terminal. We passed by Ground Zero, the Chrysler Centre and Radio City Music Hall before bidding farewell to one of our new favourite cities.

All in All?

After being a little daunted by our first day, the second was awesome. We knew what to do when we got off the bus, where to go and how to get there. If only I’d have stuck to the plan things would have been even smoother. (I suggest you have a chat to Kelly if possible to see how frustrating spending a whole day with me really is.)

We stayed in Secaucus New Jersey for the game thanks to the reasonable rates on offer and the fact that the hotel was only 1 mile from the stadium. After doing so for 2 nights at just $199 we decided to stay another 2 instead of going into town and paying $560 pr night. There was a bus directly opposite our hotel that, for $6.25, gets you into town in 15 minutes and the cabs are so reasonably priced here (did not expect that all) that you can take them as frequently as you’d like to. We would stay again in Secausus and do the same thing without doubt. You lose the evening hustle and bustle but stay so close that you are never too far away. It really was a reasonable way to see everything without completely blowing the budget. (Gee, any jobs on the travel show going???)

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