Some time ago I'd agreed to join Denise on one of her work trips to the States. She would be working in Newark, Delaware (not to be confused with Newark, New Jersey, a couple of hours up the road) for a couple of days towards the end of the week. The idea being that we would then head up to New York for a couple of days to take in the sights and maybe a show. I was getting stressed about this because of the problems with my leg, knowing that the weekend would involve a lot of walking.
The flight over was a daytime one, and as we passed over Canada and Newfoundland, there was spectacular scenery - all snow and Ice. I managed to get a few photos through the plane's window, and here are just a couple of them.
Our hotel was right on Times Square. Here is the view out of the window. 
After food we headed off up 5th Avenue to have a look at the posh shops. It was quite a way, and I at the start I was still worried about how much I'd manage, but I didn't want to let Denise down. It wasn't too bad, and at least Denise managed to find a very nice jumper to add to her extensive collection - it really does suit her, and wasn't as exhorbitant as I expected for 5th Avenue, and now she can talk about her '5th Avenue purchase'! Tiffany's was a highlight, literally. I have never seen so many top quality diamonds in one place: the counters looked like they were on fire. And it's somewhere Denise wanted to go: she's a big fan of Breakfast at Tiffany's. There was a small queue of people waiting to take this photo :-)
I was totally knackered by the end of it, and we were a mile from the hotel, so we jumped into a pedal rickshaw to get back. It was dearer and more terrifying than a taxi, but an experience not to be missed. The guy was working harder than a cab driver, so I guess he deserved the higher tarriff! Oh, and my mate Graeme had asked me to get a toy/model New York Yellow Cab for him, which I thought was a brilliant souvenir idea, so I bought two; one for me, and one for the G Man. If you're reading this, Graeme, I'll bring it along when we visit for the gig. :-)
We had a bit of a sleep (we'd arrived around 8.30 am local time - having taken off at about 8 am our local time) and then, still full from lunch, we headed up to the rotating cocktail bar on the 48th floor of the hotel. The night-time views were stunning, and we drank one too many cocktails, just to stay and enjoy the view. We paid for it the next day, but it was worth it.
I like the reflections of the bar's lights from the glass, particularly the last one of the view towards the river (you can really see the grid pattern of the city): I think they add to the photos.
Like I say, we paid the price for the extra cocktail, and for staying up till gone midnight, and it was gone lunchtime before we could face going out. Once up, we went down and enquired about tickets at the box office in the hotel, but they were full price, and they added about 20% handling charge. More exhorbitant than Ticket Master! So we went down before 3 o'clock and queued at Tkts to see if we could get what we wanted there. We'd chosen Curtains, as it had been running for almost a year, and had got very good reviews and won quite a few awards. The lead (Inspector Cioffi) was played by David Hyde Pierce (Niles Crane, in Frasier), and there were quite a few major Broadway stars in the cast to bolster the TV star, so it looked promising. We managed to get the tickets in less than an hour's queuing, and at 50% off. Deal done!
Determined not to waste the whole day, we jumped into a cab and headed down to Central Park (I was NOT going to walk all that way again!) to go for a carriage ride. The park looked great in the snow, and we saw a lot of familiar spots from films, such as bridge over the bridle path which countless action heroes have jumped down, and the softball park. The driver used my phone to take a photo for us:
It was pretty c-c-cold, so we were fair bundled up.
Next stop was the Empire State Building, which is once more, sadly, the tallest building in New York. There is an option to watch one of those films with moving seats as you take a virtual helicopter ride over the city, before you go up to the observation deck, but I wouldn't bother, if I was you. It's quite old as it still features the WTC Towers (which your virtual helicopter, ironically, nearly crashes into), which they claim they left in out of 'respect', but I think is was just too expensive to re-do the movie. Cynical? Me? The signage and guidance throughout the building is very poor, and we kept getting lost, despite a large number of staff, who appear only to be there to sell you add-ons to your visit. The ticketing is very complex: do you want to just go to the observation deck on the 86th floor, or do you want to go up the tower on the top as well; do you want to skip the observation deck and just go right to the top; do you want to see the movies; do you want a souvenir map, etc., etc. There were all sorts of combinations and the price list was a huge matrix. Totally confusing. Also, there are two lifts to take you to the top, and you have to get off one, and walk to the other one down the corridor and round the corner. There are queues to go either up or down, and they kept trying to put us into the wrong queue, both on the way up, and on the way down.
Not only that, but as we were coming down, a woman pulled us out of the line as we were walking towards the Gift Shop to claim our free souvenir tee-shirts, and put us in a lift that put us at street level, bypassing the shop! I think she thought she was helping me, seeing me walking with the stick, but she didn't ask; she just told us to go with her. I thought it was a security thing at first, because she started off by talking about a photo we hadn't had taken. Trying to get back to the gift shop meant going back through security, which was just like an airport's by the way, and it took us ages to get our shirts. We were going to give up at several points, but we had invested so much time by this point, we persued it to the end. And all because the woman didn't ask if I wanted help, but forced it on me, like someone seeing a blind man standing by the road and taking him across without checking first if that's what he wanted.
Despite all that, the view of a snow-covered NYC from the 86th floor was stunning. Here are just a few photos.
Iconic Manhattan
Somebody should be able to tell me what the building with the lit-up pyramid on top is. If you do know what it is, please post a comment using the link at the bottom of this post. Ta.
Snow covered rooftops down below. Tall buildings don't look very tall from up here.
The Chrysler Building, just a few blocks away - iconic architecture (slightly zoomed). Actually, the repeated use of the word 'iconic' is intentional. Dramatic effect, etc.
And, poignantly, a view south, where the twin towers would have dominated the far end of this island of Manhattan
Later that night we went to see the show, Curtains in which David Hyde Pierce plays a detective investigating a murder at a Boston theatre, where the leading lady in a western musical adaptation of Robin Hood (yes, really) is killed - fortunately, for she was sure to die on stage every night had the show gone on with her. The detective is star-struck, and an amateur dramatical himself, so is thrilled to be investigating a case in the theatre. I won't say any more in case it comes here, as there are more twists and turns in the plot than any who-dunnit fan could wish for. It's laugh-out-loud funny; the musical numbers are great (and I hate musicals, as a rule - I've never been confused!); the dancing is superb, and very demanding. It's not suitable for young youngsters, though, as there are a few swear words, quite a bit of sexual innuendo (of the comic sort), and the dancing does get quite raunchy from time to time. If you get the chance to see it, do.
Here is a blurry view of Times Square from ground level, snatched between the vehicles and people, as we made our way back to the hotel from the theatre
Sunday was a quiet day, spent wandering around the Lower East Side and SoHo. We found Katz's deli, where Meg Ryan had the best sandwich ever, apparently, in When Harry Met Sally. There is even a commemorative sign over the table where the scene was shot, saying 'Hope you get what Sally got', or something like that. It's a nice, quiet area of the city, with broad streets, and plenty of places to eat and drink, and just chill out. We were told that the pastrami sandwich was the thing to have in Katz's, so we had one of those ... each. Honestly, one would have been enough between us; about a pound of hot, thickly sliced, tender pastrami between two slices of rye bread. The complimentary pickles helped to cut the richness a little, as did the English style chips, but one half was more than enough for either of us. Maybe I should have asked for it thin sliced. I wonder if that would have made any difference ...
We wandered on to SoHo and found small craft fair going on where I bought Denise a pendant made from copper painted onto a leaf, which I've seen done before, and is very effective. Then we found a sports bar and watched the Six Nations Ireland vs Scotland match while we drank a couple of pints of Sierra Nevada beer: very nice they were too.
Then it was back to hotel to pick up our luggage, and head out in the cab for Newark airport. We got a couple of good views of the city as we left. Here's the Empire State from the back of the cab.
I have never eaten so much rich food in my life. I'd already spent a couple of days down in Newark, Delaware, while D was working, and we'd had huge meals with her colleagues in the evenings. You really couldn't face dinner after having eaten lunch, even if it was just a turkey salad sandwich. Again, about a pound of meat.
Our mealtimes were all over the shop all the time we were there, but it was quite an experience, and the only thing I regret is that I hadn't done it before I had lost my leg: it would have been so much more enjoyable if I'd been able to walk around all day without having to find places to stop and sit down all the time. I hope this didn't spoil it too much for Denise. She was very patient with me, I have to say. Bless her, eh?
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