The Big Mother Flippin' Apple!

7^th September 2011 – 9pm

Wow. What a city. This place really is amazing. The subway is incredible, a very different experience to the public transport system in LA. I seriously cannot get over it. A really nice guy on the subway helped us find the easiest route to our hotel, but aside from that, everyone is pretty rude (as we were warned by those lovely Californians).

Right, so we battled the subway with our backpacks (it’s not the smoothest ride, they move fast and break suddenly, so add the weight of a pack and it’s hard work) and when we got to street level, our hotel was 20 metres away, how lucky was that? 

We are staying in Manhattan, which is pretty alive… All. Through. The. Night. I got a few hours sleep thanks to earplugs.

This morning, we set off for Central Park, in the drizzle. We walked the entire park today, it took us HOURS! The park is nothing like I expected. Apparently there’s no money in the budget for mowing or weeding! The paths wind through the park, there’s no quick, direct route and there’s a lot to see along the way. My highlight was Dakota House (right next to Central Park) where John Lennon lived and died. It’s a very regal place with two guards outside. Actually I’m not sure if they were guards, but I wouldn’t wanna piss ‘em off! I stepped over the invisible “Do Not Cross” line by accident and I was met with a “MA’AM! MA’AM, step back!” Okay.

NEAR DAKOTA HOUSE

CENTRAL PARK

MISTY SKYLINE FROM CENTRAL PARK

After Central Park we had more Mexican (it is seriously so amazing, it makes me realise I’ve never really even had Mexican!) and headed south, not really sure how far we’d get today. I think our plan was to get to the Empire State Building, but we didn’t quite make it that far today. We stopped off at the Museum Of Modern Art’s Design Store which was seriously cool, I wanted to buy EVERYTHING. We might go back to the gallery if we end up with some time spare on Friday. 

We wandered around the Rockefeller Center for a bit, with the intention of going up to the viewing deck but because the drizzle was still around apparently, there was nothing much to see. It’s supposed to be clearing up by Friday.

Then we headed to Times Square. It’s the most amazing spectacle I have ever seen in my life. I couldn’t believe the scale of it. There was so much energy that we both forgot about our aches and pains! I’d say we’ll go back tomorrow to check out Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Matt bumped into Samuel L Jackson right outside!!! We must have spent hours and hours just walking around taking it all in.

THE CRAZY TIMES SQUARE

MATT SHOWING OFF HIS PHOTOGRAPHY SKILLS

We have not long caught the subway home, had a slice of New York Pizza for dinner and now in bed, recovering for what’s sure to be another crazy day tomorrow. Really REALLY having fun now!!!

Amy