We arrived in New York after a long day of travelling – we woke early in Paris, caught a Metro then a train to the airport, flew the 8hrs to Washington DC then transferred to New York JFK, before catching the subway to arrive at our VERY basic hotel in midtown corner of Madison and 27th Street. We were finally happy to be in a land where English is the main language and finally we could be understood…at least we thought. No one spoke English very well at our hotel and the wonderful service we were expecting, never eventuated! We arrived late at night, and that night the heavens opened with rain and thunderstorm but thankfully the next day we saw some blue skies and got to explore the wonderful city that never sleeps New York.
We walked from 27th up to 88 th street to meet our friend Jared, who bypassed NY on his way to Philly, to see us. We met Jared at WUJS and it was great to re-unite. We picked up the infamous bagels at H & H and wandered through Central park and then along 5th Avenue past Trump Towers, Schwartz Toy Shop, Elizabeth Arden, Abercrombie and Finch (where half naked gorgeous hunks wait by the door to greet you and you feel like you are in a club rather then a shop!!). Next stop was the Rockefeller, famous for its ice rink and Christmas tree in winter, since we were there in spring the ice rink is now an outdoor terrace filled with restaurants.
We then walked to Grand Central station, which was built in 1913. The inside is beautiful with a ceiling decorated with a star map. We sat an enjoyed lunch in the food mall on the bottom floor, before saying goodbye to Jared.
Matt and I then ventured on (my feet were really sore as I felt I should fit in with the trendy fashion of NY and wore my heeled boots – not really suited for 20km’s of walking!) to wonder through tacky tourist shops and made our way to Time Square, which is actually a triangle at the junction of 42nd St, Seventh Ave and Broadway. Time square is a showplace for spectacular billboard advertising with huge electric neon sign advertising anything from Mints, to TV shows to the NASDAQ to even JDate!
In the late afternoon, we went to the MoMa – Museum of Modern Art – which is actually free on a Friday from 5-8pm. It is an amazing museum and one that we would HIGHLY recommend. The collection that they have is wonderful from Picasso, Cezanne, Dali, Monet, Chagall, Pollock etc. We then rushed to the Guggenheim museum, getting there just in time to admire the amazing circular architecture of the interior of the building.