It’s safe to say on day three, New York has stolen my heart. I am normally not a city girl, living in the hills suits me perfectly but New York is something else. It’s charismatic, diverse and just plain lovely.
Today we wanted to pack as much in as possible, so that our last day can be more relaxed, knowing that we gave it everything.
First stop, Natural History Museum … you know, the one on the movie “A night in the museum” the walk was lovely. I spent time watching New York Locals and I wondered what would their lives be like? Seeing them walking in the glorious sun by Central Park, dressed in stylish clothes pushing their babies in prams looked like a great lifestyle to me!
The museum was HUGE! I love natural history museums! We did the one on London too and I’m always fascinated! I had a weird moment in there! When I was planning the US I dreamt I went to a museum, and in a giant tank were these humpback whales, swimming gracefully! And it was the most beautiful thing it stuck with me and sure enough yesterday there was a 3D IMAX screening of humpback whales and I got the same incredible feeling I had in the dream! Must be on the right path (thanks for the confirmation universe)
We jumped on the subway and headed back into Times Square.
A friend recommended the “Ellen Stardust Diner” a musical theatre dining experience, where the waitstaff sing and serve you! With no exaggeration, our waitress “shenanigans” sang her ballad and replaced lines with “do you neeeed any channgeee” as we handed her the bill. It was a must do in New York! We walked in while “New York, New York” was being belted out! And you couldn’t get the smile off my face.
A couple good burgers and giant free refill pink lemonades later we were off to catch the Grey Line bus again, this time to explore Downtown! Another brilliant tour guide! This one Dry humoured and super knowledgable! Made for a great trip!
New York just keeps getting more beautiful!! Downtown was something to see! We took the guided tour all the way to the 9/11 memorial.
Wow. The atmosphere was palpable. Even to see the bare gap of buildings as you approach the memorial tells the story of how absolutely terrifying it would have been, and how great the loss!
Two large pools now fill the space where the twin towers once stood. A somber reminder of the devastating events. People around were gazing into it quietly and if they were like me – trying to process what it would have been like to be in that building that day.
Photos do not do this justice. This is a must see in New York.
We headed back to the bus, a little more serious than when we got off thankfully the next bus guide put smiles back on our faces. He was a crack up! This grey line pass was absolutely worth it! We drove around the east side of Manhattan, past the pier, Statue of Liberty, East Village, Little Italy, china town, the lot! I would love to go back to the East Village for dinner! It looks like the place to be!
But we are on a mission. A mission to get to the top of the Rockefeller building!! A lot of people go to the Empire State Building and join the 1hour long queue. uhhh … no thanks! We got our ticket, went and got a wine and visited the Nintendo store and then went back for our session time and went straight up!
It was heaving with people at the top however and touristy things like this are always underwhelming for me! But I’m really glad we saw the city from this vantage point during our stay.
So by now we have done so much walking in this stay that our calves are screaming and my blisters have burst and made walking very difficult, so at 9:30 we decided to head back to the hotel for a little rest and head out afterwards – which of course turned into me crashing at 10pm, without even having dinner! Haha! Rhys has been feeling a bit feverish lately too, so rest seemed like a good plan!
Our last day tomorrow. I’m so not ready to leave 😦
E
[e] 