A Day in New York - November 9, 2019
I slept really well, got myself organised and headed out the door to take in some of the wonders of New York City. My hotel was just off Broadway which runs the length of Manhatten (the Island on which the city is established) which is 13.5 miles.
First stop was at a coffee shop where the barista made me a delicious cappuccino. While I was waiting I struck up a conversation with a lady who was also waiting for her coffee. My accent was a dead give away that I was not from around New York. Like so many American people I have met on this trip, she told me how visiting Australia was on her "bucket list" and how she loved so many things about Australia from the programs she had watched on TV. I had replied as I had in all these kinds of conversations, "Australia really is a great country. You'll love it when you get there."
It's a huge commitment to go to Australia, and yes it can be an expensive place to live. Firstly, the price of petrol is about four times more expensive than what you pay in New York. Secondly, the distances we travel in Australia are enormous (especially in WA) by comparison to anywhere in the US. We can literally travel over 200 kilometres and not see another sign of civilisation apart from the road we're travelling on. Things seems to be much closer together here in the US.
Conversely, it's a huge commitment to travel to the US from Australia. The length of the plane journey itself is enormous.The US is a very expensive place to live as there are so many more hidden costs. For example, you might see something on a shelf that you want to buy (e.g. a book). The price tag says $15.00. So you get the money out ready to pay at the counter, and the cashier says, "That'll be $16.50 including taxes, thanks!" I like the way we include the taxes in the final price advertised on the shelf in Australia. That way you can do your mental calculations and know exactly how much you're spending.
Coffee in hand, I then began wandering down Broadway (singing the George Benson version of "On Broadway") with the intention of finding a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus and taking a tour of the City. I saw an entrance to the Subway but felt a little daunted by the thought of negotiating my way in it. So, coffee finished, I hailed a cab just like had seen it done in the movies.
Immediately a cab driver saw my gesture. He swerved over to the curb and I jumped in telling him that I wanted to go to Madame Tussaud's - which was where the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus left from. He was of Indian descent, and for the next 10 minutes (almost without taking a breath!) he told me in his jovial style, his life story about how his marriage had busted up but that even though he was very good looking man (a fact he came back to several times in the story) he was also a patient man. He had had several opportunities to start a new relationship with another woman (because he was so good looking), but he had decided to work on himself and understand why his wife was no longer happy with him. He felt he had become a more patient person as a result of his adversity. He still loved his wife and for the sake of their daughter he was going to begin practicing his religion again and hoped that God would give him another chance to get his marriage back on track.
When we had almost reached my destination, there was a bit of a traffic jam. The cab driver kindly told me he would turn off the meter. I was grateful. He kept talking, telling me how he could give up driving and become a movie star because he was so good looking. He went on to say that he had had talent scouts in his cab who had told him that he was only very good looking but enormously talented too. As he talked I found the correct money in my purse (which included a tip). We pulled up outside Madam Tussauds. I thanked him for his masterful driving, wished him all the best and hopped out of the cab in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown New York.
After taking in the enormity of where I was, I started looking around for the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus office. Nothing was springing out at me, so I went up to a vendor in a cart selling magazines, chewing gum and other candy, NY souvenirs and a whole host of other things and asked him if he could point me in the right direction. People out on Route 66 had told me that the friendliest folk were in the south of the USA and that the NY people were the least friendly. That was not my experience! In fact I would go as far as to say that the folk I encountered all over the US were not only friendly, but they were kind and always helpful when asked for assistance. The vendor pointed me down the street to the building where the eagle was. So off I went!
I was having trouble finding the eagle, but I had no trouble spotting the guys selling the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus tours. I showed one fellow the voucher I had. He said it didn't give me a discount, and I figured that I'd come all this way, I may as well just buy a ticket and hop on the bus which was leaving in two minutes. He gave me my pass and a pair of headphones.
The air was cold. I thought I might get a good view sitting inside the bus, so I wandered down to a seat where I had access to a window, plugged my headphones in and started listening.The guy doing the commentary was great. He didn't sound like a robot - like the lady on the architectural tour in Chicago, or the guy in the Grand Canyon Caverns who had learnt their scripts very well, but did not make their information meaningful to the people listening to them. This guy on the bus was making connections and was taking the time to get to know his audience.
We went down Billionaires Row on 57th Street. This included Trump Tower which had had so many protests outside it that it can now no longer be driven past, and the Trump name has been removed from the front of the building. This building is, however, the address that Donald Trump uses on his tax returns.
The Hop-On-Hop-Off bus drove along the upper east side of the city which is America's busiest and richest neighbourhood. Apparently people pay up to $30,000 a year for their children to attend daycare! Madison Avenue is the most expensive area in New York and the richest people live on 5th and Park Avenue. It was the first neighbourhood to have an elevator and the original elevators in some of the building have a propensity to break down and trap people for hours and even days! In some of the buildings we passed, Christmas decorations were already on display. It's not even a month before Christmas yet!
Ninety percent of Manhatten's (Manhatten means "many hills") buildings consist of apartments, and many with views over Central Park, are occupied by famous celebrities including Lady Gaga and Barbara Walters. Past names include Joan Rivers (the 'queen of mean') Jackie O, Katherine Hepburn and Sting, who bought a whole apartment block for $70 million! Some apartments can be rented for $100 and hour.
Many of the buildings have featured in top selling movies. 20 Bryant Park was used for Home Alone 2. The New York Public Library built in 1911 was used in Ghost Busters and Sex In The City. Superman's Daily Planet building is also located amongst these buildings.
Many of the buildings belong to multinational corporations such as Chrysler, Woolworths, Singer and Colgate.The Vanderbilt family is one of the main holders of real estate in the city. And these a section of the city that used to be old mansions that is now known as the Museum Mile.
There is so much going on in New York City. The bus ride was start-stop-start-stop the whole tour which lasted about 90 minutes. We learn that the population of New York City is 8.3 million people and not surprisingly it is one of the world's centres for fashion, theatre, food, music, publishing, advertising and of course finance.
There's so much choice when it comes to things to do - shopping, perusing the amazing choice of art galleries and museums, or just taking in the variety of sounds made by talented buskers and other entertainers in the upper Westside.
And then there are the concert halls - Carnegie, Madison Square Gardens and Radio City, and the Met (which is opposite the Sacred Heart Girls School that Lady Gaga and Paris Hilton attended.
Every block of the city reflects the character and history of the people who call this place home. Many of the homes had doormen who were some of the best paid in the whole world! Some made thousands of dollars in tips!
Slap, bang in the middle of the city is Central Park which opened in 1858 with its expanses of grass, flowers, meandering streams, reflective lakes, and huge trees keeping out the pulsating, cacophonous sounds of the car heavy city. It's known as the City's public back yard because there are only two privately owned backyards in the whole city!
New York City has barely an inch of undeveloped real estate. The architecture is diverse and often marvellous. The homes portray a huge array of styles from Victorian Gothic to Romanesque and neo-Greco. With all the activity constantly going on in this city that never stops, it's not hard to imagine that getting a park is a difficult thing to do. That's why a lot of New Yorkers prefer to walk or catch public transport.
In essence, New York City is a landscape of tarmacs and skyscrapers. You can't help but find yourself staring up. One building that fascinated me was the new tallest building in in the city - it's an apartment block - and it will eventually be the tallest building in America. .
It was only 4.15 and already it was starting to get dark! The tour was finishing.
It was time to get off the bus ... but first there was a tip for the tour guide and the bus driver!
I wasn't ready to go back to my hotel. I still needed to find a vendor selling gyros or hotdogs ... and there had to be a queue leading to the point of supply. So off I went wandering, marvelling in the sights I
Colours, lights, action, smells, and sounds - all mesmerising my senses. It was getting cold too ... and I hadn't brought my beanie and gloves!
I called into a chocolate shop and bought a cup of hot chocolate. I knew that would warm me from the inside out! As I walked along the city streets sipping it, I admired the pots of flowers in the street planters, Rockefeller Square, all the sewing machines in a store window, and one of the many works of art placed in prominent view.
I was getting really cold, and beginning to get aching feet, so I ducked into the magnificent city library to peruse a few books until I started to warm up again. As I was entering the library I noticed these umbrella bags. People can put their wet umbrellas into them and carry them into the library, otherwise if they leave them outside, they may not see them again!
It's a huge commitment to go to Australia, and yes it can be an expensive place to live. Firstly, the price of petrol is about four times more expensive than what you pay in New York. Secondly, the distances we travel in Australia are enormous (especially in WA) by comparison to anywhere in the US. We can literally travel over 200 kilometres and not see another sign of civilisation apart from the road we're travelling on. Things seems to be much closer together here in the US.
Conversely, it's a huge commitment to travel to the US from Australia. The length of the plane journey itself is enormous.The US is a very expensive place to live as there are so many more hidden costs. For example, you might see something on a shelf that you want to buy (e.g. a book). The price tag says $15.00. So you get the money out ready to pay at the counter, and the cashier says, "That'll be $16.50 including taxes, thanks!" I like the way we include the taxes in the final price advertised on the shelf in Australia. That way you can do your mental calculations and know exactly how much you're spending.
Coffee in hand, I then began wandering down Broadway (singing the George Benson version of "On Broadway") with the intention of finding a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus and taking a tour of the City. I saw an entrance to the Subway but felt a little daunted by the thought of negotiating my way in it. So, coffee finished, I hailed a cab just like had seen it done in the movies.
Immediately a cab driver saw my gesture. He swerved over to the curb and I jumped in telling him that I wanted to go to Madame Tussaud's - which was where the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus left from. He was of Indian descent, and for the next 10 minutes (almost without taking a breath!) he told me in his jovial style, his life story about how his marriage had busted up but that even though he was very good looking man (a fact he came back to several times in the story) he was also a patient man. He had had several opportunities to start a new relationship with another woman (because he was so good looking), but he had decided to work on himself and understand why his wife was no longer happy with him. He felt he had become a more patient person as a result of his adversity. He still loved his wife and for the sake of their daughter he was going to begin practicing his religion again and hoped that God would give him another chance to get his marriage back on track.
When we had almost reached my destination, there was a bit of a traffic jam. The cab driver kindly told me he would turn off the meter. I was grateful. He kept talking, telling me how he could give up driving and become a movie star because he was so good looking. He went on to say that he had had talent scouts in his cab who had told him that he was only very good looking but enormously talented too. As he talked I found the correct money in my purse (which included a tip). We pulled up outside Madam Tussauds. I thanked him for his masterful driving, wished him all the best and hopped out of the cab in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown New York.
After taking in the enormity of where I was, I started looking around for the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus office. Nothing was springing out at me, so I went up to a vendor in a cart selling magazines, chewing gum and other candy, NY souvenirs and a whole host of other things and asked him if he could point me in the right direction. People out on Route 66 had told me that the friendliest folk were in the south of the USA and that the NY people were the least friendly. That was not my experience! In fact I would go as far as to say that the folk I encountered all over the US were not only friendly, but they were kind and always helpful when asked for assistance. The vendor pointed me down the street to the building where the eagle was. So off I went!
The air was cold. I thought I might get a good view sitting inside the bus, so I wandered down to a seat where I had access to a window, plugged my headphones in and started listening.The guy doing the commentary was great. He didn't sound like a robot - like the lady on the architectural tour in Chicago, or the guy in the Grand Canyon Caverns who had learnt their scripts very well, but did not make their information meaningful to the people listening to them. This guy on the bus was making connections and was taking the time to get to know his audience.
We went down Billionaires Row on 57th Street. This included Trump Tower which had had so many protests outside it that it can now no longer be driven past, and the Trump name has been removed from the front of the building. This building is, however, the address that Donald Trump uses on his tax returns.
The Hop-On-Hop-Off bus drove along the upper east side of the city which is America's busiest and richest neighbourhood. Apparently people pay up to $30,000 a year for their children to attend daycare! Madison Avenue is the most expensive area in New York and the richest people live on 5th and Park Avenue. It was the first neighbourhood to have an elevator and the original elevators in some of the building have a propensity to break down and trap people for hours and even days! In some of the buildings we passed, Christmas decorations were already on display. It's not even a month before Christmas yet!
Ninety percent of Manhatten's (Manhatten means "many hills") buildings consist of apartments, and many with views over Central Park, are occupied by famous celebrities including Lady Gaga and Barbara Walters. Past names include Joan Rivers (the 'queen of mean') Jackie O, Katherine Hepburn and Sting, who bought a whole apartment block for $70 million! Some apartments can be rented for $100 and hour.
Many of the buildings have featured in top selling movies. 20 Bryant Park was used for Home Alone 2. The New York Public Library built in 1911 was used in Ghost Busters and Sex In The City. Superman's Daily Planet building is also located amongst these buildings.
There's so much choice when it comes to things to do - shopping, perusing the amazing choice of art galleries and museums, or just taking in the variety of sounds made by talented buskers and other entertainers in the upper Westside.
In essence, New York City is a landscape of tarmacs and skyscrapers. You can't help but find yourself staring up. One building that fascinated me was the new tallest building in in the city - it's an apartment block - and it will eventually be the tallest building in America. .
It was only 4.15 and already it was starting to get dark! The tour was finishing.
It was time to get off the bus ... but first there was a tip for the tour guide and the bus driver!
I wasn't ready to go back to my hotel. I still needed to find a vendor selling gyros or hotdogs ... and there had to be a queue leading to the point of supply. So off I went wandering, marvelling in the sights I
Colours, lights, action, smells, and sounds - all mesmerising my senses. It was getting cold too ... and I hadn't brought my beanie and gloves!
I called into a chocolate shop and bought a cup of hot chocolate. I knew that would warm me from the inside out! As I walked along the city streets sipping it, I admired the pots of flowers in the street planters, Rockefeller Square, all the sewing machines in a store window, and one of the many works of art placed in prominent view.
One of the challenges of traveling is finding a loo when you need one. I can recommend libraries as being a good place. They are only too happy to serve you by allowing you to use their facilities. Now ready for the final leg of my outing, I headed out again and made my way to the Subway.
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| Sign of the Day! |
Getting a ticket for the train ride was not difficult at all. I felt completely safe as I made my way to 86th street. When I arrived at what was the last stop, I got off the subway and climbed the stairs, so I could set Google Maps to show me the way back to my hotel. I had only gone a few steps when i realised something was missing! My shopping bag with all the bits and pieces I had accumulated along the way! There was nothing of extreme value, but I especially wanted my note pad that I had been carrying to take notes for this blog.
I immediately walked back into the subway and told the man at the ticket window my dilemma. He was cool, calm and nonchalant, and told me to go and talk to the ladies down stairs on the platform. He let me through the security gate, and I found the lovely ladies. They instantly knew what I was talking about when I told them about my bag, and asked me to follow them to their cleaning cart. Within a few seconds I had my bag back! I'm so grateful for God's protection.
Take 2! I got to the top of the stairs and out onto the street and I set Google Maps. According to its calculations, I should be home in 8 minutes. That seemed pretty good! So, off I went walking. I was getting cold again, so I stepped into at a little grocery store to buy a bottle of water, and saw a couple of things on the shelf that were new to me. These apples were tiny (and kind of cute!). The orange is a normal size. The chutneys were kind of different too!
After having a good look around, I paid for my stuff and went out the door in the direction I thought I was supposed to go. I was following the little walking dots on my screen, but now my journey was going to take 13 minutes! I kept going and I eventually arrived at the water's edge. The view across to the city was beautiful. There were people running on the path near the water, I felt safe but tired.
I was so confused about what Google Maps was telling me to do. I think if I had have kept following Google I would have been walking all night, so I admitted defeat and decided to head down to the main road and catch a cab back to the hotel!!
It was a much longer than I expected ride back to the hotel, but I got back in one piece, ambled in through the front entrance, caught the lift to my floor, wound my way around the corridor to my room, opened my door and flaked out on the bed with my right foot elevated to give it a rest. It was great to be back in the warmth of the hotel for the rest of the night.
What a lovely story. I think that Indian cabbie was trying to pick you up.Glad you had a great day in New Y9rk.
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