We slept in quite late today. Our apartment is very dark with the shades drawn so the sun doesn't naturally wake us. I guess we're also still catching up with jet lag time zone differences.
We headed out in the afternoon to stock up on grocery items, fresh bread and some French wine for the next few days over New Year.
Came back to our apartment and enjoyed some dips, vin rouge and snacks and then cooked dinner.
We headed out around 11pm down the street to the Champs-Élysées and then over to the Tour Eiffel. As expected it was very busy out in the streets. Many were tourists, and of course there were many young locals out and about enjoying their New Year, often to the detriment of others. Some of the streets (rue) here are lit up quite beautifully with holiday decorations.
There were scattered fireworks around but nothing exciting at all. It was all very small scale.
We ended up coming back home around 1:30pm. There were plenty of drunk and young hooligans everywhere by this time making fools of themselves and shouting out throughout most of the night. Our apartment is six floors up but we could still hear the shouting so had to resort to earplugs to get to sleep.
Today's Weather
Raining. Temperature at 2:30pm: 11 C
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Day 19 - Paris, France
I awoke quite early this morning still not totally adjusted to Paris time. Read through a pile of Paris and surrounding area brochures and studied maps whilst waiting for Sharon to wake up.
Headed out to buy some bread for breakfast at the local Bakery on the corner.
We then headed out and walked down the street and then along Avenue de Champs-Élysées down to Place de la Concorde, along Rue De Rivoli (stopped for coffee) and then into the Jardin des Tuileries along to the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and then underground to see the inverted Pei glass pyramid at the Musée du Louvre.
We then headed back in towards Opera, and down around Place Vendôme, which seems to be the jewellery capital of the world. After looking around at the extravagant and stupidly decadent jewellery on show, we headed back towards our apartment passing the impressive L'église de la Madeleine. We stopped to get some more groceries to make dinner and a bottle of Bordeaux Vin Rouge.
Headed out to buy some bread for breakfast at the local Bakery on the corner.
We then headed out and walked down the street and then along Avenue de Champs-Élysées down to Place de la Concorde, along Rue De Rivoli (stopped for coffee) and then into the Jardin des Tuileries along to the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and then underground to see the inverted Pei glass pyramid at the Musée du Louvre.
We then headed back in towards Opera, and down around Place Vendôme, which seems to be the jewellery capital of the world. After looking around at the extravagant and stupidly decadent jewellery on show, we headed back towards our apartment passing the impressive L'église de la Madeleine. We stopped to get some more groceries to make dinner and a bottle of Bordeaux Vin Rouge.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Day 18 - Reykjavik, Iceland & Paris, France
We caught a cab yesterday afternoon from Manhattan to JFK airport without any drama, although it took a while as the traffic in Manhattan was almost at gridlock in some places.
We checked in for our flight with a few issues and rearranging of luggage as we were overweight a bit. I'd bought a few new camera items and new luggage was a little heavier than the previous, now broken, luggage left behind. Luckily they were helpful and let us through after some shuffling around. we may need to post home a few items from Paris and I may just ditch my old tripod which was just an old one I've had for many years and never really use now anyhow. I left my main one at home.
The flight left on time. We were flying with Icelandair and they had much better inflight entertainment than our previous flights which basically nothing. Individual screens with movie, music and TV options so we were able to keep ourselves entertained for the the two flights.
Our first flight stopped in Reykjavik in Iceland and it was amazing to come into to land with the ground totally carpeted in a thick covering of snow. By the time we arrived at the gate, we could clearly see how deep the snow was outside. It was great, although sadly even once off the plane to wait for our connecting flight we were not able to get outside into the snow. It was tauntingly close, only 2 cm away through the glass windows. That may well be the only snow we see on the trip as New York had nothing to offer up for us this year.
The next flight was a short 3 hours flight from Reykjavik to Paris and was on time and without incident. We even ended up with a spare seat next to us so it was nice to stretch out just a little.
We arrived into Paris and collected out bags and grabbed a taxi to our apartment in the 18e arrondissement in Central Paris. The perfect area that is very typical and classic Paris style apartment blocks and we are just two blocks back from the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It's a great spot surrounded by more cafes, restaurants and shops than we can possibly get to yet it is almost silent inside our 6th floor apartment.
It was a little strange getting up to the floor as the building elevator is tiny. I mean TINY! 2 people and it is pretty much full. You may just be able to squeeze 3 thin people into it. Cosy indeed.
The owners showed us around the apartment and it was an interesting way to get to know how everything works etc as I speak only a small amount of French and they speak only a small amount of English, although the man was not too bad and certainly much better at English than I am at French.
After a short rest and a shower I headed out into the nearby Parisian streets to explore just a bit and grab some basic groceries. I had forgotten how much I love Paris. Such a stunning city, and the language is so beautiful. I simply must move here at some stage soon, at least for a decent stint to really soak it all in and get my française up to a much better level.
I knew enough French language to be able to order some bread, buy some groceries and pay.
I headed back to our apartment and cooked up a basic dinner, rested for a while and then headed for bed.
We checked in for our flight with a few issues and rearranging of luggage as we were overweight a bit. I'd bought a few new camera items and new luggage was a little heavier than the previous, now broken, luggage left behind. Luckily they were helpful and let us through after some shuffling around. we may need to post home a few items from Paris and I may just ditch my old tripod which was just an old one I've had for many years and never really use now anyhow. I left my main one at home.
The flight left on time. We were flying with Icelandair and they had much better inflight entertainment than our previous flights which basically nothing. Individual screens with movie, music and TV options so we were able to keep ourselves entertained for the the two flights.
Our first flight stopped in Reykjavik in Iceland and it was amazing to come into to land with the ground totally carpeted in a thick covering of snow. By the time we arrived at the gate, we could clearly see how deep the snow was outside. It was great, although sadly even once off the plane to wait for our connecting flight we were not able to get outside into the snow. It was tauntingly close, only 2 cm away through the glass windows. That may well be the only snow we see on the trip as New York had nothing to offer up for us this year.
The next flight was a short 3 hours flight from Reykjavik to Paris and was on time and without incident. We even ended up with a spare seat next to us so it was nice to stretch out just a little.
We arrived into Paris and collected out bags and grabbed a taxi to our apartment in the 18e arrondissement in Central Paris. The perfect area that is very typical and classic Paris style apartment blocks and we are just two blocks back from the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It's a great spot surrounded by more cafes, restaurants and shops than we can possibly get to yet it is almost silent inside our 6th floor apartment.
It was a little strange getting up to the floor as the building elevator is tiny. I mean TINY! 2 people and it is pretty much full. You may just be able to squeeze 3 thin people into it. Cosy indeed.
The owners showed us around the apartment and it was an interesting way to get to know how everything works etc as I speak only a small amount of French and they speak only a small amount of English, although the man was not too bad and certainly much better at English than I am at French.
After a short rest and a shower I headed out into the nearby Parisian streets to explore just a bit and grab some basic groceries. I had forgotten how much I love Paris. Such a stunning city, and the language is so beautiful. I simply must move here at some stage soon, at least for a decent stint to really soak it all in and get my française up to a much better level.
I knew enough French language to be able to order some bread, buy some groceries and pay.
I headed back to our apartment and cooked up a basic dinner, rested for a while and then headed for bed.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Day 17 - New York City, Manhattan
Our last day in New York. We spent the morning cooking breakfast and then tidying up and packing.
Sharon has headed out into the city for a last walk around and to grab a few things. I've just chosen our flight seats and checked in online and am now about to head out for a wander around midtown Manhattan for the last time during this trip.
It's been a great stay here in New York. We've really gotten to know the real city this time with extra time to just stroll around and soak it all in. It's certainly a hectic pace here and people can be a bit harsh if they are on a mission; driving, commuting or just walking around. Generally though we've found the people to be friendly enough in cafes and diners and usually very friendly and chatty in Bars. A great time here and a city I am sure we will no doubt return to soon enough.
Onto the next part of this adventure. Paris, France.
Today's Weather
Overcast.
Temperature: 37 (2 C)
Sharon has headed out into the city for a last walk around and to grab a few things. I've just chosen our flight seats and checked in online and am now about to head out for a wander around midtown Manhattan for the last time during this trip.
It's been a great stay here in New York. We've really gotten to know the real city this time with extra time to just stroll around and soak it all in. It's certainly a hectic pace here and people can be a bit harsh if they are on a mission; driving, commuting or just walking around. Generally though we've found the people to be friendly enough in cafes and diners and usually very friendly and chatty in Bars. A great time here and a city I am sure we will no doubt return to soon enough.
Onto the next part of this adventure. Paris, France.
Today's Weather
Overcast.
Temperature: 37 (2 C)
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Day 16 - New York City, Manhattan
I awoke today still very sore from back pain. A warm shower helped a little but it was a struggle to dress and get ready to head out.
We decided to venture down into Soho which is the well known New York shopping area. We caught the subway to Spring Street station and headed up onto the street. By the time we walked the few blocks to Broadway it was painfully chaotic with people scrambling to the day after Christmas sales. There were way too many people obviously after their sale bargains. I don't think we even walked into a single shop.
After 30 minutes we were over the crowds and as we weren't really wanting to do any shopping ourselves we walked down into Chinatown and bought a scarf and flat cap plus went to vegan dim sum again.
After Dim Sum we walked down towards the Brooklyn bridge which was only a few blocks away. We saw some city Squirrels scampering about in a few little parks. We had perviously only seen squirrels in Central Park. We arrived at the East River waterfront, overlooking the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, about an hour before sunset so the light was really beautiful and warm. There was also a great view over into Brooklyn.
We then walked south and after passing an old now abandoned fishing pier and fish market we stumbled upon Pier 17 towards the bottom of Manhattan. It seemed to be some sort of redesigned area on an old fishing pier. Shops, pubs, and cafes etc. We watched an amazing sunset from the pier and then headed across the road and found a great microbrewery bar called Heartland where Fulton Street meets the Pier 17 on the East River. We indulged in several local microbrews and some accompanying snacks.
As we were near the Ground Zero site we ventured up to see the memorial but found it all fenced off. It seemed to be closed but beyond the fence was a section roped off for lining up. It appears that this has now become a tourist 'attraction'. Very sad to see.
We caught the subway back home and off to early bed.
Today's Weather
Sunny and warm. Quite cold in the wind.
We decided to venture down into Soho which is the well known New York shopping area. We caught the subway to Spring Street station and headed up onto the street. By the time we walked the few blocks to Broadway it was painfully chaotic with people scrambling to the day after Christmas sales. There were way too many people obviously after their sale bargains. I don't think we even walked into a single shop.
After 30 minutes we were over the crowds and as we weren't really wanting to do any shopping ourselves we walked down into Chinatown and bought a scarf and flat cap plus went to vegan dim sum again.
After Dim Sum we walked down towards the Brooklyn bridge which was only a few blocks away. We saw some city Squirrels scampering about in a few little parks. We had perviously only seen squirrels in Central Park. We arrived at the East River waterfront, overlooking the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, about an hour before sunset so the light was really beautiful and warm. There was also a great view over into Brooklyn.
We then walked south and after passing an old now abandoned fishing pier and fish market we stumbled upon Pier 17 towards the bottom of Manhattan. It seemed to be some sort of redesigned area on an old fishing pier. Shops, pubs, and cafes etc. We watched an amazing sunset from the pier and then headed across the road and found a great microbrewery bar called Heartland where Fulton Street meets the Pier 17 on the East River. We indulged in several local microbrews and some accompanying snacks.
As we were near the Ground Zero site we ventured up to see the memorial but found it all fenced off. It seemed to be closed but beyond the fence was a section roped off for lining up. It appears that this has now become a tourist 'attraction'. Very sad to see.
We caught the subway back home and off to early bed.
Today's Weather
Sunny and warm. Quite cold in the wind.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Day 16 - New York City, Upper West Side - Manhattan
Breakfast in our apartment then I headed across 9th Avenue to the bakery and coffee shop to grab us some coffee.
Back to the apartment as the toilet flushing chain mechanism had broken off last night. We could still flush the toilet but had to dunk our hand into the very cold water that had filled into the top part of the toilet back. Not much fun. I had temporarily managed to fix it by linking the chain with a safety pin to the flushing arm. Sharon had managed to track down the super and he was on his way up to fix it. He was an odd Super named Guido and his English was pretty much non existent. He attempted to fix the flushing mechanism although he also used the same safety pin I had used but after almost breaking it by bending into a straight piece of wire, for unknown reasons, he then attempted to bend it back to a safety pin and tried to 'fix' the chain the same way I had already done but not as effectively.
With the toilet at least flushing we headed out for the subway up to 81st street station in the Upper West Side. We were headed for the American Museum of Natural History. A great museum but turns out we chose a bad day. Absolutely packed, mostly with families with children. It was chaotic and somewhat unbearable at times. Children are insanely annoying.
We saw as much as we wanted and could bear and left the museum into rainy New York wintery weather. We found another great diner on Broadway in the Upper West Side and had a break to get off our feet after 4 hours in the museum.
We then caught the subway back down to 51st Streetin Midwtown and stopped by a supermarket and a drug store for some supplies.
This was our last full day in New York City. Tomorrow night we fly to Paris via Reykjavik in Iceland.
We managed to get most stuff packed up tonight so that will make it easier tomorrow.
Today's Weather
Overcast and rainy.
Maximum Temperature: 54.0 (12.2)
Minimum Temperature: 37.9 (3.3)
Back to the apartment as the toilet flushing chain mechanism had broken off last night. We could still flush the toilet but had to dunk our hand into the very cold water that had filled into the top part of the toilet back. Not much fun. I had temporarily managed to fix it by linking the chain with a safety pin to the flushing arm. Sharon had managed to track down the super and he was on his way up to fix it. He was an odd Super named Guido and his English was pretty much non existent. He attempted to fix the flushing mechanism although he also used the same safety pin I had used but after almost breaking it by bending into a straight piece of wire, for unknown reasons, he then attempted to bend it back to a safety pin and tried to 'fix' the chain the same way I had already done but not as effectively.
With the toilet at least flushing we headed out for the subway up to 81st street station in the Upper West Side. We were headed for the American Museum of Natural History. A great museum but turns out we chose a bad day. Absolutely packed, mostly with families with children. It was chaotic and somewhat unbearable at times. Children are insanely annoying.
We saw as much as we wanted and could bear and left the museum into rainy New York wintery weather. We found another great diner on Broadway in the Upper West Side and had a break to get off our feet after 4 hours in the museum.
We then caught the subway back down to 51st Streetin Midwtown and stopped by a supermarket and a drug store for some supplies.
This was our last full day in New York City. Tomorrow night we fly to Paris via Reykjavik in Iceland.
We managed to get most stuff packed up tonight so that will make it easier tomorrow.
Today's Weather
Overcast and rainy.
Maximum Temperature: 54.0 (12.2)
Minimum Temperature: 37.9 (3.3)
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Day 15 - New York City, Manhattan
After quite a poor nights sleep somewhat in pain especially when needing to turn over I was still quite sore from my muscle spasm today.
Sharon kindly headed out and got us coffee and we just relaxed at home until I decided that I really wanted to try and get out at least for a little while even though I was not really up for it. We ventured out into midtown to look at the Radio City Music Hall and the Rockerfeller centre ice skating rink and huge Christmas tree they have in the forecourt.
Not a great decision it turns out as every other fucking tourist in New York seemed to be there. It was choas. The biggest most crowded space we have seen yet in New York. This was not the place for me to be when every little bump from a person was causing my muscle spasm to shoot awesome pains throughout my upper body.
We quickly got out of there and headed further across midtown towards Grand Central Station which we hoped would be less crowded. Thankfully it was and we spent about 15 minutes in the grand hall taking it all in. To be honest as nice as it is, I was expecting more from the way people have described it to me. Still, it wasn't too crowded and I wanted to get some photos here so it was good to see it.
We then went to the Chyrsler building, which again turns out to just be another building when you are standing right at the bottom of it. It is best seen from a distance where you can see the iconic shape of the top of the building.
A stop at Starbucks for a Soy Chai and then a blue C metro subway back to 50th St station and a short walk back to our apartment. We then snacked on some fresh olives and veges we had bought this week and Sharon cooked some dinner.
Today's Weather
Mostly cloudy. A chance of sprinkles after midnight. Lows in the mid 30s. Southwest winds around 10 mph...becoming west after midnight.
Max Temperature: 46.0 (7.8) Minimum Temperature: 28.9 (-1.7)
Sharon kindly headed out and got us coffee and we just relaxed at home until I decided that I really wanted to try and get out at least for a little while even though I was not really up for it. We ventured out into midtown to look at the Radio City Music Hall and the Rockerfeller centre ice skating rink and huge Christmas tree they have in the forecourt.
Not a great decision it turns out as every other fucking tourist in New York seemed to be there. It was choas. The biggest most crowded space we have seen yet in New York. This was not the place for me to be when every little bump from a person was causing my muscle spasm to shoot awesome pains throughout my upper body.
We quickly got out of there and headed further across midtown towards Grand Central Station which we hoped would be less crowded. Thankfully it was and we spent about 15 minutes in the grand hall taking it all in. To be honest as nice as it is, I was expecting more from the way people have described it to me. Still, it wasn't too crowded and I wanted to get some photos here so it was good to see it.
We then went to the Chyrsler building, which again turns out to just be another building when you are standing right at the bottom of it. It is best seen from a distance where you can see the iconic shape of the top of the building.
A stop at Starbucks for a Soy Chai and then a blue C metro subway back to 50th St station and a short walk back to our apartment. We then snacked on some fresh olives and veges we had bought this week and Sharon cooked some dinner.
Today's Weather
Mostly cloudy. A chance of sprinkles after midnight. Lows in the mid 30s. Southwest winds around 10 mph...becoming west after midnight.
Max Temperature: 46.0 (7.8) Minimum Temperature: 28.9 (-1.7)
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Day 14 - New York City, Manhattan
We decided on an easier day today and generally hung around our apartment until early afternoon, only heading out for a coffee a little earlier.
We then headed downtown towards the Empire State Building in what was a rather cold day around zero degrees, but probably more minus 3 or 4 with wind chill taken into account. I wasn't really rugged up enough for this as I only had on a pair of thin Australian jeans and my Chuck Taylor shoes so my feet and legs got very cold and somewhat numb.
The amount of people out and about around Macy's on 34th Street and that general shopping district area was intense. We made it to the Empire State Building but decided that as we were tight on time due to a performance we had tickets for tonight.
We headed back towards our apartment and stopped for an early dinner in a classic New York style diner on 9th Avenue. Vege burger and fries with the usual New York dill pickle. Sharon ordered a vegetarian club sandwich with fries and the New York dill pickle.
We came back to our apartment and showered and got dressed and headed up to Carnegie Hall to see the New York String Orchestra perform. It was a great performance and a great hall for acoustics even though we were in the balcony at the top and back. Unfortunately I seemed to have gotten cramped muscle along the bottom of my ribs somewhere between the diner and home, probably from being so cold whilst walking around downtown. This had left me in quite a bit of pain and it was a struggle to make it up to Carnegie Hall at all, then even more of a struggle to enjoy the performance when I had acute muscle spasm and every little move I made was quite painful.
Once the performance ended we headed back to our apartment and I tried to warm up and numb to the pain with some drugs. Unfortunately you cannot purchase any decent painkillers here in the USA over the counter. The best we could get was paracetamol or ibuprofen, neither of which did much to ease the pain, so after an hour or so I took some sleeping pills and went to bed for what ended up a rather painful and restless nights sleep.
Today's Weather
Afternoon
Sunny. Highs in the upper 30s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.
Night
Clear in the evening...then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph...becoming southeast after midnight.
We then headed downtown towards the Empire State Building in what was a rather cold day around zero degrees, but probably more minus 3 or 4 with wind chill taken into account. I wasn't really rugged up enough for this as I only had on a pair of thin Australian jeans and my Chuck Taylor shoes so my feet and legs got very cold and somewhat numb.
The amount of people out and about around Macy's on 34th Street and that general shopping district area was intense. We made it to the Empire State Building but decided that as we were tight on time due to a performance we had tickets for tonight.
We headed back towards our apartment and stopped for an early dinner in a classic New York style diner on 9th Avenue. Vege burger and fries with the usual New York dill pickle. Sharon ordered a vegetarian club sandwich with fries and the New York dill pickle.
We came back to our apartment and showered and got dressed and headed up to Carnegie Hall to see the New York String Orchestra perform. It was a great performance and a great hall for acoustics even though we were in the balcony at the top and back. Unfortunately I seemed to have gotten cramped muscle along the bottom of my ribs somewhere between the diner and home, probably from being so cold whilst walking around downtown. This had left me in quite a bit of pain and it was a struggle to make it up to Carnegie Hall at all, then even more of a struggle to enjoy the performance when I had acute muscle spasm and every little move I made was quite painful.
Once the performance ended we headed back to our apartment and I tried to warm up and numb to the pain with some drugs. Unfortunately you cannot purchase any decent painkillers here in the USA over the counter. The best we could get was paracetamol or ibuprofen, neither of which did much to ease the pain, so after an hour or so I took some sleeping pills and went to bed for what ended up a rather painful and restless nights sleep.
Today's Weather
Afternoon
Sunny. Highs in the upper 30s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.
Night
Clear in the evening...then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph...becoming southeast after midnight.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Day 13 - New York City, Central Park & Upper East Side - Manhattan
Breakfast in our apartment as usual and then we headed west along 46th street to the Hudson river which was about a ten minute walk. There is a museum here based around the USS Intrepid Warship plus a Naval Submarine and a few aircraft. We weren't that interested in going in but just wanted to see the the ship and submarine docked in the river.
It was was very cold down by the river with the wind chill making a considerable difference to the relative temperature. The wind was also blowing down some of the avenues that run North South along the length of Manhattan. JAcket, scarf and hat weather today.
We stopped into the H & H bagel factory which has a little store attached to it and bought a few fresh from the bakery floor bagels and then made our way up to 50th and 8th to get on the subway so we could head uptown again. We were headed for the Metropolitan Museum of Art today which is in the Upper East Side but we decided to take the subway up to the Upper West Side and walk across Central Park to the museum.
As usual it was peaceful and calming wandering around Central Park enjoying watching the the birds and squirrels nd just generally being out doors in nature.
We made our way over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art of proceeded to spend the next 7 hours inside looking at everything from Ancient Egyptian artifacts and reconstrcuted buildings, to handmade antique American furniture to artwork and paintings by such greats as Rembrant, Van Goh, and Da Vinci to medieval armour and weaponry. It's an amazing museum with a massive amount on display. We had two stops, one for a meal and another for a general break and drink. In 7 hours we still only saw a small portion of what is on offer.
We returned back downtown to our apartment for showers and a short rest and then headed back out to our little wine bar, Balkanika on 9th and had a few glasses of red wine to end a rather full day in New York.
Today's Weather
Wind: from the W (260 degrees) at 9 MPH (8 KT) gusting to 18 MPH (16 KT)
Visibility: 10 mile(s)
Sky conditions: mostly cloudy
Temperature: 48.0 F (8.9 C)
Dew Point: 39.0 F (3.9 C)
Relative Humidity: 70%
Pressure (altimeter): 30 in. Hg (1015 hPa)
It was was very cold down by the river with the wind chill making a considerable difference to the relative temperature. The wind was also blowing down some of the avenues that run North South along the length of Manhattan. JAcket, scarf and hat weather today.
We stopped into the H & H bagel factory which has a little store attached to it and bought a few fresh from the bakery floor bagels and then made our way up to 50th and 8th to get on the subway so we could head uptown again. We were headed for the Metropolitan Museum of Art today which is in the Upper East Side but we decided to take the subway up to the Upper West Side and walk across Central Park to the museum.
We returned back downtown to our apartment for showers and a short rest and then headed back out to our little wine bar, Balkanika on 9th and had a few glasses of red wine to end a rather full day in New York.
Today's Weather
Wind: from the W (260 degrees) at 9 MPH (8 KT) gusting to 18 MPH (16 KT)
Visibility: 10 mile(s)
Sky conditions: mostly cloudy
Temperature: 48.0 F (8.9 C)
Dew Point: 39.0 F (3.9 C)
Relative Humidity: 70%
Pressure (altimeter): 30 in. Hg (1015 hPa)
Day 12 - New York City, Central Park & Upper West Side - Manhattan
After a big night we ended up sleeping in quite late today so by the time we'd showered, dressed and had breakfast it was already just after noon.
We decided to have a day exploring around Central Park. We headed for the blue subway at 50th and 8th and caught the train up to 59th Street Columbus Circle station. We exited the station and crossed over Columbus Circle and headed into the park through the Holiday Season Columbus Circle Markets. We meandered our way through the park enjoying the relative fresh air, grass, trees and scenic natural environment whilst trying to spot birds and squirrels. Plenty of both were on show.
We continued exploring - taking photos as we went - and eventually stumbled upon the Imagine tile mosaic in the Strawberry Fields section of Central park near the Dokota Building where John Lennon lived. Like last time there was a small gathering of slightly odd people loitering around the Imagine mosaic. No real idea why. We walked past and headed towards the pond in the centre of the park and then onto the old castle like structure that is now used as a weather gathering station. We stayed here for quite a while as the sun was setting and it was such a nice peaceful and elevated place to spend some time relaxing and escaping the frenetic pace of midtown Manhattan.
We even spotted a clever Squirrel who had built a shelter on the outside of the building between the window pane and the stone work (see photo below). What a champion.
The cold finally forced us down and out of the park and we headed for the Upper West Side to explore and check out Zabar, a fantastic fresh food store that the owner of our apartment suggested.
We checked out some real estate prices and were surprised that there are some very affordable apartments for sale, although there are some extravagantly priced ones also. We stopped by a cafe and had a snack and drink and rested from all of our walking around the park all afternoon then we headed off for Zabar.
It was a great place for fresh food of all sorts. You really can eat well in New York without having to cook anything yourself. All sorts of ready made fresh food on offer for all dietary tastes. We picked up a mix of fresh olives and some 'bible bread' which is really just a fancifully named cracker.
We then started to head back downtown making our way back to our apartment. We stopped by a coffee shop for a 'natural break' and had ourselves another warm drink. I had a Soy Chai and it left me feeling a little bit over full, never a nice feeling.
As we were now only about 25 blocks from home, even though we had started around 80th Street (our apartment is on 46th Street) we decided to walk the rest of the way. We enjoyed our walk through the Upper West Side heading down Broadway which has great shops, restaurants and cafes on it. We really liked the Upper West Side. It has a much more relaxed and less frantic feel about it compared to midtown where we are staying. It seems cleaner and is much less busy, although still very much has a New York feel to it.
We joined up with 9th Avenue at Lincoln Centre around 64th Street and continued the walk. It was slowly changing from an Upper West Side feel into a Midtown feel. Very different vibes in these two areas, both of which are great.
Finally back to our apartment after a huge day of walking, probably 10 miles or more and time for dinner, showers and journal updates.
Today's Weather
Wind: Variable at 6 MPH (5 KT)
Visibility: 10 mile(s)
Sky conditions: overcast
Temperature: 53.1 F (11.7 C)
Dew Point: 39.0 F (3.9 C)
Relative Humidity: 58%
Pressure (altimeter): 30.05 in. Hg (1017 hPa)
We decided to have a day exploring around Central Park. We headed for the blue subway at 50th and 8th and caught the train up to 59th Street Columbus Circle station. We exited the station and crossed over Columbus Circle and headed into the park through the Holiday Season Columbus Circle Markets. We meandered our way through the park enjoying the relative fresh air, grass, trees and scenic natural environment whilst trying to spot birds and squirrels. Plenty of both were on show.
We continued exploring - taking photos as we went - and eventually stumbled upon the Imagine tile mosaic in the Strawberry Fields section of Central park near the Dokota Building where John Lennon lived. Like last time there was a small gathering of slightly odd people loitering around the Imagine mosaic. No real idea why. We walked past and headed towards the pond in the centre of the park and then onto the old castle like structure that is now used as a weather gathering station. We stayed here for quite a while as the sun was setting and it was such a nice peaceful and elevated place to spend some time relaxing and escaping the frenetic pace of midtown Manhattan.
We even spotted a clever Squirrel who had built a shelter on the outside of the building between the window pane and the stone work (see photo below). What a champion.
The cold finally forced us down and out of the park and we headed for the Upper West Side to explore and check out Zabar, a fantastic fresh food store that the owner of our apartment suggested.
We checked out some real estate prices and were surprised that there are some very affordable apartments for sale, although there are some extravagantly priced ones also. We stopped by a cafe and had a snack and drink and rested from all of our walking around the park all afternoon then we headed off for Zabar.
It was a great place for fresh food of all sorts. You really can eat well in New York without having to cook anything yourself. All sorts of ready made fresh food on offer for all dietary tastes. We picked up a mix of fresh olives and some 'bible bread' which is really just a fancifully named cracker.
We then started to head back downtown making our way back to our apartment. We stopped by a coffee shop for a 'natural break' and had ourselves another warm drink. I had a Soy Chai and it left me feeling a little bit over full, never a nice feeling.
As we were now only about 25 blocks from home, even though we had started around 80th Street (our apartment is on 46th Street) we decided to walk the rest of the way. We enjoyed our walk through the Upper West Side heading down Broadway which has great shops, restaurants and cafes on it. We really liked the Upper West Side. It has a much more relaxed and less frantic feel about it compared to midtown where we are staying. It seems cleaner and is much less busy, although still very much has a New York feel to it.
We joined up with 9th Avenue at Lincoln Centre around 64th Street and continued the walk. It was slowly changing from an Upper West Side feel into a Midtown feel. Very different vibes in these two areas, both of which are great.
Finally back to our apartment after a huge day of walking, probably 10 miles or more and time for dinner, showers and journal updates.
Today's Weather
Wind: Variable at 6 MPH (5 KT)
Visibility: 10 mile(s)
Sky conditions: overcast
Temperature: 53.1 F (11.7 C)
Dew Point: 39.0 F (3.9 C)
Relative Humidity: 58%
Pressure (altimeter): 30.05 in. Hg (1017 hPa)
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Day 11 - New York City, Manhattan
A busy day today. Breakfast in our apartment and then off to the post office to look into sending a few things home that we no longer on this trip, to free up some weight in our bags for new items. We were then off to Carnegie Hall on 57th and 7th to purchase our tickets for the Christmas Eve performance by the New York String Orchestra. We stopped for a coffee on the way, which is always hit and miss here. If you don't have flavouring and whipped cream on your coffee then some places seem to struggle. We continued up to Carnegie Hall and a friendly guy at the counter organised our tickets and we were on our way over to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) on 53rd Street.
We made our way inside and purchased our City Pass tickets which give us entry into several different museums and observation decks for a discounted price, plus we get to bypass the usual ticket queues. Sharon then joined the coat check line which was ridiculously longer than the ticket lines and it took her close to 30 minutes to get to the front and check in our coats and bags.
With this chore aside, we entered the gallery space and proceeded directly to the photography level. There were some amazing images on display with some from world famous photographers like Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Most were classic black and white photographs, but there were some more contemporary colour works and even collages on display.
We then headed into the architecture section and saw some great cutting edge design contributions that have been made to modern society over the years. Furniture items, cars, and even typeface fonts had a section.
From here we went to the first section dedicated to paintings and saw some amazing pieces from artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Vincent van Gogh, including one of my favourite ever paintings 'The Starry Night' which was stunning to see in person and experience the three dimensions of the oil painted brush strokes and the texture of the canvas.
We continued through to other sections of the museum including the contemporary art section which had some really great modern works in it.
It was almost closing time for the Museum so we grabbed our coats and bags and headed back out into the streets of Manhattan. We'd spotted a little diner on the way up and were headed there for a late late lunch. The diner, Apple Jack, was a great typical New York style diner that had a great vege burger that we proceeded to devour.
We then came back to our apartment and had showers and changed ready to head out to Birdland Jazz Club on W44th Street, about a 5 minute walk from our apartment. We arrived a little after 8:30pm and were shown to our table in the venue. It's a great venue that is a little similar to Notes Live in Newtown in Sydney, but with more of the vibe that The Basement has with Black and White photographs of Jazz performers along the walls.
We ordered a bottle of red wine and settled into the atmosphere of the venue. About 20 minutes later the Freddy Cole Quartet came out to the stage and began what was a fantastic set of great laid back jazz. Freddy Cole is the brother of the legendary Nat 'King' Cole and has some similarities in his vocal although he phrases a bit more like Frank Sinatra. Freddy is also a great pianist and played piano on most songs. The rest of the band were outstanding musicians also, a guitarist, a double bass player and a drummer all adding to the overall sound of the quartet. This was a brilliant experience to see such a great jazz band in this legendary New York Jazz Venue. One of the best live performances I've ever seen.
As there was a second later performance in the venue we had to make our way out and decided that we weren't ready to call it a night so went to a wine bar we'd spotted early in the day just up the street from our apartment. The wine bar was called 'Balkanika' and is on 9th Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets.
It was a great little wine bar which had a girl playing solo violin. We settled in at the bar and ordered some red wine and olives. We started up conversation with the three waitresses and continued chatting with them through 2 more glasses of red wine each and a vegan dip and vege platter.
This took us up to closing time around 1am and we then headed back to our apartment for bed after quiet a packed day of New York exploring and experiences.
P.S. I've posted a few more sunset photos on the 'Day 6' entry if you're interested.
Today's Weather
Wind: Variable at 7 MPH (6 KT)
Visibility: 6 mile(s)
Sky conditions: overcast
Weather: Mist
Temperature: 48.0 F (8.9 C)
Dew Point: 48.0 F (8.9 C)
Relative Humidity: 86%
Pressure (altimeter): 30.05 in. Hg (1017 hPa)
We made our way inside and purchased our City Pass tickets which give us entry into several different museums and observation decks for a discounted price, plus we get to bypass the usual ticket queues. Sharon then joined the coat check line which was ridiculously longer than the ticket lines and it took her close to 30 minutes to get to the front and check in our coats and bags.
With this chore aside, we entered the gallery space and proceeded directly to the photography level. There were some amazing images on display with some from world famous photographers like Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Most were classic black and white photographs, but there were some more contemporary colour works and even collages on display.
We then headed into the architecture section and saw some great cutting edge design contributions that have been made to modern society over the years. Furniture items, cars, and even typeface fonts had a section.
From here we went to the first section dedicated to paintings and saw some amazing pieces from artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Vincent van Gogh, including one of my favourite ever paintings 'The Starry Night' which was stunning to see in person and experience the three dimensions of the oil painted brush strokes and the texture of the canvas.
We continued through to other sections of the museum including the contemporary art section which had some really great modern works in it.
It was almost closing time for the Museum so we grabbed our coats and bags and headed back out into the streets of Manhattan. We'd spotted a little diner on the way up and were headed there for a late late lunch. The diner, Apple Jack, was a great typical New York style diner that had a great vege burger that we proceeded to devour.We then came back to our apartment and had showers and changed ready to head out to Birdland Jazz Club on W44th Street, about a 5 minute walk from our apartment. We arrived a little after 8:30pm and were shown to our table in the venue. It's a great venue that is a little similar to Notes Live in Newtown in Sydney, but with more of the vibe that The Basement has with Black and White photographs of Jazz performers along the walls.
We ordered a bottle of red wine and settled into the atmosphere of the venue. About 20 minutes later the Freddy Cole Quartet came out to the stage and began what was a fantastic set of great laid back jazz. Freddy Cole is the brother of the legendary Nat 'King' Cole and has some similarities in his vocal although he phrases a bit more like Frank Sinatra. Freddy is also a great pianist and played piano on most songs. The rest of the band were outstanding musicians also, a guitarist, a double bass player and a drummer all adding to the overall sound of the quartet. This was a brilliant experience to see such a great jazz band in this legendary New York Jazz Venue. One of the best live performances I've ever seen.
As there was a second later performance in the venue we had to make our way out and decided that we weren't ready to call it a night so went to a wine bar we'd spotted early in the day just up the street from our apartment. The wine bar was called 'Balkanika' and is on 9th Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets.
It was a great little wine bar which had a girl playing solo violin. We settled in at the bar and ordered some red wine and olives. We started up conversation with the three waitresses and continued chatting with them through 2 more glasses of red wine each and a vegan dip and vege platter.
This took us up to closing time around 1am and we then headed back to our apartment for bed after quiet a packed day of New York exploring and experiences.
P.S. I've posted a few more sunset photos on the 'Day 6' entry if you're interested.
Today's Weather
Wind: Variable at 7 MPH (6 KT)
Visibility: 6 mile(s)
Sky conditions: overcast
Weather: Mist
Temperature: 48.0 F (8.9 C)
Dew Point: 48.0 F (8.9 C)
Relative Humidity: 86%
Pressure (altimeter): 30.05 in. Hg (1017 hPa)
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Day 11 - New York City - Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Awoke today after a full night of drug induced sleep. I feel much more rested now.
We had some breakfast and Sharon headed off for her hairdresser appointment and I'm about to head off back down town to check out some more camera gear, of course.
It's a bit of a gloomy overcast day today.
Night time update
I ventured back down to B&H camera store and purchased a few more photography items. I also spent some time in their video/film section. They have some amazing gear in there. Some stunning HD video cameras and steadycam style support items.
Back to the apartment to drop off my purchases and then down to pick up some vegan soup from a health cafe I noticed near to our apartment. We had our soup and then headed for the subway to make our way over to Williamsburg in Brooklyn where we had been last time. We walked around the main restaurant/cafe/bar area and found a great little cafe for some soy chai.
We spent an hour in the cafe sheltered from the rain and then made our way to the Wild Ginger, a vegan Thai restaurant we had been to before that was great, which it was again this time.
After dinner we made our way back into Manhattan on the subway and ventured past Birdland Jazz club to see what was coming up. We came back to our apartment and bought some tickets to see Freddy Cole (brother of Nat 'King' Cole) perform tomorrow night.
We're also going to try and get tickets to see the New York String Orchestra perform at Carnegie Hall on Christmas Eve. I've always wanted to see a performance at Carnegie Hall.
Looks like rain tomorrow and a more for the weekend and Christmas. No snow forecast currently although it was on this mornings forecast.
Today's Weather
Wind: from the N (360 degrees) at 6 MPH (5 KT)
Visibility: 10 mile(s)
Sky conditions: mostly cloudy
Temperature: 44.1 F (6.7 C)
Dew Point: 30.0 F (-1.1 C)
Relative Humidity: 57%
Pressure (altimeter): 30.19 in. Hg (1022 hPa)
We had some breakfast and Sharon headed off for her hairdresser appointment and I'm about to head off back down town to check out some more camera gear, of course.
It's a bit of a gloomy overcast day today.
Night time update
I ventured back down to B&H camera store and purchased a few more photography items. I also spent some time in their video/film section. They have some amazing gear in there. Some stunning HD video cameras and steadycam style support items.
Back to the apartment to drop off my purchases and then down to pick up some vegan soup from a health cafe I noticed near to our apartment. We had our soup and then headed for the subway to make our way over to Williamsburg in Brooklyn where we had been last time. We walked around the main restaurant/cafe/bar area and found a great little cafe for some soy chai.
After dinner we made our way back into Manhattan on the subway and ventured past Birdland Jazz club to see what was coming up. We came back to our apartment and bought some tickets to see Freddy Cole (brother of Nat 'King' Cole) perform tomorrow night.
We're also going to try and get tickets to see the New York String Orchestra perform at Carnegie Hall on Christmas Eve. I've always wanted to see a performance at Carnegie Hall.
Looks like rain tomorrow and a more for the weekend and Christmas. No snow forecast currently although it was on this mornings forecast.
Today's Weather
Wind: from the N (360 degrees) at 6 MPH (5 KT)
Visibility: 10 mile(s)
Sky conditions: mostly cloudy
Temperature: 44.1 F (6.7 C)
Dew Point: 30.0 F (-1.1 C)
Relative Humidity: 57%
Pressure (altimeter): 30.19 in. Hg (1022 hPa)
Day 10 - New York City - Lower East Side
After a poor night's sleep we ended up sleeping in quite late.
We got up and made breakfast in our apartment, showered and dressed. We headed across the street to a hairdresser where Sharon booked an appointment for tomorrow.
We then headed off looking for Penn Station so we could get a New York street and subway map and purchase our weekly Subway tickets. We then took a subway down to the Lower East Side for a tour of the Tenement Museum. This is an old tenement building that was discovered in the late 1980s that had been boarded up since the 1930s. They have restored two of the apartments to reflect respective families that lived in these apartments. We went on the 'Hard Times' tour which focused on two families, one from the 1870s and 1880s and another family that lived in another of the apartments in the 1920s and 1930s.
The tour was great and very interesting, and the guide was very knowledgeable about the family histories. It was great to hear and see how these families lived as immigrants to a new country. It was quite similar to the tour of the Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam.
After the tour we went to a vegan shoe store just up the street from the museum and Sharon purchased a pair of waterproof black dress boots. There were plenty of great shoes in the store that were vegan, and sustainably and ethically made.
We then walked over a few blocks to the Chinatown area where there was a vegetarian Dim Sum restaurant that Sharon had researched. We went in around 5:50pm for a very late lunch or very early dinner and had some great vegan chinese food. We had plenty left over to bring back to our apartment.
On the walk back to the subway we stumbled across Little Italy and had a walk through looking at the restaurants in this area. The streets were all decorated with Christmas decorations and as it was now dark it all looked quite nice.
Both China Town and Little Italy are really quite large compared to the same type of areas I have seen in other cities around the world. By this time we were tired of being on our feet and headed back for the subway and made our way back up to midtown, stopped off for a few grocery supplies and then back to our apartment.
Today's Weather
We got up and made breakfast in our apartment, showered and dressed. We headed across the street to a hairdresser where Sharon booked an appointment for tomorrow.
We then headed off looking for Penn Station so we could get a New York street and subway map and purchase our weekly Subway tickets. We then took a subway down to the Lower East Side for a tour of the Tenement Museum. This is an old tenement building that was discovered in the late 1980s that had been boarded up since the 1930s. They have restored two of the apartments to reflect respective families that lived in these apartments. We went on the 'Hard Times' tour which focused on two families, one from the 1870s and 1880s and another family that lived in another of the apartments in the 1920s and 1930s.
The tour was great and very interesting, and the guide was very knowledgeable about the family histories. It was great to hear and see how these families lived as immigrants to a new country. It was quite similar to the tour of the Anne Frank Huis in Amsterdam.
We then walked over a few blocks to the Chinatown area where there was a vegetarian Dim Sum restaurant that Sharon had researched. We went in around 5:50pm for a very late lunch or very early dinner and had some great vegan chinese food. We had plenty left over to bring back to our apartment.
Both China Town and Little Italy are really quite large compared to the same type of areas I have seen in other cities around the world. By this time we were tired of being on our feet and headed back for the subway and made our way back up to midtown, stopped off for a few grocery supplies and then back to our apartment.
Today's Weather
Wind: Variable at 6 MPH (5 KT)
Visibility: 10 mile(s)
Sky conditions: overcast
Temperature: 45.0 F (7.2 C)
Dew Point: 28.9 F (-1.7 C)
Relative Humidity: 53%
Pressure (altimeter): 30.01 in. Hg (1016 hPa)
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Day 9 - New York City
Walked downtown again today to explore some more and get some shopping down.
Sharon went off to buy some make-up and I ventured down into the B&H Photo store. I was not prepared for what confronted me. A state of the art store that was a rival size to a department store. If it is electronic in nature then they probably have it in the store.
Being the week before Christmas it was teeming with people on the hunt for Christmas presents. There were staff everywhere, hundreds and hundreds of them, most of them very obviously Jewish with the traditional hair curls and Yarmulkes. All of the staff were very helpful and knowledgeable about all of the products.
The store itself is state of the art with electronic roller tracks everywhere with products being called to various agents serving customers. The tracks were both overhead and also below the counters and had glass windows so you could see it all operating. It was really quite amazing and like seeing into a factory assembly line. Still the store felt like a retail store. The amount of product options was overwhelming. I was looking for a new high quality tripod, a compact camera and some other small items. I'm used to having 20 tripods to choose from in a camera store. This store had hundreds of them, and probably close to as many tripod heads (the bit the the camera attaches to on the top).
I would guess they had every model of camera that is available on the market in their store to try out.
After being overwhelmed initially I was able to focus and wrote down the codes of the items I wanted to purchase. Then I joined the first line where the 'agent' helped me by 'calling' the items up from wherever it is they come, and then scanning them and giving me a payment summary. I then leave this line and the items go off on a roller journey in a large green crate/box.
I then head downstairs and line up again to pay for the items at a teller setup that puts a bank to shame. From here I join yet another queue, all of the queues were very efficient and moved very quickly, and collect my items all now packed into a shopping bag.
This store is the pinnacle of efficiency. It was packed to the rafters with customers all buying goods, and yet the process was seamless and impressively painless.
After we left the camera store we continued south along 9th Avenue for about 15 minutes or so exploring the Chelsea area of Manhattan. We came across a great modern style cafe specialising in tea varieties; they also served coffee. We took the opportunity to get out of the very cold -3 deg C temperatures outside and have a nice warm drink and take a rest.
We left the cafe and headed east across to 7th Avenue and back up to where it meets Broadway at the square in front of the Macy's store.
Further north along Broadway we found a luggage store where I bought two new bags, one to replace my main travelling bag which finally gave in when the pull out handle snapped off whilst we were bringing it up the front steps into our apartment building. I also wanted a slightly bigger carry on luggage bag that had wheels and a pull out handle to save the weight of carrying a backpack around on my back whilst walking all over the various airports and train stations that still lay ahead of us.
We took the new bags back to our apartment and dropped them off then headed out to locate the diner we had been to last time we were here in Manhattan. We found it again and noted its address so we can return for the American diner experience at some stage during our stay.
As the day had now ended we walked over to 10th Avenue and found a German beer cafe and restaurant and had some drinks and german fries - more of a potato dish than standard chips or fries. Unfortunately the waitress neglected to mention that they were cooked with bacon and they bacon bits were all over the potato dish. So no German fries for me. Sharon managed to somehow pick her way between the rotting animal flesh to get to the potato. It smelled way too funky for my liking. The beer was pretty ordinary and the one glass of wine I ordered was fucking awful. I don't think we'll head back to that place.
We came home for late dinner in our apartment around 9:30pm and then showered and off to bed by around midnight.Unfortunately I couldn't sleep. It was very noisy outside tonight (even by Manhattan standards). A garbage truck stopped right outside our window at 2:30am and proceeded to crush load after load of garbage resulting in a verbal argument between the garbage collectors and some rather unhappy woman from an apartment nearby somewhere. Fun times.
Today's Weather
Wind: Variable at 7 MPH (6 KT)
Sharon went off to buy some make-up and I ventured down into the B&H Photo store. I was not prepared for what confronted me. A state of the art store that was a rival size to a department store. If it is electronic in nature then they probably have it in the store.
Being the week before Christmas it was teeming with people on the hunt for Christmas presents. There were staff everywhere, hundreds and hundreds of them, most of them very obviously Jewish with the traditional hair curls and Yarmulkes. All of the staff were very helpful and knowledgeable about all of the products.
The store itself is state of the art with electronic roller tracks everywhere with products being called to various agents serving customers. The tracks were both overhead and also below the counters and had glass windows so you could see it all operating. It was really quite amazing and like seeing into a factory assembly line. Still the store felt like a retail store. The amount of product options was overwhelming. I was looking for a new high quality tripod, a compact camera and some other small items. I'm used to having 20 tripods to choose from in a camera store. This store had hundreds of them, and probably close to as many tripod heads (the bit the the camera attaches to on the top).
I would guess they had every model of camera that is available on the market in their store to try out.
After being overwhelmed initially I was able to focus and wrote down the codes of the items I wanted to purchase. Then I joined the first line where the 'agent' helped me by 'calling' the items up from wherever it is they come, and then scanning them and giving me a payment summary. I then leave this line and the items go off on a roller journey in a large green crate/box.
I then head downstairs and line up again to pay for the items at a teller setup that puts a bank to shame. From here I join yet another queue, all of the queues were very efficient and moved very quickly, and collect my items all now packed into a shopping bag.
This store is the pinnacle of efficiency. It was packed to the rafters with customers all buying goods, and yet the process was seamless and impressively painless.
After we left the camera store we continued south along 9th Avenue for about 15 minutes or so exploring the Chelsea area of Manhattan. We came across a great modern style cafe specialising in tea varieties; they also served coffee. We took the opportunity to get out of the very cold -3 deg C temperatures outside and have a nice warm drink and take a rest.
We left the cafe and headed east across to 7th Avenue and back up to where it meets Broadway at the square in front of the Macy's store.
Further north along Broadway we found a luggage store where I bought two new bags, one to replace my main travelling bag which finally gave in when the pull out handle snapped off whilst we were bringing it up the front steps into our apartment building. I also wanted a slightly bigger carry on luggage bag that had wheels and a pull out handle to save the weight of carrying a backpack around on my back whilst walking all over the various airports and train stations that still lay ahead of us.
We took the new bags back to our apartment and dropped them off then headed out to locate the diner we had been to last time we were here in Manhattan. We found it again and noted its address so we can return for the American diner experience at some stage during our stay.
As the day had now ended we walked over to 10th Avenue and found a German beer cafe and restaurant and had some drinks and german fries - more of a potato dish than standard chips or fries. Unfortunately the waitress neglected to mention that they were cooked with bacon and they bacon bits were all over the potato dish. So no German fries for me. Sharon managed to somehow pick her way between the rotting animal flesh to get to the potato. It smelled way too funky for my liking. The beer was pretty ordinary and the one glass of wine I ordered was fucking awful. I don't think we'll head back to that place.
We came home for late dinner in our apartment around 9:30pm and then showered and off to bed by around midnight.Unfortunately I couldn't sleep. It was very noisy outside tonight (even by Manhattan standards). A garbage truck stopped right outside our window at 2:30am and proceeded to crush load after load of garbage resulting in a verbal argument between the garbage collectors and some rather unhappy woman from an apartment nearby somewhere. Fun times.
Today's Weather
Wind: Variable at 7 MPH (6 KT)
Visibility: 10 mile(s)
Sky conditions: clear
Temperature: 25.0 F (-3.9 C)
Windchill: 17 F (-8 C)
Dew Point: 10.0 F (-12.2 C)
Relative Humidity: 52%
Pressure (altimeter): 30.27 in. Hg (1025 hPa)
Day 8 - New York City
Our first full day (on this trip) in Manhattan in New York City.
We managed to sleep in today. It was nice to catch upon sleep after skipping a night. We got up around 10am and had some breakfast in our apartment then showered and dressed. We were waiting for the owner (David) of the apartment we are staying in to drop by. He had to grab fresh clothes for himself between trips.
David is a great friendly and bubbly guy and it was great to see him again after three years and to catch up for an hour or so. He is off to Kansas City tomorrow to stay with his family over Christmas whilst we enjoy using his apartment in Manhattan.
After he left we headed off walking down 9th Avenue through the old meatpackers district and Chelsea in lower mid Manhattan. We picked up a coffee along the way and just wandered around and soaked up New York life. It was obviously much colder here than in Hawaii: around 36° F (2° C) today so it was certainly jacket and hat weather. We wandered down to around 32nd Street and this is a classic section of New York that still looks much like it probably did in the 1960s or 1970s. Some great little bodegas and deli style stores in this area.
I was actually on my way to a very well known New York camera store called B&H Photo on 34th and 9th. I'm always looking at their website when researching new gear and have purchased several pieces of gear from their website. I was looking forward to actually going into this behemeth of a camera store. Unfortunately I forgot that it's owned and run by Jewish people and as such was closed on a Saturday, being their sabbath. Still I could look through the windows and now know exactly where to head tomorrow to get my new camera and a few other accessories.
We also poked around a few clothing and electronic stores in this great gritty part of Manhattan. I love the gritty 'real' New York. The hustle and bustle of people and the slightly run down buildings really make you feel like you are in the real New York City. Cheap products, food and clothes everywhere too.
We made our way further up 9th Ave and then across to 8th Ave and eventually right up through the tragically awful, horrendously busy, noisy and excessively lit and electronically billboarded Times Square. This is arguably the worst part of Manhattan and we walked through it as quickly as possible.
We stumbled upon and old collectable record and sheet music store on the northern edge of Times Square and spent some time looking around before heading on to an electronics discount store where we bought a set of really small travel speakers for connecting an iPod, iPad, computer to. Decent sound for such tiny little speakers. This should be good for the rest of our trip and future travelling.
We then returned to the Amish supermarket to buy some supplies for cooking dinner tonight and I stopped in to the great little Vintner store across the road from our apartment and grabbed a bottle of Californian Pinot Noir.
We'll be cooking pasta tonight whilst enjoying the throng of traffic noise, sirens and blasting horns that is the soundtrack to life in Manhattan.
We managed to sleep in today. It was nice to catch upon sleep after skipping a night. We got up around 10am and had some breakfast in our apartment then showered and dressed. We were waiting for the owner (David) of the apartment we are staying in to drop by. He had to grab fresh clothes for himself between trips.
David is a great friendly and bubbly guy and it was great to see him again after three years and to catch up for an hour or so. He is off to Kansas City tomorrow to stay with his family over Christmas whilst we enjoy using his apartment in Manhattan.
After he left we headed off walking down 9th Avenue through the old meatpackers district and Chelsea in lower mid Manhattan. We picked up a coffee along the way and just wandered around and soaked up New York life. It was obviously much colder here than in Hawaii: around 36° F (2° C) today so it was certainly jacket and hat weather. We wandered down to around 32nd Street and this is a classic section of New York that still looks much like it probably did in the 1960s or 1970s. Some great little bodegas and deli style stores in this area.
I was actually on my way to a very well known New York camera store called B&H Photo on 34th and 9th. I'm always looking at their website when researching new gear and have purchased several pieces of gear from their website. I was looking forward to actually going into this behemeth of a camera store. Unfortunately I forgot that it's owned and run by Jewish people and as such was closed on a Saturday, being their sabbath. Still I could look through the windows and now know exactly where to head tomorrow to get my new camera and a few other accessories.
We also poked around a few clothing and electronic stores in this great gritty part of Manhattan. I love the gritty 'real' New York. The hustle and bustle of people and the slightly run down buildings really make you feel like you are in the real New York City. Cheap products, food and clothes everywhere too.
We made our way further up 9th Ave and then across to 8th Ave and eventually right up through the tragically awful, horrendously busy, noisy and excessively lit and electronically billboarded Times Square. This is arguably the worst part of Manhattan and we walked through it as quickly as possible.
We stumbled upon and old collectable record and sheet music store on the northern edge of Times Square and spent some time looking around before heading on to an electronics discount store where we bought a set of really small travel speakers for connecting an iPod, iPad, computer to. Decent sound for such tiny little speakers. This should be good for the rest of our trip and future travelling.
We then returned to the Amish supermarket to buy some supplies for cooking dinner tonight and I stopped in to the great little Vintner store across the road from our apartment and grabbed a bottle of Californian Pinot Noir.
We'll be cooking pasta tonight whilst enjoying the throng of traffic noise, sirens and blasting horns that is the soundtrack to life in Manhattan.
Today's Weather
Wind: Variable at 6 MPH (5 KT)
Visibility: 10 mile(s)
Conditions: clear
High Temperature: 37.0 F (2.8 C)
Dew Point: 17.1 F (-8.3 C)
Humidity: 43%
Pressure: 30.14 in. Hg (1020 hPa)
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Day 7 - New York City
After an overnight red eye flight to Seattle, a three hour wait, another four and half hour flight to Newark in New Jersey and then a 45 minute car ride into town we arrived in Midtown around 7pm and proceeded to haul our luggage up the five flights of stairs to our apartment. Not so much fun, especially when sleep deprived but we knew this was on the agenda from the previous time we stayed in this apartment.
A quick wash and change of clothes and we headed out for some dinner. Luckily not far to go or any searching required as we went to a great vegan restaurant on the corner of 46th Street and 9th Avenue, about 20 meters from our apartment. We had eaten here last time we were in Manhattan. They have great food and friendly service. We even received a free slice of vegan Key Lime pie which was great.
After dinner we headed north along 9th Avenue to the Amish Farmer's Market supermarket to grab some groceries. It was great to be back in a city staying in the same place we have previously stayed and knowing exactly where a restaurant and grocery store was. It felt familiar and new at the same time.
Back to the apartment for a relaxing drink and to unwind. Now time for a shower and bed. It's about 30 hours or so since we last slept so we're quite tired.
A quick wash and change of clothes and we headed out for some dinner. Luckily not far to go or any searching required as we went to a great vegan restaurant on the corner of 46th Street and 9th Avenue, about 20 meters from our apartment. We had eaten here last time we were in Manhattan. They have great food and friendly service. We even received a free slice of vegan Key Lime pie which was great.
After dinner we headed north along 9th Avenue to the Amish Farmer's Market supermarket to grab some groceries. It was great to be back in a city staying in the same place we have previously stayed and knowing exactly where a restaurant and grocery store was. It felt familiar and new at the same time.
Back to the apartment for a relaxing drink and to unwind. Now time for a shower and bed. It's about 30 hours or so since we last slept so we're quite tired.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Day 6 - Waikiki
Our last day in Waikiki, for this trip.
A pretty great day with sunny and very warm weather, although as is always the case in O'ahu it can be sunny one minute and pouring with rain the next and this was certainly true of today as we got up and made ourselves some vegan breakfast tacos and then headed out to grab a coffee to drink on Waikiki beach. Great sunny day until the second we set foot on the beach when it started raining.
We persevered and were rewarded with hot sun within 5 minutes. We say watching the Waikiki world unfold and just enjoyed another day pretty much in paradise. Once the sun became a little too hot we headed off for some lunch before returning to our apartment to change into our swimmers and head back down for one last swim in the crystal clear Hawaiian waters.
Once again the water was beautiful, although we had to negotiate a shallow reef just below the surface before finding a spot where there was mostly sand and some depth so we could swim. We stayed swimming for around 45 minutes and then sadly had to head back to our apartment to start the packing for our departure and flights to New York City.
In amongst packing and clothes washing chores I managed to sneak back down to the beach for some sunset photos with my real camera, although I got there about 10 minutes after I would have liked so most images are after the sun set beyond the ocean horizon.
Back to the apartment for final frantic packing activities and then into our cab for the journey to the airport. A pretty easy check in although both Sharon and I were body scanned for explosives.
The flight to Seattle was an overnight redeye flight and not really much fun/ We were in the very last row near the toilets and with seats that did not recline even attempted sleep was impossible. We made it to Seattle early in the morning and bought ourselves some coffee and something to eat and waiting for another 3 hours for our connecting flight to Newark, New Jersey.
The flight was pretty good although we were not seated together and finally made it to Newark around 5:30pm. Collected out bags and called the car service company we had booked who then bought us into Manhattan through the pretty bad Friday night Holiday season traffic to our apartment in the Midtown area.
A pretty great day with sunny and very warm weather, although as is always the case in O'ahu it can be sunny one minute and pouring with rain the next and this was certainly true of today as we got up and made ourselves some vegan breakfast tacos and then headed out to grab a coffee to drink on Waikiki beach. Great sunny day until the second we set foot on the beach when it started raining.
We persevered and were rewarded with hot sun within 5 minutes. We say watching the Waikiki world unfold and just enjoyed another day pretty much in paradise. Once the sun became a little too hot we headed off for some lunch before returning to our apartment to change into our swimmers and head back down for one last swim in the crystal clear Hawaiian waters.
Once again the water was beautiful, although we had to negotiate a shallow reef just below the surface before finding a spot where there was mostly sand and some depth so we could swim. We stayed swimming for around 45 minutes and then sadly had to head back to our apartment to start the packing for our departure and flights to New York City.
In amongst packing and clothes washing chores I managed to sneak back down to the beach for some sunset photos with my real camera, although I got there about 10 minutes after I would have liked so most images are after the sun set beyond the ocean horizon.
Back to the apartment for final frantic packing activities and then into our cab for the journey to the airport. A pretty easy check in although both Sharon and I were body scanned for explosives.
The flight to Seattle was an overnight redeye flight and not really much fun/ We were in the very last row near the toilets and with seats that did not recline even attempted sleep was impossible. We made it to Seattle early in the morning and bought ourselves some coffee and something to eat and waiting for another 3 hours for our connecting flight to Newark, New Jersey.
The flight was pretty good although we were not seated together and finally made it to Newark around 5:30pm. Collected out bags and called the car service company we had booked who then bought us into Manhattan through the pretty bad Friday night Holiday season traffic to our apartment in the Midtown area.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Day 5 - Hanauma Bay & Waikiki
We enjoyed a long sleep last night after an early rise and various activities out and about exploring yesterday.
We'd booked a snorkelling tour of the famous marine reserve, Hanauma Bay - a reef and coral bay that sits in a volcano crater. Unfortunately the bad weather this week has meant no scuba diving tours in the bay, so I had to settle for snorkelling.
We met our tour guide at a hotel near our apartment and discovered that we were the only two booked on the afternoon tour so that was good. Our instructor, Allyn, was friendly and was also a certified PADI scuba diver so we were in good hands. He knows the bay very well as he leads snorkel and dive tours here twice a day, four days a week.
After a brief stop at the dive shop for fitting of fins and signing of waivers followed by a 30 minute drive east from Waikiki we arrived at the bay and were given a run down on the bay. We watched the compulsory 9 minute instructional movie about how to avoid damaging the reef and coral whilst in the water and then took the little tram down to the beach and got our gear ready and headed to the water for some under water exploring.
Immediately, straight off the beach was the reef with marine life everywhere. Tropical fish of all types including the Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, all quite tame and swimming right up to or past us. We even got to see another giant Green Turtle feeding on the reef. This was quite a site to see. We saw eels and more species of fish than I can probably even remember. It was stunning, and this apparently was poor conditions so we were only able to snorkel on the inner reef. Visibility was still really good at 10 metres plus, but apparently this is quite poor for this bay where it is often crystal clear.
We washed off our gear and selves and as we were packing up it started to rain softly at first turning in a downpour within a few minutes. Luckily we were able to shelter from the rain under one of the palm trees near our gear, which was in a water tight plastic container. Whilst waiting for the rain to ease, Sharon noticed a cat with kittens just at the back of the reserve, apparently wild cats are common in O'Ahu. They looked just like normal healthy well looked after household pets so they must live a pretty decent life in the wild. We also spotted another local wild animal, a mongoose who run across a section of rock at the back of the reserve and re-surfaced at the garbage bin.
The rain eased and we headed back to the van and back into Waikiki. We showered and changed and then headed out for some more pre dinner drinks whilst watching the sun set into the ocean again. We watched the local Hawaiian musicians at the bar playing some great Hawaiian style songs with acoustic guitars and Ukulele and singing - a guy on acoustic guitar and vocals and his daughter on Ukulele and vocals. The both had great voices but the girl in particular was stunning. There was also a hula dancing girl performing with them on many songs.
After they finished their first set we headed across the road for some more vegan pizza which was great again and then back home to our apartment after a quick stop to buy a few things.
Today's Weather
77°F (25°C) | Humidity is 81%
Mostly cloudy. Winds are from the east-north-east at 6 mph. Visibility is 10 mile(s). Barometric pressure is 30.07 in. Hg (1018 hPa).
We'd booked a snorkelling tour of the famous marine reserve, Hanauma Bay - a reef and coral bay that sits in a volcano crater. Unfortunately the bad weather this week has meant no scuba diving tours in the bay, so I had to settle for snorkelling.
We met our tour guide at a hotel near our apartment and discovered that we were the only two booked on the afternoon tour so that was good. Our instructor, Allyn, was friendly and was also a certified PADI scuba diver so we were in good hands. He knows the bay very well as he leads snorkel and dive tours here twice a day, four days a week.
After a brief stop at the dive shop for fitting of fins and signing of waivers followed by a 30 minute drive east from Waikiki we arrived at the bay and were given a run down on the bay. We watched the compulsory 9 minute instructional movie about how to avoid damaging the reef and coral whilst in the water and then took the little tram down to the beach and got our gear ready and headed to the water for some under water exploring.
Immediately, straight off the beach was the reef with marine life everywhere. Tropical fish of all types including the Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, all quite tame and swimming right up to or past us. We even got to see another giant Green Turtle feeding on the reef. This was quite a site to see. We saw eels and more species of fish than I can probably even remember. It was stunning, and this apparently was poor conditions so we were only able to snorkel on the inner reef. Visibility was still really good at 10 metres plus, but apparently this is quite poor for this bay where it is often crystal clear.
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| Hanauma Bay |
We finally made it out of the water after probably 90 minutes snorkelling and exploring the amazing reef and marine life on offer.
We washed off our gear and selves and as we were packing up it started to rain softly at first turning in a downpour within a few minutes. Luckily we were able to shelter from the rain under one of the palm trees near our gear, which was in a water tight plastic container. Whilst waiting for the rain to ease, Sharon noticed a cat with kittens just at the back of the reserve, apparently wild cats are common in O'Ahu. They looked just like normal healthy well looked after household pets so they must live a pretty decent life in the wild. We also spotted another local wild animal, a mongoose who run across a section of rock at the back of the reserve and re-surfaced at the garbage bin.
The rain eased and we headed back to the van and back into Waikiki. We showered and changed and then headed out for some more pre dinner drinks whilst watching the sun set into the ocean again. We watched the local Hawaiian musicians at the bar playing some great Hawaiian style songs with acoustic guitars and Ukulele and singing - a guy on acoustic guitar and vocals and his daughter on Ukulele and vocals. The both had great voices but the girl in particular was stunning. There was also a hula dancing girl performing with them on many songs.
 |
| Sunset at Waikiki Beach (iPhone 4 photo) |
Today's Weather
77°F (25°C) | Humidity is 81%
Mostly cloudy. Winds are from the east-north-east at 6 mph. Visibility is 10 mile(s). Barometric pressure is 30.07 in. Hg (1018 hPa).
Day 4 - Waikiki & O'Ahu Island
Up early for breakfast today and took some early photographs from our balcony. Down the road to grab a coffee and then onto a bus headed up to the Diamond Head Crater. This is the crater that looms over Kulio and Waikiki beaches. It was around a twenty minute bus ride from Waikiki.
The volcano last erupted around 300,000 years ago so the crater itself is mostly grown over now with grasslands and trees making quite a nice reserve in the middle.
I've never been in or climbed a volcano before so it was an interesting experience and certainly got the heart rate up on the climb up.
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| Inside Diamond Head Crater |
We hiked up the one and half mile track to the summit that overlooks Waikiki. Quite a strenuous climb at times with some dark tunnels and steep ladder style steps to negotiate. Eventually we may it to the top to a swarm of people. There are two 'crows nest' type areas you can climb onto for spectacular views in all directions.
Sometimes there's a bit of a wait and you need to get a little assertive to actually get into position at the railings edge.
Sometimes there's a bit of a wait and you need to get a little assertive to actually get into position at the railings edge.
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| Inside Diamond Head Crater from the summit of the rim |
We took the bus back down from Diamond Head Crater and returned to our apartment for some lunch.
After a nice fresh salad and cool juice, and a shower and change of clothes we headed down to get a bus to Ala Moana where we could transfer to another bus that went most of the way around the O'ahu island. THis was going to be a cheap way to see the rest of the island, even if only from the bus.
Afternoon
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| View along Kuhio and Waikiki beaches from the crater rim |
Sadly the weather was rather poor and as such much of the beautiful mountains were covered in heavy cloud. After about 20 minutes it really started pouring with rain which was a shame as this pretty much prevented us from seeing much out the windows as they just turned into a wet blur of water.
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| View along Kuhio and Waikiki beaches from the crater rim |
To make things worse, this was apparently just a commuter bus that locals use everyday so it was packed with all sorts of people, including homeless which made for a not so pleasant smell in a crowded bus.
The trip was going to be around 3 hours long so we had to settle in and make the most of it.
At least when we got up to the top of the island the rain had stopped and we were able to get a good view of the famous Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay areas which are famous for their huge surf conditions. No such surf today, mostly flat with only about 30 or 40 surfers out waiting for waves.
After a route back through the middle of the island through the pineapple and coffee plantations and almost four and half hours on this bus we thankfully arrived back in Ala Moana. We were certainly pleased this bus trip was over.
A quick bite to eat at the Ala Moana centre and then back onto yet another bus to get back to our apartment. There seemed to be some delay with the buses, probably from the heavy rain, but after a 20 or 30 minute wait and then another 25 minutes on the bus we got off the bus near our apartment into the pouring rain and made it back inside for a warm shower then off to bed.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Day 3 - Waikiki
Awoke this morning to a rather windy day.
We made some breakfast in our apartment then headed out for coffee at a cafe near Kalakaua Avenue. The coffee was much better today than it was yesterday.
Thanks to some pre trip research by Sharon we went down to a Pizza Restaurant that was also on Kalakaua Avenue and had a great vegan salad and vegan pizza for lunch.
Once we'd eaten we headed across the road to an Italian restaurant we'd spotted the previous day and booked in for dinner.
We followed this with a walk through one of the parks down to Waikiki beach to see what was going on. We were actually on our way to Ala Moana to look at a new camera I want to buy so I have a small point and shoot on me at all times, but half way there it seemed like a better idea to head back down to the beach. It was much busier today than it had been over the weekend. I had taken my DSLR camera out so I shot a few images.
The water was finally beckoning so we walked back to our apartment to fetch our snorkelling gear, then headed back down to Kuhio and Waikiki beaches.
We settled on a spot on Waikiki beach. The water was beautiful and warm but unfortunately the underwater visibility was not great allowing only about 1 metre or so of vision.
We made some breakfast in our apartment then headed out for coffee at a cafe near Kalakaua Avenue. The coffee was much better today than it was yesterday.
Thanks to some pre trip research by Sharon we went down to a Pizza Restaurant that was also on Kalakaua Avenue and had a great vegan salad and vegan pizza for lunch.
Once we'd eaten we headed across the road to an Italian restaurant we'd spotted the previous day and booked in for dinner.
We followed this with a walk through one of the parks down to Waikiki beach to see what was going on. We were actually on our way to Ala Moana to look at a new camera I want to buy so I have a small point and shoot on me at all times, but half way there it seemed like a better idea to head back down to the beach. It was much busier today than it had been over the weekend. I had taken my DSLR camera out so I shot a few images.
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| Looking along Waikiki and Kuhio beaches to Diamond Head Crater |
We settled on a spot on Waikiki beach. The water was beautiful and warm but unfortunately the underwater visibility was not great allowing only about 1 metre or so of vision.
Still I'm not on a beach on O'ahu everyday so I started snorkelling out from the beach yet saw only one fish for the first 5 minutes, although it was one of the impressive local native fish called, wait for it, Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa'.
We stayed on the beach and watched the sun set into the ocean yet again, still so beautiful to see and such a great way to watch the day slowly ending. We then slowly walked back along the beach and up to our apartment to shower and change for dinner.
Evening
We wondered back down to our regular bar by the ocean (in the beachside area of the amazing Outrigger Hotel building) for a couple of pre dinner drinks.
By 8pm it was time to head over to the Italian restaurant for our dinner booking. There was a slight food mix up and the wrong wine was delivered to us, but still it was a great meal and a great outdoor table overlooking a Hawaiian garden and pond.
After another great day in Waikiki it was back to our apartment for some sleep.
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Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa
(above photo of fish not taken by me)
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I saw a few more fish ahead almost out of my visibility range and suddenly out of the murkiness I came face to face with a huge green sea turtle roughly the same size as me. It was less than a metre away and about 50cm from the surface. I swam with it for a short while. It was really graceful hanging in the water and slowly rising to the surface for air. The visibility in the water was getting worse as the sun was now starting to get very low in the sky towards sunset so I came back to the beach.
We stayed on the beach and watched the sun set into the ocean yet again, still so beautiful to see and such a great way to watch the day slowly ending. We then slowly walked back along the beach and up to our apartment to shower and change for dinner.
Evening
We wondered back down to our regular bar by the ocean (in the beachside area of the amazing Outrigger Hotel building) for a couple of pre dinner drinks.
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Our regular bar on the ocean front
at the amazing Outrigger Hotel
|
By 8pm it was time to head over to the Italian restaurant for our dinner booking. There was a slight food mix up and the wrong wine was delivered to us, but still it was a great meal and a great outdoor table overlooking a Hawaiian garden and pond.
After another great day in Waikiki it was back to our apartment for some sleep.
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