MORE FROM NEW YORK

There's no such thing as 'budget accommodation' in New York City. Well - there is, but even a skinflint like me would draw the line at the standards of the budget hotels on offer. So it was 'splash-out' time. Thanks to expedia.com we did secure a pretty good hotel 'The Martinique' which is part of the Radisson chain.

Well situated just off Broadway on 32nd street, it was (on paper) a 10 minute stroll from Times Square. Of course, in New York, there is no such thing as a 'stroll'. You just jump into the never-ending stream of people heading in your direction and get carried along, until it is time to 'jump-off' at your desitination. The trick, naturally, is not to jump off into the stream heading the other way, or you merely find yourself back where you started. It took a few attempts for us to master this process, but in the meantime, we did see some streets we wouldn't have seen otherwise!

The hotel had a nice bar/restaurant downstairs which was quite reasonably priced. New York City flies in the face of everywhere else in the US. Everything in NYC is expensive, in contrast to the rest of the country where everything is dirt cheap. The 'rack-rate' for The Martinique is around the $500 US per night mark, but I booked the room months ago for about $148 per night.

The Radisson Martinique

The foyer of the hotel



Chloe and Chanelle hit the streets

Madison Square Garden

Macey's Department Store

"Let's go look at clothes"

Chanelle doesn't look too impressed with Karen's shoe shopping at Macy's

Typical New York street scene

and another....is he talking to her?

Some really nice honest guys selling quality goods off the back of a truck

"Where do we go now Chloe?"

I think this guy's had enough of New York!

Karen takes Derwent to the "Build-A-Bear Workshop" for a new outfit

Derwent tries on a London Policeman's outfit

Karen helps Derwent with his New York Policeman's outfit

Yep, he likes this one!

Karen leaves Build-A-Bear with Derwent's new outfit

Derwent looking cool in the hotel foyer

On the shuttle bus to JFK airport, our last view of the New York skyline

Derwent with his "don't mess with me" attitude waits for his flight at JFK

Chanelle passes the time at JFK

Our plane awaits us


And so after about five incredible days in the big apple it was time again to move on. Just being there in the vibe is exhausting. I can now see why New Yorkers embrace Central Park so much, as it is the only peaceful haven anywhere in the city. There is no such thing as a 'quiet corner'. Nowhere to sit idly in some street cafe and watch the world go by. It is pumping the whole time.

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So our US odyssey ended at New York, and I imagine if there's anywhere to finish then that's the place. Go out with a bang, so to speak. They say that NY is one of those places that you either love or hate, and this is probably true, but for me the jury is still out. I can't decide. As opposed to Las Vegas which I love, New York is still an enigma. It may simply fall into one of those 'nice place to visit' locations, but I think to truly discover the place, you'd need a year or more. Chloe and Chanelle of course embraced it totally, as you would at that age.

So, on that, it was time to go home

PICTURES OF NEW YORK AT NIGHT

Night time is the best time in New York. The weather gets a bit cooler, and the lights come on

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The M&M building

Radio City Theatre

Stardust Diner, Times Square



Broadway towards Times Square




42nd Street

42nd street, and the Navy was in town

She just can't help herself

Times Square

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

And so the next day, having selected the George Washington Bridge as our point of entry into Manhattan (the downtown crossings are tunnels, and we wanted a bridge!), we rolled into the Big Apple. In a way, although we were relieved to have made it, there was a tinge of sadness that the big cross-continent journey was over. We had done something that very few Americans have actually done. We had crossed the country from LA to NY and experienced much on the way, with a changed outlook on the USA.

We stopped briefly at the Radisson Martinique, where we had booked (Thanks to expedia.com we had got the room at about 50% of the normal rate), and dropped off our immense luggage. The porter, who vaguely resembled Omar Sharif, looked at the luggage, looked at me, and said quietly “I knew you were trouble as soon as you turned up”. A $10 bill slipped into his hand with instructions to take care of our luggage until we returned at check-in time put a small smile on his face.

So we went next to the National-Alamo depot on 44th Street, where we bade farewell to the ‘truck’, which had served us well. About 5000 miles without a hiccup, except a annoying light which had been flashing since Texas saying “Service Overdue”.

A fond farewell to the truck

And then into the streets of New York. The National-Alamo depot was only two blocks from Times Square, and what better introduction to New York City where the look on the look on the girls faces were captured forever in the following pictures. If any picture ever painted a thousand words, it would have to be one of these:-

The expressions say it all

Times Square was pumping, but it always does, 24 hours a day. I had been here before, way back in 1984, but it was first time for the Karen and the girls.

The Singing Cowboy - only in New York City

New York is a much changed place. The city I had visited way back was dirty, grubby and crime-ridden. I had read much about the zero-tolerance policy brought in by mayor Rudy Giuliani a few years back, and admit that I’d had my doubts. However, I did notice the place was clean, and that the police presence was very high profile. Throughout the whole Manhattan area, there seemed to be two police officers on every corner, with two others walking each block, plus a countless number of police cars on patrol. And this does not take into account the hundreds of plain-clothes security agents who continually walk the streets.

On the free ferry (yes, if something is free, I'll find it!) over to Statten Island, which affords the best views of the city skyline and the Statue of Liberty, I spoke briefly with a police officer who informed me there were ‘about 35000’ police officers in the New York City area, which consists of the five ‘boroughs’. Considering this is roughly the population of Dubbo, it is sizeable.

Chanelle does her "Titanic" performance on the Statten Island Ferry

Chloe and Chanelle with the New York skyline

Statue of Liberty from the ferry

During the five days we stayed in New York, I have to say there was never a time I did not feel safe. Naturally, we did not venture into dimly-lit back streets. After a while, we even let the girls do their own thing, with firm boundaries of course. They went to see ‘Legally Blonde’ the stage musical on Broadway. Somehow they got extra-cheap ticket for the matinee show as they were ‘students’ and Karen took them both to see ‘Phantom Of The Opera’. Having seen this both in Sydney and London, I excused myself.

We went up to the top of the Empire State Building, which I still think is one of life’s great experiences. Sure, it’s one of many tall buildings in the World, and long-ago lost it’s ‘biggest’ tag, but it’s still the most famous, and affords the most incredible views of Manhattan. It has ‘old-world’ feel, which many of the new pretenders do not have.

The girls contemplate the Empire State Building

It's a long way to the top

Another dream realised for Chloe

The view looking down Manhattan Island. The skyline as we all know used to be different looking this way

Upper Manhatten, with the unmistakable Chrysler building in the centre

We visited the site of ‘ground zero’ where the foundations are being put in place for a replacement,

and naturally, spent an afternoon wandering through Central Park, visiting the Strawberry Fields memorial, and emerging at one point near the Dakota Building, where John Lennon was murdered back in 1980.

Chloe and Chanelle 'chilling' in Central Park

"Imagine" - the John Lennon memorial at Strawberry Fields in Central Park

The entrance to the Dakota Building,

the spot where John Lennon was murdered in 1980

also took time to visit lone of the lesser-known NYC sites, the grate where Marilyn Monroe stood when the hot air blew up her dress and created one of the most famous images in show business history.

Grand Central Station is well worth a visit. The 'Grand' bit is no overstatement




We walked just about everywhere, and occasionally caught the subway, which also is much cleaner these days. I did miss the ‘truck’ but cars are not much use in NYC. Even if you can get to where you want to go through the traffic, there won’t be anywhere to park when you do get there!

Braving the New York Subway

More to come on New York.......