A day in the Park

Sunday 5 August 2012 – Touring New York

Day 114 and 46 to go

I think we are getting used to waking at 8am. I didn’t stay in bed long getting out for a shower and ready for breakfast that we wandered down for at 9.15am for our fill of cereal and pastries.

When we returned to the room we planned out our day deciding first to head to Central Park for a wander. It was already muggy outside as we made our way to the park that is only a short distance from our hotel. We entered the park and began our aimless wander over the green grass and between the green trees. It truly is an oasis amongst the concrete jungle that is Manhattan.

We made it to a tree lined avenue where there were different buskers playing a variety of great music. We sat and listened to a violinist playing the song I walked to, to meet Paul on our wedding day, Pachabel.

We then walked down the avenue that terminated at a large lookout area taking in the view of a large fountain and a lake on which people were boating. We took plenty of photos before continuing along the footpaths. We were not heading in any particular direction.

We eventually came out at Strawberry Fields so we checked out the John Lennon mosaic memorial before heading toward the South West corner. We passed a lazy squirrel that was taking 5 laying on one of the benches all stretched out on his belly. It was so funny.

We eventually came to the road walking down 8^th Ave to 55^th Street we stopped briefly for a drink before crossing the street to visit our next destination; The Soup Man or for Seinfeld fans, the SOUP NAZI. We bought some soup, took some pics and then returned to the hotel to enjoy the soup and have a rest.

The seafood chowder and chicken and vege soup were delicious. We enjoyed being in the air con but at 1pm it was time to head out again. We walked to the subway to catch the R train down to Battery Park. It took awhile for the train to arrive and the journey to our final stop took about 15min. When we emerged we walked to the NY City bus tour stop and boarded the Brooklyn tour bus.

At 2pm we were on our way heading through Wall Street and China Town before heading back over the Manhattan Bridge and into the borough of Brooklyn. We passed similar places to that of the night tour but we were able to take a bit more in today.

We stopped again on the waterfront to take some pictures before passing the Brooklyn Heights, the place where the Cosbys was filmed. The bus then made a slight deviation stopping at a pizza joint where we could get off and buy a slice of pizza and some drinks; so we did.

We continued the tour passed Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum before making our way back to the Manhattan Bridge and returning to Manhattan. We drove passed the South Street Seaport and then were returned to Battery Park where we thanked the great tour guide and made our way back to the subway.

We caught the train to Times Square where we made our way to the TKTS office to see if we could get tickets for Rock of Ages, unfortunately there was nothing worth buying so we decided to try again tomorrow.

We then went on to the 3 floor M&M store. You can buy anything from clothing to housewares and stationery. It was insane. We bought some M&Ms that were all different colours and had flavours added to their shell.

With our bag full we wandered back to the hotel finally getting in at 5. I had a shower to cool off and then sat around eating our M&Ms while using the computer and watching the TV.

We were able to get on the net and catch up with all on FB, as well as do some research for upcoming onward travels to Boston. While sitting around it began to storm with thunder, lightning and heavy rain. At 8pm we decided it was time to head out for dinner.

We walked in the rain to the Oyster Bar restaurant we had seen earlier and were given a table by the window where we could people watch. It took a while for our dinner to arrive; coconut prawns and a cold platter selection of seafood. It was yum but not enough. We are being frustrated by the prices shown. Thinking we were having a reasonably priced meal turns into something more expensive when you receive the bill as it is then that they add on the service and taxes.

By the time we finished the rain was only light, we went next door to a small souvenir stand so I could buy a shooter glass and then we stopped in at Lindy’s Cheescake shop for a piece of NY cheesecake to take back to the room.

We made our way back arriving in at 10.30pm. We were able to ring home and check on everything that is happening. It was good to touch base. It was then lights out on the night.