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Old 21 Feb 18, 10:32 PM  
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Leyfy
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It's Pints Kim, But Not As We Know It! NY - 12/02/18

Day 02 - Watson Hotel NY/TOTR/Central Park Zoo/9-11 Museum/Times Square/Heartland Brewery

So, being that I was in bed by 9pm the previous evening, I was awake at 5am!

I was pleased to find that the Radio 4 iPlayer app on my phone worked fine, so I put that on and dozed for an hour or so. It was a bit odd listening to Radio 4 live when it was 11am at home

We both were up and ready to go at about 7.30am so we made our way down to the hotel lobby. The previous evening I'd managed to find a restaurant on my way to the restroom (luckily not in the same place ) , so this was our plan as they did breakfast there. We found the restaurant and were quickly seated. It was apparent they had a breakfast buffet option so we both went for this and loaded our plates up:



Ah that US bacon that either shatters as your fork hits it or is very bendy! Now I know I am on holiday!

I also went back for some fruit and we got some orange juice and coffees to go with our breakfast. I noticed they had skimmed and full fat milk for the cereal so went back to get a cup of that, rather than the evil that is 'half and half'! What is half and half, and why does it need to go into my coffee?! Give me milk!



We noticed a few other European guests doing the same thing, so it wasn't just us

Breakfast was $40 for the two of us and we were done by 8.30am.

We made our way out onto the streets of New York. Phil loves the grid system in New York and is happy to navigate with an address as he understands it, so I told him where we could find the Rockefeller Center. We made our way there:







Those who have been to Universal Studios in Orlando since 'Race Through New York' opened will see how well they've themed that area when you visit here, as NBC film the show in the Rockefeller building. The theming for 'Race Through New York' is fab and spot on!

Our original plan was to go and buy tickets then go to Central Park first and come back later to do the 'Top of the Rock'. However, it took quite a long time to walk there from our hotel (a good 30 minutes or so - we got there at 9.30am) and, after wandering around trying to find a restroom first, we finally found the entrance to 'Top of the Rock'. The signage was saying '0 visibility' at the top but we could see from outside that it was clear and not foggy at all! We could hear from discussions of those around us that it was putting people off as they were leaving the queue. When we got to the front we asked and the lady serving us said that the sign was wrong so we decided to buy tickets and we made the decision to go up then and there, as there were time slots available.

Tickets purchased, we made our way upstairs and went through airport-style metal detectors before we were able to get into the queue for the elevators up to 'The Top of the Rock'.

The top of the elevator becomes see-through as you travel upwards which is really cool! We soon arrived at the 'Top of the Rock' and went out onto the balcony to take some pictures:



Brooklyn Bridge in the distance:





Statue of Liberty in the distance:



What a view:













Note the screens to stop anyone 'accidentally' falling off...



I've done both the Empire State building and TOTR and I have to say that I think TOTR is better - the view taking in Empire State, WTC 1 and the Statue of Liberty is AMAZING! Plus you get a better view over Central Park on the other side as well.

Photos taken, we made our way down. Our next stop was Central Park Zoo, so we made our way there.



When we arrived it was 9.50am and the park didn't open until 10am so we stopped for a quick coffee in the cafe:



At just gone 10am we left and I got us some tickets from the automatic booths and we made our way into the zoo. The first stop was the 'Tropic Zone'. This was basically a huge aviary with birds flying around and smaller displays round the outside:







After the Tropic Zone we had a look around the other areas:





The zoo was small, but the exhibits they had were good and it was well worth a look round.

We were done by 11.30am and decided that we'd like to re-visit the 9/11 museum. We headed to the metro station closest to get to the new station that has opened up right by the museum. As we were only planning on getting metro tickets for today the guy behind the till sorted us out with a metro card and enough fare to get us there and back. You usually buy metro cards for blocks of days, but he just loaded one up with the correct fare for two people to get us there and back. They were still building the station nearest World Trade Center 1 when we here last in 2016 and now it had opened, complete with a Westfield shopping center as you walk out of the station! It amazed us back in 2016 how much still needed to be rebuilt - we think of New York as such a modern city that you think it'd all be redeveloped by now.

We first went to see the memorial pools. This is my third visit, and it still always moves me. I remember so vividly that day - to be stood in that area the sheer enormity of what happens never seems to diminish:





We queued up to buy tickets for the museum and were soon heading down through security and into the main area between the two memorial pools. I am very conscious of where we are and I don't like taking many photos, but I did take one of the final pillar that was removed as I felt like this was different? To me it's like the first responders and the city reclaimed this to pay tribute to all that were lost:





In the middle of the museum is a revolving door - a sign out the front of it says that no photography is allowed inside and 'may contain upsetting scenes - may not be suitable for those under 18'. When you enter, this is a blow-by-blow, minute-by-minute account of what happened that day. I've been three times and, I'm not sure why - each time seems more upsetting than the last? The whole museum is indescribable really... A reflection of the time that we live in in that every last minute is detailed... They have a special way of showing someone that died in the attacks using a certain symbol next to their name. So you stand there and listen to voicemails made on that day, knowing that the people leaving those messages didn't survive ...

We left the museum in a sombre mood.

Needing a bit of a break and refreshment, we headed to Bills Bar round the corner, which had been a favourite of ours on a previous trip. I ordered the boneless wings and Phil had a caesar salad:



We shared both

After our lunch we headed down to Battery Island so I could take some photos of the Statue of Liberty. The queue for the tour over to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty was absolutely huge! We'd done this tour before so didn't feel like doing it again on this trip. I took some photos from near the dock area:











Battery Park is a really easy walk from the World Trade Center area - ten minutes or so. This is looking up from Battery Park to World Trade Center 1:





We made our way back to a nearby subway station and took a train back up to near Times Square.





It was now about 3pm so we stopped at O'Donoghues bar for a quick drink and a sit down.



I used their free wifi to find the location of a running shop as Phil has said he'd get me a pair of Brooks Adrenaline trainers for my upcoming birthday.They are the same price in pounds as in dollars, which is why I like to get them in the US. We finished our drinks and made our way to the shop, which was about a 10 minute walk away. After having my food measured and trying on a couple of pairs, I walked away with a new pair of shiny trainers! Hurrah!

We made our way back to Times Square, looking in a few shops like Gap and The NFL experience shop before heading back to O'Donoghues for a diet coke and a beer. (Not in the same glass, because that would be gross! I had the diet coke, Phil had the beer!)

By now it was approaching 6pm so we headed to Heartland Brewery, which was where we were having dinner. We took some pictures on the way of Times Square now it was getting dark:







It was pretty quiet when we got to the restaurant and we were seated straight away. We ordered some drinks and then shared some Calamari for starter:





I then had the Fish Tacos for main and Phil went for the ribeye steak:





We both enjoyed our meals - they were both good and we were very full by the end of it! We got the bill, which was $90ish and made our way back to The Watson. It was a good 20 or so minute walk, which worked off our dinner!

We finished a very full day with a few drinks and got chatting to an American in the bar about the difference between sport in the UK and the US. I made my way upstairs to bed about 9pm, absolutely shattered as my fitbit said we'd done nearly 27,000 steps and nearly 19km of walking today!

Tomorrow: Chelsea Market and the food tour!

Edited at 03:22 PM.
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Old 22 Feb 18, 12:01 AM  
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TractorBoy
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What a busy day. This is get me excited for our June trip.

Thank you for taking the time in writing it up!
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Old 22 Feb 18, 03:19 AM  
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Nesbits
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Great photos. Busy day and a lot of walking!
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Old 22 Feb 18, 08:02 AM  
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yellowrose78
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Fab day! Great pictures from TOTR
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Old 22 Feb 18, 09:01 AM  
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A great day and so much done... we’re also planning zoo, 9/11 museum and heartland brewery in July... thanks for writing
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Old 22 Feb 18, 02:47 PM  
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mick
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A long,busy but great day

Joan
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Old 22 Feb 18, 06:09 PM  
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Great day with loads packed in. I got a bit teary just reading your description of the 9/11 museum, sounds incredibly moving.
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Old 23 Feb 18, 07:18 PM  
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It sounds like a good day. We loved the TOTR absolutely awesome views up there. Some great meals today too, you are doing well on the food and drinks account, buffet breakfast, wings for lunch, yummy.
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Old 25 Feb 18, 07:29 PM  
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Leyfy
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Originally Posted by TractorBoy View Post
What a busy day. This is get me excited for our June trip.

Thank you for taking the time in writing it up!
Thank you for reading - sure you are going to have a brilliant time in June

Originally Posted by Nesbits View Post
Great photos. Busy day and a lot of walking!
Thank you and thank you for reading

Originally Posted by yellowrose78 View Post
Fab day! Great pictures from TOTR
Thank you and thank you for reading

Originally Posted by jools1302 View Post
A great day and so much done... we’re also planning zoo, 9/11 museum and heartland brewery in July... thanks for writing
You'll have a fab time, I'm sure

Thanks for reading

Originally Posted by mick View Post
A long,busy but great day

Joan
Thanks for reading

Originally Posted by MrsSilverStar View Post
Great day with loads packed in. I got a bit teary just reading your description of the 9/11 museum, sounds incredibly moving.
It really is - it also feels like it was so recent but it was nearly 20 years ago!

Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
It sounds like a good day. We loved the TOTR absolutely awesome views up there. Some great meals today too, you are doing well on the food and drinks account, buffet breakfast, wings for lunch, yummy.
I'd definitely go for boneless wings again - they were so much easier to eat!

Thank you for reading
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Old 5 Mar 18, 02:50 PM  
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Wowzers, that's Disney levels of walking, haha! What a fab day.

American bacon is just the best - I love that shatter!
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