'We had plans and then we changed them' Fourth of July & Central park ~ Orlando and NYC

[DisneyDaffodil]

Index

It was a busy day in NYC, as it was the Fourth of July and all the locals seemed to be heading towards Central Park to enjoy the sunshine. We decided this was a good plan too and we spent the day exploring Central Park (including the zoo and the Met Museum)
We met up with Justin and Emily and walked around the corner to our nearest Starbucks. Justin had never been to Starbucks before (for some reason) so he asked for our advice on what to order. We discussed lots of our favourite drinks with him and he eventually tried to order a caramel macchiato. He messed up his order and had an iced caramel macchiato instead. After ordering our favourite choices, we walked across the road to Central Park. We sat overlooking The Pond and watched the wildlife. We particularly enjoyed watching the turtles. We also saw this bird but we don't know what it is (any ideas?)

We wandered around the park for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet. We found it strange how peaceful Central Park is, despite being in the centre of such a big city.

We got a bit lost trying to find Central Park zoo and had to ask some very friendly joggers for directions. New Yorkers were very helpful when we got lost
We knew that the zoo isn't big but we do enjoy visiting zoos, so we wanted to see this one. After paying the $12 admission fee each, we spent a lovely two hours looking at all the animals. Although the zoo isn't huge, we really loved the variety of animals, including many that we hadn't seen in other zoos such as grizzly bears and harbour seals. Georgia was thrilled to be the first person to find the snow leopard, as loads of people were looking into what appeared to be an empty enclosure, until Georgia spotted him just out of sight of the crowds.

It was lunch time and we were all starting to get hungry. We wanted to try an authentic New York deli sandwich and eat it in the park. Justin searched for a recommended deli and discovered there was one near the Met Museum (which was our next destination) called Pastrami Queen. We walked to 78th Street and Lexington Avenue to the deli. This took much longer than we thought it was going to and we were all hot and even hungrier by the time we got there. The deli was very small inside and expensive but the sandwiches were all freshly made while we waited and MASSIVE. While we were waiting, we chatted to a very friendly New Yorker who told us all about his life and gave us lots of tips about things to see in New York.
We all had the overstuffed sanwiches. Justin and Emily had the pastrami, Georgia and Rob had the roast beef and I had the chicken salad. Rob, Georgia and I's meals cost a whopping $65 including soft drinks! We took our sandwiches back to the park and ate them on the grass near the Met Museum. We really enjoyed our picnic, however the sandwiches were VERY big and I failed to eat all of mine.

After lunch, we went to the Met Museum of Art. Emily studied art for her degree and Georgia is also very interested in art, so we were all looking forward to this museum. We used our attraction pass again to go into the museum.

This museum is HUGE. Although we spent a lot of time here, we still didn't see everything. If you like art, I'd definitely recommend you visit and even if you don't, it’s worth seeing as there is so much here. There is so much variety of art here, from paintings and sculptures to pottery and everyday objects. The building itself is impressive too. We spent a lot of time in the Asian Art section (as Georgia had studied Japanese art for GCSE just before we came away) and also the European Paintings but we also visited lots of other sections such as the Egyptian Art and Modern and Contemporary Art. I could put hundreds of photos here, as we took so many. This is just a small sample of our best photos.

We had walked so much around the museum and it was a twenty block walk back to our hotel. We were all struggling by the time we got back to our rooms, due to all the walking and heat, and we were relieved to be able to sit down at last. We went down to the hotel buffet and made full use of the food and drink available. This was the most relaxing part of our days in NYC and the only time when we actually sat down for more than five minutes

We had planned to see the fireworks over the East River, as it was the Fourth of July. The plan had been to go down near Brooklyn Bridge for the best view of the fireworks, but none of us could face the long journey there and back. To be honest, Rob, Georgia and I were exhausted after the museum and were considering an early night but Justin and Emily persuaded Georgia and I that it was an opportunity we shouldn't miss. Rob really was too tired to come with us, so he stayed in the room and watched a film on the tv. The four of us decided that we would head towards the East River but not take the Subway to Brooklyn Bridge. We were hoping we would be able to find a spot nearer our hotel.
There were a lot of crowds around, all heading towards the river, so we followed them most of the way There was a great atmosphere as we walked and we found a place a few streets down from Queensboro Bridge.

We may have had a better view closer to Brooklyn Bridge, but we were all happy to watch the fireworks surrounded by the atmosphere. The area we were at seemed to have many locals watching the fireworks, so it had a more authentic feel than being surrounded by tourists. We didn't have the best view of the fireworks and therefore our photos don't look great so we haven't included any here. We really enjoyed it though and were glad we'd gone.

I had been separated from Emily, Justin and Georgia in the crowd and I was not worried about this as I knew they were together. They soon found me after the fireworks, by calling me very loudly (which I didn't really hear as I was enjoying myself too much )
We strolled leisurely back to the hotel, looking at the buildings decorated in red, white and blue lights for the holiday.
Step count: 28,500

[Cloverlady]

Blimey! You did a LOT of walking today Sue!
The zoo looked fun, wondering if we'll have time to fit that in. We'll see.
Good on you forcing yourself out to see the fireworks, a night to remember, it being 4th July

You certainly fit a lot into your days, you'd need a holiday AFTER your holiday after that, and we are seasoned theme park goers too!

Thanks for sharing!

[DisneyDaffodil]

Yes, we ached so much that evening but it was worth it to see the fireworks, the atmosphere was brilliant. I feel as we saw them where the locals gathered, it felt more authentic, really good night.

The zoo is lovely, looks so pretty set against the backdrop of the skyscrapers. It only takes a couple of hours to look around, and we stroll and take ages looking at the animals, but it is a nice place to go if you get time.

[mrsdjh]

Wow those sandwiches were huge... and expensive

A lot of walking again today but I bet you're glad you forced yourself back out to experience the fireworks.

[DisneyDaffodil]

I found my sandwich a bit sickly too, so I'm ashamed to say I only ate half of it 😯. Everyone else enjoyed their's and we are glad we tried them.

I am really glad I pushed myself to see the fireworks, the atmosphere was amazing. I do wish we had better photos to share of those but the view was a bit too restricting to get a good picture sadly.

[Fuellady]

It sounds like you had a lovely relaxing morning in Central Park. Crikey, those sandwiches are huge - very expensive too!

No wonder you were exhausted after walking all that way. I'm surprised you made it out for the fireworks, although it seems as though it was worth it for the atmosphere alone. It sounds wonderful

[DisneyDaffodil]

It did take a tremendous push to get out that evening and we wouldn't have made the effort if it hadn't been for Justin's encouragement but we are pleased we did go in the end.