NY/ME/BOS: Day 2-SoL & Brooklyn

[tonymc]

Trip Index here.

Day 2(Sun 7th August) – SoL & Brooklyn

Another early wake up call with the alarm set for 06:45, with breakfast in the room thanks again to our new best buddies at Duane Reade! . We were planning on using the Grayline/City Sightseeing express bus direct from 8th and 47th to Battery Park. However, as we were ready to leave the hotel at 07:30 and it looked as if it may start to rain, we made a decision to walk to the subway station at 42nd and 7th and catch the subway directly to South Ferry. Thanks to the “idiots guide to the NY Subway” on Trip Advisor, we were clued up about the ticket prices, which trains to catch in which direction etc, so a 10 minute wait saw us on the train and arriving at South Ferry at 08:10. However, we also discovered that the ticket machines will only allow you to use the same credit (or Fairfx) card twice for purchases – fortunately, we still have our original card with a few $ left on it so could buy for the three of us. A quick dash to exchange our e-vouchers for proper Crown Access Tickets (booked back in April for an 0900 time), a breeze through security, and we were on the ferry departing at around 08:40.

The weather was ideal for sightseeing – slight cloud cover with a breeze blowing across the bay. On arrival, we called at the information centre to get our Crown Access wrist bands, then over to deposit our backpack, followed by another security check and finally we were checked in for our group for an 09:30 ascent.

We were in a group of 10, who were briefed by the Ranger to progress up towards the observation deck where we would be met by another Ranger and directed up to the crown. It was when we reached this point that DD decided she couldn’t climb the narrow stairway, and no manner of persuasion would make her change her mind. The Ranger suggested that she could wait there with him whilst we ascended, so we continued up the remaining 200+ stairs to the crown. It was warm, but we could only imagine what it had been like a few weeks ago when the heatwave was around.

When we arrived at the top, it was a bit of an anti-climax – a very small viewing platform with only enough room for four or five people. We had the obligatory photos taken by the Rangers on duty there, then stated our descent, which in all honesty was harder work than the ascent! We picked up Alex from the Rangers care, then spent some time viewing the surrounds from the observation deck.

Two out of three made it - do I really look that tired!

Having recovered our bag, we then had a look around the island, then caught the boat back to Ellis island for a look around the museum and to give Alex a bit of education about the immigration process that happened. We then caught the ferry back to Battery Park where we were planning on catching the Brooklyn Loop Bus Tour.

Again, a change of plan saw us using the Downtown loop bus to take us to South Street Seaport where we had lunch at the food court at Pier 17. Suitably stuffed after foolishly ordering a full meal each, we waddled over to Abercrombie and Fitch (hang on you might say – has he just copied and pasted this bit from yesterday! ) to get yet another hoodie for Alex (dark blue this time). We then strolled back to Battery Park via Wall Street to catch the Brooklyn Loop tour.

When we arrived, there was a large queue which took all of the available seating on the first bus, and we were told the next City Sightseeing bus would be 30 minutes. At that point, a rival bus pulled in and we decided to chance our arm by asking if we could use our City Sightseeing tickets – no problem, and the guide having found out that we were from the Manchester area, told us his wifes’ family originated from our own home town of Wigan – small world.

Anyhow, we did the Brooklyn Tour, and did find it really interesting, especially all the history around how the various districts had grown – well worth it. The tour used the Manhatten Bridge which gave some really good views of both Brooklyn and Manhatten.

Manhatten from the Brooklyn side

During the tour, the sun finally broke through and it did get a bit hot on several occasions during the tour . On our return, we were fortunate enough that the bus then returned directly to Times Square rather than Battery Park which saved us some time. Our guide also gave some tips on cheap restaurants on the Times Square area for which we were grateful. A further useful tip he gave was that 20 blocks is equivalent to a mile, so makes it easy to work out how far you may have to walk.

We left the bus around 15:45 and returned to the hotel – no prizes for guessing which shop we stopped at to get some fruit juice and soft drinks! – to cool off in the air conditioning. A nice touch when we got back was a note from room service thanking us for the tip.

After a couple of hours to have a snooze, freshen up and change, we set out in search of food. The guide on the Brooklyn tour had told us about Juniors which he said was fairly cheap for the theatre district, so we headed up 9th to check out some of the restaurants here on the way to Juniors (next door to the theatre where the Lion King is playing). When we arrived, it looked very crowded, but we were shown to a table straight away.

After our large lunch, we decided a bit of restraint was called for, so I ordered a plain beef sandwich, Jo a brisket melt special with fries (to share of course) and Alex the fish and chips. The food was good – my sandwich must have had half a pound of beef on it – and we were stuffed with no room for dessert.

Tips:
(1) If planning on using the Subway for the first time, check the “Idiots Guide to the Subway” on the Trip Advisor New York forum – plenty of helpful info. Also note that the ticket machines will not give any more than $6 change, so have sufficient $5 or $1 bills (and/or coins) before travelling. Can also use credit/Fairfx cards, but you are limited to buying two tickets on one card.
(2) Again for the subway, try and get a map and familiarise yourself with the service(s) you will need for your journey – makes life a lot easier than trying to work it out at the station.
(3) SoL – if you don’t like enclosed spaces, the narrow spiral staircase up to the top can seem claustrophobic – may be worth avoiding this if you do get a bit “panicky” with enclosed spaces.
(4) SoL - Have some dollar bills ready for the lockers if you have crown access tickets.
(5) SoL – note that only tickets booked through Statue Cruises can get you pedestal or crown access. There were a number of people who had the multi-ticket visitor passes who thought they could pay on arrival to go into the pedestal or crown – not so. Also worth booking crown access 3 or 4 months in advance as they do sell out quickly (but statue is closed later this year and through most of 2012 for renovation work).
(6) SoL - don’t wear flip-flops or other loose footwear as the steps up to the SoL crown are very narrow and a tight spiral
(7) On some bus tours, they don’t stop so you end up 2 hours plus on a bus in the heat, so make sure you have plenty of water. We took an insulated bag with us to keep the water cold.
(8) 20 blocks equals a mile.

[disneyforever]

Good read, great tips! Lol when I read about the renovation for the crown, as I couldn't book!

[voddygirl]

We climbed the 284 steps in a heatwave in June ..never again !
I cant see pics ?

[tonymc]

Originally Posted by voddygirl

I cant see pics ?

See more...

Not sure why you can't - I have them linked to a dibb photo album. Fingers crossed will be working for you.

[hross42877]

Great Read!

[mossyflossy]

great day but yes, you do look tired...had a laugh about the sandwich...Americans don't seem to cater small or medium do they?

[tonymc]

Originally Posted by mossyflossy

great day but yes, you do look tired...had a laugh about the sandwich...Americans don't seem to cater small or medium do they?

See more...

Strangely enough, it's never been aproblem for me...

[orlandosgr8]

Sounds like you all enjoyed your day.

[Glee Fan]

Mm, not sure if the SoL would be for me then, can get a bit panicky at times, thanks for being honest about it.

[Gill635]

Great day! They still weren't allowing you into the crown when we went to NYC, but I'd love to try it out just so I could say I had!

Love NYC, such an amazing city. Wish I'd spent more more time in Brooklyn though, we only did a quick tour through it

xx