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Published: June 10th 2012
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We were warned that San Francisco is often foggy and driving across the Golden Gate Bridge it was hard to see very far in front of us, but we did manage to get a few nice photos. We then drove down Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world, before heading across to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 where lunch became a spectator sport watching the sea-lions who were pretty cool. San Francisco is a great city, good vibe, different coloured colonial style houses and very green.
The next day we picked up the Pacific Highway 1 at Monterey, stopping at the pretty Carmel-by-the-Sea, as well as McWay Creek with its lovely waterfall falling straight into the ocean. I have to say that I did find the Great Ocean Road in Australia more spectacular but that may have something to do with the weather or the bit of PH1 that we drove... After a night at San Luis Obispo, we made it to LA, with a quick stop at Santa Barbara to build some rock sculptures and for Joe to have his obligatory coffee! We arrived at my old boss John's house where we were due to stay for a
few days and met his lovely new wife Carolyn (and had a swim in their pool!)
The next morning we decided to head into Hollywood where we indulged in the obligatory touching of the handprints in the Walk of Fame outside the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are held. Then we drove down Sunset Boulevard (which wasn't all that nice and full of traffic). After a quick photo of the Hollywood sign we spent the afternoon at Universal Studios. After a long queue in the heat to get in, we took the Studio Tour which was very interesting and included the sets of Wisteria Lane (Desperate Housewives), Bates Motel (Psycho), Amity (Jaws) and War of the Worlds as well as a typical New York and London street. They also showed us how they film rain, earthquakes, floods etc. The new King Kong 3D ride was good too, although a bit scarey for Charlie. He enjoyed the Curious George Playground and Shrek 4D and Simpsons rides as well as the special effects presentation. Headed back then after a long day.
Had a much lazier day after that. Met up with Laura, Renee and their kids for lunch and had
a bbq with John and family in the evening, before packing and booking our NY hotel (don't tell my parents we left it so late!)
Headed out to the airport early the next morning, and had a good run through the car pool lane. OK flight to NY and arrived about 8pm local time. Had a great drive through Manhattan to our hotel in Newark (a bit far out but nice big room).
It was nice to use the New York public transport system after so many months relying on the car. First stop the next day was the Empire State Building where the views were a tiny bit hazy but still spectacular. Of course we loved the Art Deco and Art Nouveau architecture, of which the Chryssler Building is the best example, although I was surprised at the number of gold roofs on view. The ESB mast was supposed to be for Zeppelins to land although it proved to be too windy. After a quick look at Grand Central Station (nice chandeliers) we arrived at the Chryssler unfortunately 2 minutes before it was due to close, so after a quick peek carried on walking down 5th Avenue...
The information boards outside the Waldorf-Astoria made interesting reading - William Astor built the Waldorf (named after their home town in Germany) first after losing a parliamentary election (as you do!). His cousin, Jacob, realised how successful it was and pulled down his house next door to build the Astoria. Presidents now stay in a 4 bed suite there and all donate something. There is also a royal suite and they even had a ballroom with a retractable roof so you could dance under the stars. Further down we passed the American Girl Store which we had been warned to stay clear of for our bank account's sake! Unfortunately it was too late though, as Bella, who is not normally into dolls, had eyes popping out of her head! The concept is that you buy a doll that looks like you with matching outfits. They have a doll hair salon ($20 per braid), doll hospital, photo studio and personal shopping service - only in America...
Rushed around to get out the next morning as we were meeting Wendy and Abi who we had found out via Facebook were coincidentally on holiday in New York. Lunch and a walk around
Central Park gave us a good opportunity to catch up on all the news from home. We found some big fish and some small turtles in the ponds there, then walked back to their hotel via the Rockerfeller Center and NBC store, oh and Tiffanys too of course! Later we left them and headed for Times Square which is quite an experience at night. Even got a ride on the ferris wheel inside Toys R Us.
On Saturday (our last weekend - boo!) we headed over to Ground Zero where there is lots of building work going on. After lunch in the Winter Garden which was very reminiscent of the London Docklands, we walked down the Esplanade (lovely flowers and sculptures) to Battery Park where we queued for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. The airport style security wouldn't let Joe take his pen knife on board, so he opted to take the free Staten Island ferry, which still gave him a good view. The kids and I went closer to the statue, but decided not to climb it, instead getting out at Ellis Island and visiting the Immigration Museum where we had an excellent audio tour. I
especially liked the little hook used to look under the immigrants eyelids to see if they had trachoma! Only 2% of the 12 million who tried to get in were sent home. One little girl had warts on her hand so the doctor put a chalk mark on her coat, which presumably would have meant she could have been turned back, but someone else advised her just to turn her coat inside out! Met Joe again and walked around Wall Street where we found some nice food stalls. Also saw the bronze 9/11 firefighters plaque which was of course very sobering.
Went to the meeting in Manhattan on Sunday, which was lovely. After lunch we went for a walk to Greenwich Village which was leafy and pretty. Had an icecream in Washinton Square, which apparently used to be a forum for executions! 3 lads did an excellent tap dance routine on a board of wood. After a quick look at some of the old mews houses, we ended up at the 4th Street basketball court which was fun to watch.
The next morning we visited the Jewish Museum but decided to avoid the Holocaust bit because of the
kids. The pre and post exhibitions were really interesting though. Dashed back to the hotel to meet Dara, my dad's cousin's daughter, who was taking us back to her parents' house in New Jersey for a family meal. Really nice to see them all and find out more about that side of the family. Stayed the night with them.
On our last full day Jeff took Joe on a tour of the neighbourhood, including Michael Jackson's old house, whilst Ellen gave the kids an art lesson and greatly admired their creativitiy! We then went to their posh country club for a swim, picnic and a trip on the lake in a pedalo. Headed bacl to our Newark hotel for the night, stopping off at a fancy Spanish restaurant for a posh meal on our last night.
We were finally ready to leave about 11:30 the next morning, struggling to carry our heavy bags! We left them at Penn station before heading back to the American Girl store so that Bella could ogle some more! Bought a few last minute presents then made our way to the airport. Flight was delayed so we had quite a bit of hanging
around and didn't get dinner until 11pm. The kids managed about 4 hours sleep, I had 2, and Joe none. The connection at Frankfurt airport was difficult as the kids were very sleepy and we had to walk about half an hour from one side to the other and only just made our flight. Still we arrived at Heathrow on time, tired but happy to be met by all four grandparents - just how we had left them 365 days before!!
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