Day 34 - Manhattan, NEW YORK # 4

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Another good night sleep with little noise which is surprising here in NYC as during the daytime you do hear lots of ambulances and fire truck sirens going off. Our hotel has 4 apartments per floor and we face the back of the building and there is a view of a courtyard where we can see the back of the buildings beside and behind us on the next block so I think the buildings around us are blocking out a lot of the ambient sound so that is good.



Kerry got in trouble from the breakfast host lady when trying to put some bread in the toaster without using tongs (naughty). It is weird given everyone is touching the tongs and other items like the fridge door to get the yoghurts etc. and I tried later to open a door to grab 2 muffins and the tongs were too small to pick it up so I used my hands and did not get caught !



The laundry pile is growing fast now and we still have 4 days until we will get to do any washing. The weather forecast today is a cloudy start to the day and clearing around noon and then sunny but the cold has returned and a maximum of 13 degrees expected so we’ll pack appropriately today with multiple layers.



We left the room around 11.15am and headed along Park Avenue and then across Madison Avenue towards Central Park. We saw a whole bunch of movie trucks parked along Park Avenue covering at least 3 blocks who are here ready for a movie shoot on Thursday morning.



Lots of traffic in this section of town. Some high end fashion shops are located here where they don’t carry much stock. In fact there was one store where as you walk by you can see every item they have for sale in the window hanging up so I presume they get excited when they sell something ! Also saw a Ferrari store which would be worth a visit if you feel the need to spend some loose change. One shop had no windows (I think it was vogue) so I’m guessing that’s only for those who shop by brand and brand alone ?



It’s pretty chilly when the wind funnels down through the streets with all these skyscrapers around but it looks like it’s clearing up a little and might get a bit warmer later. We popped in to Starbucks to grab a couple of toasted cheese sandwiches and an Americano coffee to share. Kerry got freaked out a little when some guy left his backpack behind in the store and she said he looked a bit dodgy. The Starbucks was only a block away from 49th Street and 7th Avenue where we are meeting our tour guide for the 1pm tour of Central Park.



We met out tour guide near where the horse and carriages are parked and other than us there were three other couples (including a pair from New Zealand) which is the closest we have come to hearing an aussie voice for several weeks.



His name was Michael Hunt and the tour cost $44.00 each which was a bit pricey for a walking tour but rated well on Trip Advisor so we though we’d give it a go. He was very informative and it was a relaxing walk with lots of stops to explain the history of different parts and where the best photo spots were. The tour went for about 2.5 hours and we only saw about a quarter of the park so it gives you an idea how big it is. He also explained that the trees change colour here well after other parts of New York and is something to do with the skyscrapers and the amount of light that comes into the park.



After the tour we decided to go to Central Park Zoo which we thought was free but it’s not and as it was only an hour or so until closure we did not go inside. We had a desire to head back down to Little Italy for dinner to get another great experience but unfortunately it was a Tuesday night and was Iike “chalk and cheese” compared to Saturday night with hardly anyone around this time. We ended up choosing to have dinner at Zia Maria’s and we sat inside as it was pretty chilly and shared a pizza which was really nice.



Tomorrow is our last day in NYC and we don’t have too much planned as we start to wind down from what has been a hectic schedule.

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Photos

View with Bow Bridge in the background.
This would be one of the most photographed parts of Central Park and the leaves are not just starting to change colour here (probably peaking in a couple of weeks time).

Tribute to John Lennon in the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park
And yes there was a busker singer this song as we walked past to have a look at Yoko’s home “The Dakota” where he was fatally shot in 1980. I was not aware that his ashes were spread in Central Park.