New York- Sunday

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Up very early to catch the 8am hop-on-hop-off topless bus. We chose to do a 48hr tour on the New York Sightseeing Bus, this allows you to hop on and off when and where you like in Manhattan for 48 hours!(At their stops) We started with the Downtown Loop, as this would be busier later on in the day as well as on Mondays when the city is gridlocked with traffic.. Some of the attractions on this ride was Times Square, Empire state Building, Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City, Soho, Little Italy, China Town, The Flatiron Building, Lower East side and Twin Towers Site and I'm sure alot more that I can't remember.. It is an emotional experience standing close to the Twin Tower site, thinking back of all the footage we've seen over the years, you try and imagine just what it was like seeing that huge aircraft melting into that tall building and then again into the next..people leaping out the windows out of sheer desperation and running for their lives as the massive dust cloud started to suffocate and swallow up the streets below as the towers collapsed. We were shown a Monument- 'The Sphere', that was standing in between the two towers survived the disaster with only a few holes, scratches and bends. It was discovered 5 weeks after the attack and was still too hot to touch! It has now been moved to Battery Park and rededicated with an 'eternal flame' that burn in memory of those who died.
They are building on the Twin Towers' site and two smaller towers are on their way up, they are aiming for this to be taller than The Twin Towers and they are about halfway there..along with some smaller memorial buildings...

As we drive along the tourguide pointed out interesting sites, facts and figures..and sometimes cracked a little dry joke! But it was so worth it!
We got off at Brooklyn Bridge and decided to walk across it, we only managed just past halfway! (the bridge is about 1.8km long) From the bridge you have amazing views of Manahattan on the one side and Brooklyn on the other, and obviously The Watchtower building!Brooklyn Bethel! This bridge is a work of art and considering it was built in 1870's and is still standing today..it is a must see! They went for overkill when it came to safety, even if all the cables broke the bridge wont! they say it will just sag! When the bridge was opened in the 1880's the locals weren't convinced it was safe, they marched a troop of circus animals across the bridge, including 21 elephants! I think that convinced them as the bridge is really busy today!
It was getting a little hot and time to move on, coffee ad then on to Chinatown.

What an experience! Strange old ladies coming up to you whispering" 'han-bags, lolex, h'ow maach you wa'na pay? you know you wan' too".. it really works on your nerves after a while! They are every where and very persistant, trying to sell you anything that is a 'fake original'! So we didn't hang around too long and started heading back to the Bus stop. We did pass a few men playing with Bubble guns! it's soo pretty, but did they really have to play a tune every time you pull the trigger? We also saw some new ways of hanging washing from the 5th floor of a block of flats..simply stretch your line from your window to the next block of flats and operate on a pully system! I saw a 'cherry picker' below the line, I wonder if that was to get you washing when the line gets stuck?

We hopped on again and went back to the hotel for a 'rest', but all we ended up doing was walking around and buying stuff!
After that break and some retail therapy..we decided to grab a bite to eat, get Tamsin to pose with a fireman, and on to the night tour!( Yes, you read right..)This was about a 2hour tour and takes you to The Empire State Building, Soho, China Town, Brooklyn Bridge ,Manhattan Bridge and into Brooklyn! (it was a thrill ride on it's own going over the bridge into Brooklyn!So High!) It was nice seeing the nightlife from the safety and comfort of our seats, I guess as South Africans we are always a little paranoid - especially when it's dark! But there was nothing to worry about!

What does New York smell like? BURNT TOAST...why? because the street vendors or pretzel carts burn the pretzel crumbs to attract hungry touristy pretzel eating people! either that or they are simply cleaning their grills!
What does New York sound like? SIRENS..why? because since 9/11 the fire department responds to anything and everything and there are soooo many 'any and everythings' happening all the time! So each call is taken seriously and the sound of sirens just about constantly echoes of the buildings!'

Midnight....Laying on the bedroom floor staring through the window down below at all the people, busy cars and pretty lights it was time to say goodnight..can't get enough of that view!

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