USA - New York

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Hello everyone!

I hope you are all doing well? I’m missing everyone already and I’ve not even been away 2 weeks!

It was really difficult for me leaving home this time; I honestly didn’t want to leave home! I knew I’d have an amazing time away and get to see Drew and everyone in Australia and New Zealand but I really knew I’d miss my lovely Mum and Dad terribly (especially after having such a nice time with them in Weymouth, that goes down as one of my best trips ever, it was lovely and cosy wasn’t it M & D?) and of course Maff and my lovely friends. I’m not going to dwell on that now else I’ll end up upsetting myself!

It was a bit of a rush to get ready (the night before leaving I eventually went to bed at 3.30am…!). A special thank you goes to Gemma and Georgina for coming over the night before to help me pack! Your advice on outfits was so valuable and is already paying dividends  I also felt a bit weird going away without Caryl, wish you were here with me Cazzler!

Anyway, let me get on with telling you what I’ve been up to…starting with the amazing New York…!

HOME to NEW YORK, the USA – Friday 4 November 2011
I was up early at 6.30am and ready to leave to pick up Paddy at 7.30am. I said bye to Maff when he went to work and Mum when I left the house, trying not to get upset but it’s hard. Dad took Paddy and I to Oxford bus station where I had to say bye to him, I always try not to cry so as not to upset the other people but I wanted to, love you Mum, Dad and Maff! Paddy and I had an easy trip to Heathrow and then a wander around the shops (I ‘sold’ him a Panasonic Lumix camera, my favourite type, could have got myself a job at Dixons!) and something to eat. The flight with Delta was good, nice food and some watchable films; I watched Bad Teacher and Green Lantern and convinced Paddy he should give Bridesmaids a try and he really enjoyed it. It’s NOT just a girls film!
We arrived at JFK at 5.30pm and were quickly through immigration (not too many questions, just the usual fingerprints and pictures!) and customs and into a yellow cab headed for Manhattan. We found our apartment and Justin was waiting outside to let us in (is always nice to see people from home away from home!) and Jonny was at the top of the stairs (2 flights of stairs, with my bags!) chuckling about how much I was carrying. The apartment was lovely, just enough room for all of us. We headed out to Times Square and although I’ve been to New York a couple of times before I don’t think I’d ever fail to be impressed by the buzz and the energy about the place. It was Js first time so he was really excited! We stopped for a drink in an Irish Bar (I had a Smithwicks, became a theme for the weekend!) and then for some dinner at another Irish place which was seemed quite posh inside (although that could have been the Smitwicks!). We then headed off to bed; think we could have all fallen asleep at the table.

NEW YORK – Saturday 5th November 2011
We were up and out early to get Jon’s marathon stuff from the marathon convention centre, there’s always a real sense of camaraderie about the place. We happened across the US Navy ship Intrepid, it’s huge and impressive sight (how does it stay afloat when only a thin bit of it is in the water?!); we tried to go in for a look around (Dad, was inspired by your story of when you went around the aircraft carrier in Weymouth) but it ended up not being open. We walked towards Downtown and stopped for some breakfast, they’re HUGE in New York and you can have so much nice stuff! I had Eggs Benedict, lovely! We walked to Ground Zero which has changed a lot since I was there 5 years ago; there’s a sense of optimism and it’s surrounded by high fences due to the construction of the new towers, which is well underway. The memorial wall is not as easily accessible as it was because you need tickets, they are free but only available online or if you queue at 8am and 2pm (I think they’re the right times). We walked past Occupy Wall Street, there are a lot of people there shouting their messages (have been there 2 months), and then onto Battery Park for a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. J had picked up a tip that you can go over to Staten Island on the Staten Island Ferry for free so we did that and got a great view of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. It was a great tip; unless you want to get off at either island it’s definitely worthwhile going over on the ferry, you get an up close view of Lady Liberty!, and it was a nice trip anyway although we were escorted closely by the coastguard?! We had half an hour in Staten Island and along the esplanade (great views of Manhattan, think the view from Brooklyn is better though as it’s closer) to the Postcards Memorial, which is a memorial to those from Staten Island who died in September 11 and the 1993 attack on the World Trade Centre. It’s peaceful and very clever, there are plaques for each person who died and it’s positioned to look towards Downtown Manhattan where the Twin Towers would have stood.
We got the ferry back and wandered up towards Wall Street, only to find that it was closed off….we spied a black car that looked suspiciously like a movie car and found out that they were filming Batman on Wall Street. We carried on walking down and as we got to the other end of Wall Street they were opening up, so we got to walk through the film set! There were remnants of fake snow, ripped flags and under some tarpaulins what looked suspiciously like some Batmobiles…! It was pretty exciting, but unfortunately we didn’t see Christian Bale! We then hopped in cab to Little Italy and found a really REALLY nice Italian restaurant. The plan was to head back to the apartment for a quick change and pop out for a couple of drinks but once there J and I closed our eyes, and Paddy J and I ended up all asleep on the sofa, only waking up for a long enough to get into bed! Poor Jonny had to busy himself getting ready for the big run!

NEW YORK – Sunday 6th November 2011, marathon day.
Jonny was up at 5am to head off for the marathon (very early considering he didn’t start until 10.40am, but they have to bus everyone over well in advance), I wished him luck and hoped that the special tape I’d put on his tendon for him stayed on, I felt very responsible! Paddy, J and I went back to sleep and when we got up had breakfast at Cosmic, a great diner just down the road that Paddy had found earlier; it was gooooooood, think I had a bagel! We wandered down to Central Park and the marathon atmosphere was great, as it always is. After watching for a while we headed into Central Park to meet Vicky, Katie, Al and Andy for ice-skating at the Wollman rink. It was a bit of a mission to get in as most of the park entrances were closed off but we made it and it was sooooooooooo nice to see the others! The rink is in a beautiful location and after a shaky start I got going and had fun, although the skates were so painful! Vix and I both had to change ours for a bigger size and even then they were still cutting off the circulation in our feet. I tended to hug the side a bit until Al took me for a spin around, I got going quite well in the end, Vix and Al took it in turns to hold onto me, thank you both  After skating we headed to the marathon finish line to watch out for Jonny, it was so exciting (is nice cheering out people’s names as run past to give them encouragement, they usually have them printed on their shirt) and we didn’t have to wait too long until Paddy spotted him in the distance so we started whooping and cheering and he saw us and gave us a great wave! We then met up with my lovely friend Kristen (who I met in Thailand last year, went to Ireland with in February, the dancing video girl!) and her new boyfriend Dan who I was very impressed with! We eventually found Jonny and gave him some love and congratulations!
Jonny went off to change and J, Kristen, Dan, Paddy and I headed to the ‘Social’ (what I would consider a typical American bar…!) to have some drinks (the others continued shopping…!). I had a nice bottle of Bud (you’ve got to in the USA!) and some of us got a little tipsy! We were very chuffed to spot a girl in a shirt with ‘Manning’ on the back, expect the poor girl was wondering why we were taking pictures (for those that don’t know we have a great friend called David Manning)! We then headed off to an Irish bar where Jonny’s marathon buddies were meeting up and had some more drinks… then headed back to the apartment (Kristen and Dan came with us, was nice to be able to have them ‘back to our apartment, like we were proper New Yorkers!) and got ourselves tarted up a bit before heading out to Katie, Vix etc hotel for some pre-dinner drinks. We had trouble finding it, Vix had kept talking about the ‘big red steps’ in Times Square and we didn’t know where they were, the taxi driver didn’t know the hotel so we went around in circles a few times and then spotted the ‘big red steps’, can’t believe we missed them, they’re pretty iconic of Times Square! After drinks (it’s fair to say that a few of us and ‘had a beer’ by then…) we headed to the Red Lobster for dinner. I actually had lobster (wouldn’t normally) and shrimp with a lovely Caesar Salad and what Dan was calling cheese biscuits (but they really were cheese scones to us English!) and it was very nice. However, someone ordered some jaeger shots which I knew wasn’t a good idea but had it anyway and within seconds I was headed for the bathroom and I’m ashamed to say I chucked it all up (sorry Mum & Dad!). We then said bye to Kristen and Dan who had to get their train home and went to an Irish bar (there are a lot of Irish bars!) that the waiter had recommended and the night continued…! It was a great but slightly messy night…our waiter from the Red Lobster came out as well and we had a brilliant time, Katie kept the Apple Sours flowing (thankfully I can handle them without chucking up!) and we danced and laughed and it was lovely! The only downside was having to say bye to Vix, Katie, Al and Andy.

NEW YORK – Monday 7th November 2011
We had a little lie in, Jon bought the New York Times so we could find his marathon time (4.39, better than he was aiming for!), had breakfast at Cosmic and got on the hop on hop off bus for a tour of Downtown. I learned some really interesting things which are dotted around this update somewhere (apologies if these are not interesting to you…but I need to get them down so I remember!).
- Times Square was originally where horses were traded in the city; the name comes from it being where the New York Times was originally based.
- Macy’s (the big store) takes up one whole city block and was originally located elsewhere. Outside of Macy’s there is a memorial to Isidor Strauss and his wife Ida who died when the Titanic sank, it’s a moving story. Ida would not leave her husband to get into a life boat (women and children first); she was told by the officer that Isidor could go with her but her refused when younger men were not being allowed to; he put his wife’s maid on the boat instead. Ida still refused to get on the boat saying “As we have lived, we so will we die, together” and they were last seen sitting on deck chair holding hands before a huge wave washed them into the sea .
- Madison Square Garden is currently on its 4th building, according to our guide the 3rd was beautiful but true to New York form they tore it down and replaced it with the current building, which to be fair is a bit of a monstrosity from the outside (it’s nice on the inside though, previously been to see the Knicks play there).
- The Empire State Building has 102 floors, it took 1 year 45 days to build (exactly the same time as it took to tear down the Waldorf Astoria, that was previously in its place) and is built of limestone. They have a February ‘marathon’ up it; fastest time is 9 minutes 49 seconds set by an Australian.
- The Flatiron building was also previously known as the Fuller Building, but as everyone called it the Flat Iron building they changed its name.
We hopped off the bus in Greenwich Village and had a drink outside a lovely café (the weather in New York was amazing the whole time we were there, pleasantly warm in the daytime, could have just worn a t-shirt in the sun but still very cold at night, was pleased to have my new coat!) and I was craving Caesar Salad (maybe because my tummy hadn’t had much time to enjoy the one I had at the Red Lobster the night before). We took a nice walk through Greenwich Village to Soho then back on the bus, it was lovely evening, gave me a nice warm pleasant feeling. I learned some more interesting information, like that:
- Tribeca is called that because it’s in the triangle below Canal Street.
- There are a lot of empty (beautiful) houses in the area because everyone left after September 11th. Robert De Nero is how holding an annual film festival there which is helping to re-build confidence.
- It was interesting to hear about property prices; in a new residential tower 1 bed apartments rent for $3000 a month! The Sturveyant Town project was originally built for War Veterans, it’s now privately owned so the rates are high, a 2 bedroom apartment being $3000 a month. Manhattan prices are 3 times that of apartments in Queens or Brooklyn. In 1980 rent stabilization (the reason Monica in Friends could afford such a large apartment…!) came in which protected those already living in Manhattan, our guide was paying $235 a month then and is now paying $780 for the same apartment, a new person would pay $1800. NYC real estate has dropped 5% since the beginning of recession, the rest of the USA has dropped 35%l the in high end market is still setting records.
- St Paul’s is the oldest church in New York City.
- The Statue of Liberty is 300ft high, was a gift from the French for the 100th anniversary of the USA.
- There is a Vietnam War Memorial in Downtown which displays letters from soldiers; I’d have liked to see that.
Whilst we were Downtown we were talking again about seeing the Batman set and I said to J who was sat next to me on the bus “Jay, look up there, it’s Batman, you just missed him!” and bless him he looked, he thought I’d done a good joke though!
- Madonna arrived in New York with $24 in her pocket and now owns a $14million apartment overlooking Central Park!
- There are 8 million people in New York City and it’s 4 times the size of Paris.
We hopped off at the Rockefeller Centre, it’s nice out there with the lit up trees, and I ended up falling down a really small step onto my hands and knees! Bit embarrassing, the boys picked me up. We headed to Hooters, past Carnegie Hall where something was going on so I asked a security guard and it was the Glamour Awards, I saw someone being photo’d but not really sure who it was. We had a few drinks in Hooters, got some pictures for the Bear then headed back to get changed. We watched a bit of Dancing with the Stars (the boys were quite into it) then headed down to the East Village which we weren’t sure about, as is typical in New York it’s hard to find bars and restaurants. We had dinner in a really nice diner then ended up in Hogs & Heffers for a drink (another bar said to have inspired Coyote Ugly, I went to the other one last time in New York). I found the bar girls a bit scary, they keep screaming at everyone! We didn’t stop long!

NEW YORK – Tuesday 8th November 2011
I was up early sorting my stuff as leaving for Toronto later that day! We headed out due to take the Uptown loop of the tour, and typically I ‘lost my ticket’ and spent 5 minutes looking for it only to find it in my pocket, where it was supposed to be, and where I’d looked first! As Paddy said I had a few hours to sort myself out then I’d be on my own! We stopped off at Starbucks for a coffee and bagel and hopped on the bus. Again, I learned some interesting facts…(sorry about this…!)
- The statue of Columbus at Columbus Circle was erected in 1980.
- Donald Trump does not own any of the Trump buildings in New York, the banks repossessed them then his brother had to bail him out (according to our guide…).
- Canal Street (mostly in Chinatown) does some really good fakes e.g. the only way to tell a difference between a real and a fake Rolex is by the weight. They have the normal fakes out front but if you ask them subtly they’ll take you out the back for the REAL fakes.
- The New York Opera gives away $100 tickets for $20 every night at 6pm.
- Century 21 in Downtown Manhattan is set up for the tourists, the new uptown store is for the locals and is more fashion forward.
- Chinatown and Harlem are the only ethnic districts (the likes of Little Italy are now just about tourism) remaining in Manhattan. The worlds 1st Chinese community outside of China was in Liverpool. The largest ethnic group in New York are Dominicans, 40% of people who live in New York City are foreign born.
- The Dakota Building (where John Lennon was shot) was built in 1980 and had the first hydraulic elevator. Strawberry Fields (a memorial to John Lennon) is opposite in Central Park.
- New York was a very dangerous place in the 20s and 30s, those living on the west side wouldn’t leave their homes after dark unless there was a cab at the kerb.
- The Flappers emerged after WW1; it was the first time women could earn an independent income.
- The Cathedral of St John the Divine is the largest gothic cathedral in the world.
- Colombia University is the 3rd largest land owner after the City of New York and the Catholic Church.
- John Rockefeller built the Riverside Church in 1934, it has the tallest bell tower in North America. He is the richest man in the world ever when you think about it in relative terms, much richer than Bill Gates.
- The New York Rivers (Hudson and East) are actually fjords.
- The first African slaves were bought to America by the Dutch who settled in Harlem. New York City had the largest slave market until Irish immigration stopped it as they gave cheap labour.
- Fidel Castro stopped in Harlem when the hotel he was staying in for a UN summit (the Waldorf Astoria!) wouldn’t let him slaughter the live chickens he’d brought with him from Cuba, they were worried about poisoning so he stayed at (what sounded like) the Chorizo Hotel in Harlem.
- Central Park is all man made.
- The September 11 rescue was impeded by a lack of radio system (according to our guide) connecting the underground bunker co-ordinating the operation with the ground crew. They knew Building 1 was going to collapse 15 minutes before it did and had to send a runner, who got there 2 minutes before it did, and then they didn’t believe him.
- The Guggenheim access is free from 4.45 till 8pm on a Saturday.
- Mayor Bloomberg is worth $23million.
- The horses pulling carriages around Central Park are well looked after (according to our guide) and protected by law (there’s a movement at the moment trying to stop it as it’s considered by some to be cruel); there are upper and lower limits on the temperatures they can work in and they have to be put out to pasture for 1 month of the year. I thought they looked well, there were no ribs, their coats shined and they were all shod.
- The Park Central Hotel (where Drew and I stayed our first time in New York) was used in the film the Godfather (a scene where someone got trapped in the revolving door!); wish I’d known that when we were there!
We hopped off the bus near our apartment and had one last drink in the Social; then it was off to the apartment to say bye! The boys walked me down, put me in a taxi to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and I was off again! I was really sad to leave the boys, they’d looked after me really well and I’d had an amazing time with them – thank you J, Jonny and Paddy 😊

Next stop…Canada to see my Dad’s Aunt and her family…

Lots of love...

Rachel Xx

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