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Published: November 3rd 2006
Hi All
Well, maybe not gold but certainly copper. Everyone seems to drop their one cent coins on the street. There are literally hundreds of them. I got sick of picking them up. There are people collecting pennies for the homeless, so that is where I donate them.
We've had a few great days.
Tuesday we went on the Staten Island ferry which takes you past the Statue of Liberty. The weather was cold but sunny and it was a fantastic trip. The best part was that it is completely free. You can ride around on it all day if you wish and it won't cost you a cent. After that we went to see ground zero. Very distressing! There is a certain spookiness about it, but on the whole we didn't want to linger too long as we were too upset just looking in the hole.
We hung around after that until the Halloween Parade, which started from 6th Avenue and Spring Street in Little Italy. We managed to get a spot right at the starting point. There were some fantastic costumes and lots of people put considerable effort into it, but loads of people just put on a mask which apparently gave them carte blanche to take part in the parade. We didn't stay until the end as there were millions of people there and we eventually got fed up of having our view blocked by Japanese/Korean tourists who refused to stay behind the barriers. The police moved them away several times but they were like blowflies, they kept coming back to the same spot.
We also went to FAO Schwartz toy shop. Boy that place is amazing. They have a stuffed toy of practically every animal on earth. Some of them were only slightly smaller than life-size, but they are worth thousands of dollars.
We have also recently taken a ride in Central Park on a horse and buggy. We did it at night and it was romantic, but you can't really see anything. However we did see a family of raccoons, which were very cute.
Yesterday we took a trip on the Path Train from Broadway and 33rd Street. This took us under the Hudson River to Hoboken, New Jersey. We have seen the birthplace of Frank Sinatra which is at 415 Munroe Street, and was something I definitely wanted to see. Bit disappointing in that it is a star set into the pavement outside of a locked garage door. The building is no longer there and we walked right by the star. The place next door is called From Here to Eternity and we think it is a bar of some sort as it had an awning, but was padlocked from the outside. Still Hoboken is very different to NYC in that it is far quieter and there are far less people and traffic. In fact we only saw a couple of sets of Traffic Lights.
Today we had another great day. We went to Madame Tussauds and have some great pictures from that. On our walk back to 7th Avenue we came across a streeeeeetch limo that had pulled over. We asked the driver if we could look inside and he said that he could give us a ride for half an hour while he was on his break. We thought, why not? So he took us to Strawberry Fields which is a memorial to John Lennon in Central Park and around the city a bit. We also enjoyed a glass of scotch sitting back on those luxurious seats. He dropped us at the USS Intrepid which is an aircraft carrier permanently moored on the Hudson, but it was closed due to renovations. The limo was awesome and had five windows along the side and could seat 11 people. It had four televisions and a stereo system which can be operated from the back seats. The driver, Larry was really nice and gave us a few tips for days out. He is not a native New Yorker having worked in construction in Ohio for 20 years before coming here. He and his family fell in love with New York and decided to stay. Tonight he is driving a celebrity to the Latin Grammys but said that Billy Joel is one of his customers.
Arriving back a Penn Station it was a nightmare. For those that don;t know the Station is right at Madison Square Garden which is holding the Latin Grammys tonight. There were people everywhere. Not only those leaving work but also beautifully dressed couples waiting to get in the Grammys. Low necklines, big hair and superhigh stilettos seems to be de rigeur for a night out this this. Lots of bling on the guys too.
We think we have found a shop that must sell suits and shoes to pimps, because no ordinary person would wear such outrageous clothes.
We have been in Bergdorf Goodman and Macy's but have yet to go to Tiffanys or Bloomingdales.
More news soon.
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Dawn
non-member comment
awesome time
Hi what an awesome time you two are having keep the news coming. Wendy you should seriously consider becoming a writer. Love to you both take care look forward to seeing you soon xxx