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Published: April 28th 2014
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Change of wardrobeChange of wardrobeChange of wardrobe

Arrival at Newark airport required a change into warmer clothes
Start spreading the news. We're leaving today. We are writing this from the Amtrak train from New York to Washington DC having spent four actioned filled nights in New York. The city, in a word, is chaotic (LVS ..and dirty. rubbish everywhere! people even litter in front of the cop cars waiting at traffic lights. There are even signs stating what hours of the day are not to be littered). We arrived on Wednesday night after a five hour flight from Las Vegas and the first thing that hit us was the change in weather. I still had shorts and a t-shirt on and the girls all had light clothing. Out came the cold weather clothing.



On the flight just about every person ignored the seatbelt warning and walked around the cabin saying hello to friends or going to the toilet. The captain must have told everyone to sit down at least half a dozen times. It was quite amusing to watch.



We collected our bags and headed out to the taxi rank where I embarrassed the girls by taking my shorts off and putting my jeans on in the line and we got to the front of the queue where the taxi driver just managed to get all our bags in the cab and we were off to the Big Apple. The girls were starving and were extremely pleased when we were all given a warm cookie upon arriving at the hotel. The room is small (read very small) however we are a short walk to everywhere with a view of the Empire State Building from our window approx three blocks away.



Having dumped our bags we went out to grab a bite and two things hit us straight away. This city never sleeps. This was around 10:00pm and there were still people everywhere. And, the tourists stand out a mile as they are the only ones that wait for the walk signal before crossing the road! No-one, and, I mean no-one waits to cross the road, including police, priests or nuns! The amount of near misses we saw with people just walking out in front of cars was amazing. We grabbed a meal at a local deli and back to our room for an early start the next day.



The next morning we woke the girls up
Toy Soldier RoyToy Soldier RoyToy Soldier Roy

A great morning with very excited kids
early, for their surprise. We were going to do a tour of FAO Schwarz, a famous toyshop in New York. People may remember that Tom Hanks played the piano on the shop floor in the movie "Big".



First we had to get there. Why not take a cab? I'll tell you why not, because they're bloody maniacs! We hailed a cab in front of the hotel, gave him the address and we were off on the biggest ride since Disneyland. We know that traffic is busy in New York but there seems to be no lanes and cars just shoot into any available space (LVS -or just make another lane from nowhere). Our driver flew into any area he could, one hand on the horn all the way up 5th Ave until we reached our destination. The female Smiths were not impressed at all. We seriously thought we were back in Bangkok!



We arrived at FAO Schwarz an hour before opening to be met by Toy Soldier Roy and along with three other families we were given a tour of the toy shop. It was a great morning with many highlights. Ask the girls, and they would say the biggest one was being given a bag each and being told to fill it from the candy bar. Mine, was doing a very dodgy version of chopsticks on the giant piano. All great memories.



Next we board the local hop on-hop off bus for a tour of downtown. Another thing about New York. The roads are terrible. We were bouncing and bumping all over the place. On the bus a guide talks about all the sights however there were many problems with the headphones, the girls were complaining about being given electric shocks from them; this dampened their excitement somewhat. Having said that there is so much to see and it took us most of the afternoon to just do downtown.



Afterwards we jumped off and wandered around. Times Square is amazing, all lit up and the girls loved a quick visit to Toys R Us, the biggest in the world where they rode the indoor Ferris Wheel, M&M World (again) and Hershey's World. Next thing you know it was late again and we were back to our room for a quick snooze.



The following day
Banging out some tunesBanging out some tunesBanging out some tunes

On the piano made famous in the movie 'Big'
we were going to explore Uptown, Harlem and the Bronx (no, not The Pines!). This day was much more pleasant (it was very windy and cold the previous day) and we had a great morning. We visited the apartment where John Lennon was shot and the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park, wandered past the Apollo Theatre and ended up at Yankee Stadium (didn't see George Costanzas car though). Another full day which was rounded off by a trip up the Rockefeller Centre to the Top of the Rock. Once you are in the lift the roof becomes see through and the lift shaft is lit up. It was a strange feeling watching as you ascended. The view from the top was simply breathtaking. We had great views of the city with the Empire State Building being lit up in red and blue (Spiderman colours) to raise awareness for volunteers. Another long and tiring day.



One the second last night we were all knackered, especially the girls so we decided to have a bit of a sleep in. When we dragged ourselves out of the scratcher we jumped back on a bus that took us down to Battery Park. From there we were to catch a ferry to Liberty Island, home of the Statue of Liberty. We queued for a fair while and finally got on the ferry. Queuing and waiting is something you do a lot of in America. While on the ferry we left Lisa abusing some queue jumpers (LVS- the guy was nice about it, he even apologised & said he felt his girlfriend was wrong, she on the other hand was just a B1@ch, so I told her..I also told her my 8 yo & 11 yo had better manners than she did) and went to take some photos of the famous statue. We know the statue is big but it's only when you get up close you realise the size of it. It's certainly impressive. We took a self guided tour of the island and at times, just sat and watched the world go by. A fair while later we boarded the ferry back and strolled around to the 9/11 Memorial.



After another relatively short time queuing we were in. At the memorial there are two large pools on the same spots that the towers sat. Around the pools
Worlds largest indoor Ferris WheelWorlds largest indoor Ferris WheelWorlds largest indoor Ferris Wheel

Inside Toys R Us, funnily enough the largest store in the world
are the names of all the people who died on 9/11 plus those that died at the Oklahoma bombing in 1993. The place certainly tugs at the heart strings when you read the names. We saw three women's names that also mentioned their unborn child. Really sad.



Lisa hadn't been inside a shop for at least a day so we hailed a cab (because it was now raining) and headed back uptown to visit...KMart!! (LVS - I need another set of Pj's, as no washing has been done). After that we did venture into Macy's and took the escalator to the 7th floor, ladies wear, to have a look around. After a nice dinner of steak & salad (plies fries or baked potato) for $12.99 plus tax we headed over to the Empire State Building.



A quick word of advice to the people running the building. Put some frigging signs up!! We walked up to the 2nd floor to go on the NY sky ride, a simulated ride over NYC. When we got to the 2nd floor a woman pointed in the direction of America and said stand over there. So, we stood over
Easter Egg artEaster Egg artEaster Egg art

Eggs painted by many artists (and celebrities) were hidden around the city
there and finally, after having to ask people around us, and the woman again where we needed to stand, we got some tickets and entered the ride.



The ride was very good, narrated by Kevin Bacon and soon we left ready to go to the 86th floor. Well. We went round the building to the queue and noticed people putting tickets in a machine. We had the New York Pass (a tourist pass) so we asked a dude whether we needed tickets and he said yes go back to the original queue. I left the girls to get the tickets. When I got there the girl said, no I needed to go somewhere else and she pointed in the general direction of north. When I got there I walked basically around the whole building, finally found a person to ask and was sent to another area. I finally got back to the girls as Lisa was organising a search party.



We entered the lift all the way to the 80th floor(?). There we listened to an excellent self guided tour of the construction of the building. Then, up to the 86th floor. It was still a bit misty but the view was fantastic and the weather added atmosphere to the visit. After quite a while we decided to leave and finally got back to the hotel around 11:30, packed our bags and off to bed for our next adventure.



It takes a special type of crazy person to hang around a railway station on a Sunday morning and in New York they are especially craaaaazy! There were people talking to walls, going through bins and having a full on wash in the bathrooms. One crazy man was yelling abuse at a woman for something until she told him to piss off. Very amusing.



Why are we at the railway station? Well, after I lost all of our money in Vegas we have decided to live the hobo life and ride the rails. Actually, we are going to take the train (business class) from New York to Washington DC, a trip I've really been looking forward to.



Well. That was an exercise! We waited for our train to be called then joined a mad rush of people wanting to get on the train. We had no
Traffic in Times SquareTraffic in Times SquareTraffic in Times Square

The traffic is unbelievable.
idea which carriage to take and the assistant was funnily enough not really interested in assisting us. As a result the girls sat together with some random strangers and Lisa and I sat in separate seats three rows apart. After about 30 minutes some people got off and Lisa and I sat together.



On this note it may be worth a mention about our feelings on New York, and New Yorkers. The city is definitely very interesting with so much to see and do. We'd love to have had more time exploring the city as there were many places we didn't get to.



When we first arrived we all noticed a hardness to the city and people. While no one was downright rude to us we experienced a lot of can't be arsed attitude from several people. The city probably doesn't need tourists however judging by the amount of people at all tourist attractions they would definitely add millions to the economy. That being the case people who work in service industries could learn to be a bit friendlier when people ask for assistance. Or maybe they just don't care.



A
The Soup NaziThe Soup NaziThe Soup Nazi

Has reopened and is now a franchise!
few days ago we stumbled across a little cafe, it was actually behind steel doors in a side street. The guy running the place said hello as soon as we walked in, nothing was too much trouble and when we left he asked if we were tourists and asked us to come back as they need more people coming in to NY. He was the nicest person we met & all we purchased was takeaway from him.



Just do not let Lisa get started on Customer Service.....or lack of in this part of America.



LVS- here goes....only experienced in New York, everywhere else has been great



Taxi drivers! not too sure if they are able to speak.... Never heard them talk!!! Tell them where you want to go and that's is all that is required, but Hey...Let's give them a tip even though they try to kill you while driving you to your destination.



Wanting to buy some items at a Souveniers store, the woman and man were not too happy about their conversation being interrupted to take my cash while I wait patiently at the counter -
Tired little girlTired little girlTired little girl

It was all too much for Scarlett
hey let's give them a tip in the tip jar...



Not feeling too great, walked into a Pharmacy and tried to locate something similar to Panadol. Spoke to a woman who directed me to the correct aisle. Upon locating product, proceed to registers...where another woman stuffs some food like substance in her gob, stares at me with her hand open, waiting for my money then stuffs more food in her gob with the other hand. When I intentionally asked her how much I owed, she then proceeds to project food from her mouth all over me and the counter. I throw the money at her and walk out in disgust. One of many many encounters of horrible service but hey lets leave a tip...don't spit on customers would be one I would suggest!!



I find it astounding that this country asks for all manner of tips even when the service is sub-standard or non-existent. I'll give you a tip NY....start giving better service if you wanna make some money from Tips. I have no problem tipping & believe we have been quite generous at times but I want better service than what we have received from some traders here in New York or New Yirk as I am calling it now!!


Additional photos below
Photos: 26, Displayed: 26


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Brownstone buildings in HarlemBrownstone buildings in Harlem
Brownstone buildings in Harlem

The middle, and upper middle class are moving into the area with prices now going through the roof
5th Avenue5th Avenue
5th Avenue

The most expensive street in the world, or so they say.
Tired little girl part 2Tired little girl part 2
Tired little girl part 2

If Charlize is sleeping during the day we know we must have been going hard.
Strawberry FieldsStrawberry Fields
Strawberry Fields

Memorial inside Central Park opposite the Dakota building where John Lennon was killed
Yankee StadiumYankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium

The new stadium opposite where the old one was
Welcome to The RockWelcome to The Rock
Welcome to The Rock

Top of the Rockefeller Centre with Empire State Building in the background
9/11 Memorial Pool9/11 Memorial Pool
9/11 Memorial Pool

Very moving looking at all the names
Macy's in 5th AvenueMacy's in 5th Avenue
Macy's in 5th Avenue

Lit up with the help of a fire truck called to a false alarm
Waiting in Macy'sWaiting in Macy's
Waiting in Macy's

Waiting while Lisa shopped


29th April 2014

Love your blogs
Hi, I am from Texas and love your blogs so far. My family and I did a similar trip last year and it was amazing. Glad your enjoying all the sights and love the US. Keep posting excellent blogs.
3rd May 2014

Thanks
Hi, thank you for your lovely comments. It is so nice to receive wonderful feedback from someone we do not know. We were hoping to get to Texas but just couldn't fit anything else into our trip...maybe next time. We are already in discussions.....wishing you well Lisa

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