A Day in the Museum

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(N.B. Advance apologies – this blog entry contains no photos I’m afraid. We didn’t get the camera out during our last day so I’m afraid the following is just my waffle. It’s also a little late in being posted – just a few other things to attend to when you return from a 3 month trip abroad!).

October 29, 2013 – “A Day in the Museum”

It’s our final day in this familiar yet alien city and, more significantly, the final day of our 3-month trip in North America. It has been amazing and we’ve very mixed feelings about going home. It will be hard to return to normality although the thought of being in our own home again and back in good ‘olde’ England is very appealing.

We make the most of the 12-noon checkout and have a leisurely breakfast and packing session. Once we’ve stored our luggage downstairs we head out to the American Museum of Natural History.

Being one of the largest and most renowned museums in the world it was up there on our must-do list. Once you get over the fact that this museum costs money whereas the Natural History Museum in London doesn’t, it’s actually fantastic and well worth a visit. The general admission price at $22 doesn’t include any of the special exhibits and many of these are definitely worth the extra. $35 will get you into all the exhibits and somewhere in between gets you general exhibition plus one exhibit. We went for the all inclusive ticket and 5 hours later we were still there, having seen exhibits on frogs, whales and butterflies (the former and latter being “alive”), an Imax movie on Penguins (written and narrated by our very own Sir David Attenborough) and an excellent and very informative Planetarium Space Show as well as all the other permanent exhibitions (including the many familiar displays from the film “Night at the Museum”, which particularly appealed to the boys!).

Yes, it’s quite expensive but it’s good and I’m glad we weren’t put off by the price. We’ve completely filled our afternoon and we’ve just enough time to grab a piece of delicious pizza from a deli (at which point I realise, with much regret, that I’ve neglected to try any famous New York cheesecake in our 4 days here – what an oversight!) before collecting our cases and heading out to the airport.

For our return trip to Newark International we decide to take the train but concede to taking a taxi to Penn Station on the basis that trying to negotiate the subway with 4 pieces of luggage (as well as 4 rucksacks) at 6.30pm would not be a smart move. Having said that the taxi journey from 74th down to 32^nd – a journey that should take 11 minutes (2.5 miles) – took us more than 30 minutes and cost $20. Granted it was 6.40pm but it was a painfully slow journey and if we hadn’t had our entire luggage we would have abandoned the taxi and walked there faster.

On the upside the train from Penn Station to Newark International was a breeze. It left immediately and cost just $32 for all of us. All in all a saving of about $60 on getting a taxi the whole way and considering the most traumatic part of the journey was the taxi it was probably for the best we took the train for the bulk of the trip. Just a shame that the trains don’t seem to have anywhere to put luggage – despite the fact that they stop at the airport - but thankfully they’re big enough (double decker!) that it wasn’t too much of an issue. Just grateful we didn’t try to negotiate the subway though. I can’t imagine your average New Yorker tolerating a family of tourists with suitcases at rush hour! We would not have been popular.

The flight home was good, although I haven’t got many positive things to say about Newark International Airport. Devoid of interesting shops or eateries either side of security it was a good thing that, thanks to a long taxi journey and a lengthy check-in, we had little time to kill before boarding. Vancouver and Heathrow are amazing compared to Newark but then I’m assuming most airports would be. Frankly I’ve flown from better airports on tiny Greek islands. Were we missing something? There was obviously some work being carried out so perhaps it’s not usually this small or it’s going to get bigger.

But anyway, Virgin Atlantic proved themselves to be a better airline than our first impressions had suggested when we travelled from Heathrow to Vancouver back in July. A good list of films to choose from and, thank god, the ability to control when and how we watched them!

Sadly though, this was a night flight and less than 6 hours so not the time to fully appreciate the entertainment available. One film and a meal and then you pretty much had to get some shut eye before they’d wake you again in less than 2 hours to give you breakfast before arrival.

Heathrow obviously couldn’t handle our arriving early though so we did several loops over Berkshire (I imagine) before finally being allowed to land. (The computerised map on our screens, which shows the route taken, showed the circles in the air just outside London!)



October 30, 2013



We’re still early but not quite as early as first expected thanks to a lack of available slots in Heathrow, so unfortunately our wonderful house-sitter who is very kindly picking us up has been waiting a while. (We only know that because, it being a left hand drive, Steve had to insert the paid parking ticket into the machine as we leave! He didn’t let on!)

What a beautiful day to arrive as well. A cloudless blue sky over England and a wonderful welcome home to our beautiful island. It’s a lovely, familiar drive back to our little village in Berkshire and that evening, still with much to sort out and unpack, we make time to stroll through the village and over the River Thames. We feast upon the quaint old cottages with their cosy, warm glow inside, the river meandering through the village and under the bridges, our churches, some dating back to the 13^th century and the fresh, chilly, countryside air. It’s lovely to be back amongst all this wonderful history and beauty.

Well, that’s it for my travel blog – for this trip anyway. I’ve loved doing it although it has been rather more time consuming than I’d anticipated! Still, a wonderful memory and a lovely way to keep family and friends abreast of our travels.

Thanks Travelblog! Glad I discovered you!! With a bit more time on my hands now I’m not writing my own blog I’m looking forward to having a good read of other people’s travel blogs and get inspiration for future trips!

Thanks for reading. The Bakers xxx

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