Road Trip Cont...

---

Day 23. When we woke up the next day in Albany, it was raining, noooooo!!! I checked the weather for New York and yes, it rain was forcasted for the next two days. Are you kidding me?! It was raining the whole way to New York City, we stopped about an hour out of the city to find a hostel to stay at so we could get directions into the city. I was really nervous about driving in the busiest city in the world and now I had to do it in the rain, crap. So with the directions written down, we set off for the big bad city, how exciting. Oh my god, the roads in New York are terrible, potholes, puddles of water everywhere, hmmm, maybe I should rephrase that, huge puddles of water everywhere. People were honking their horns left right and center, definatly what you see on tv. We found the area where we were staying ok, the problem we had though was getting to the hostel. I missed the street and it really screwed us up, all the streets around were one way, so it was easier said then down to turn around. Eventually we got there and got all checked in then went our to explore. It was around two in the afternoon by the time we headed out and the hostel were putting on a free bbq at 7pm.
We found the subway and headed in the direction of Manhatten. First stop was 14th avenue. When we resurfaced from the the subway, we had absolutly no idea where we were, so we wandered and found somewhere to have lunch. I then saw the hop on, hop off bus go by. That's what we'll do, a tour of the city. It took asking a fair few people where the bus stops were, but we finally found someone that could help. We were sent to Time Square on the subway. When we came out of the station, all I could say was, 'We're now officially in New York.' It was really unreal being there. We found some guys selling tickets for the hop on hop off, got our tickets and jumped on the bus. It was pretty cold and still raining a tiny bit, but was ok. We went passed the Empire State building, ground zero (not that its called that anymore), Wall Street, 9/ll Memorial site, went along the harbour but we couldn't see the Statue of Liberty as it was still pretty foggy, Rockerfella Square, then back to Times Square. The tour guide on the bus was really good and informative, I learned that I could never afford to live in New York City for instance lol. The bus tour took about 2 and half hours, so by the time we finished, we had to head back for the bbq. However, we weren't gonna hurry for it. We went into a restaurant and had a hot chocolate to warm up, then went to buy our souviners, then headed back. When we got to the hostel, we met another girl, Amy, she had just flown in from London, England, so she came and had some dinner with us. She had scored an internship at an art gallery and was living in New York for 6 to 12 months.

Day 24. Day 2 in New York. We got up early and had our free breakfast put on by the hostel, then headed to the subway in the direction of the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. It was over cast today, but hopefully the rain would hold off. When we were walking from the subway to get our tickets, it started raining, how typical. So we bought our tickets and then went through the process of boarding the ferry, ticket check in, then we had to take all our jackets and watches and stuff off and go through a security screen, I felt like I was about to go on a flight. After we cleared security, we had to wait in a queue for about twenty minutes, then we could get on the ferry. When we boarded, we went straight for the kiosk and bought some liberty crowns then headed for the top deck. The rain had stop which was good, but it was still pretty windy and cold. We managed to stay on the top deck for the twenty minutes or so that it took to get to the island, but I was glad when we could go back inside. Everyone slowly disembarked the ferry and we were free to explore the island. We went into the cafe, I wanted to get some water to take some tablets to get rid of a splitting headache I had, unfortunatly though, I was all out of nurofen, shit! So, we left the cafe and went into the gift shop and I bought a few things, then headed back outside to go for a walk. We got some pictures with the statue and had a chat to a lady that took our photo for us. Then headed inside the statue, where again we had to go through security. Included with our tickets was access to the pedestal (base) part of the statue, which had a museum in it about how the statue of Liberty came about and how it was made then put together, it was pretty cool. Once we were finished in the museum, we could go up to the first level to a lookout. We stayed long enough to get some pictures then headed back down, we didn't expect to stay so long on the island. We got some lunch there, then headed back to the line for the ferry, where again, the wait was pretty long, especially when you have and headache and sore feet.
When we got back to the city, we searched for a pharmacy so I could get rid of my headache. We got back on the hop on hop off bus for a bit, then got off at a place where we could get discounted broadway tickets. We decided that we wanted to see West Side Story and they were 50% off, which meant they were still $70 each. We then went in search to get onto the Brooklyn Bridge. Form where we were, it was pretty long walk, but we eventually found it and we walked part the way onto it. There were so many people on it, it was unbelievable, we even saw a couple that had just got married and were having their wedding photo's at different locations around New York City. We got our couple of photo's and headed back to the subway, next stop, Central Park.
I really wish we had more time and more daylight. By the time we got to Central Park, it was getting pretty late. We only ventured into the park a little way, we really only skimmed the surface, I wanted to see more, but it was starting to get dark and what was the point of getting lost in a huge park in NYC. So, we walked back to 5th Avenue, the Park, then Madison and found the subway again. I had to find a payphone so I could call Amanda and work out where we'd go for dinner. We ended up in Time Square again, this place was just amazing. I called Amanda and organised to meet here and he fiancee Danny at the Hard Rock Cafe. Micha had never been there before and it's alway fun. Sfter waiting about an hour and a half for Amanda, they finally turned up and we were able to be seated. Amanda and I caught up and we had a couple of drinks and some good food, I had ribs, chicken and fries, the plate was huge, I barely made a dent in the meal it was that big. By the time we finished dinner, it was almost 9:30, Amanda was tired as she worked all day so they went back home. We went into the Toys R Us store that was close by where they had a ferris wheel set up inside the shop, it was huge. We then decided to call it a day and headed back to the hostel.

Day 25. Day 3 in New York. Today was time for shopping and seeing the other places we really wanted to see. So, as usual, we headed in the direction of Manhatten, then to Rockerfella Square. When we surfaced from the subway, the street was all blocked off and there were thousands of people running down the street. It was the 4kms warm up before the big New York marathon tomorrow, 56 kms through the city, CRAZY!!! It was pretty call to see it though as we're leaving today and won't see the actual race. After everyone had cleared, we headed for Rockerfella square to take some pictures. On the way, we passed the Rainbow Room where lots of shows including The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallen is fimed. Man I wish I had've got tickets, he's so funny. Oh well, maybe next time. I bought myself a Jimmy Fallen keyring though, that can go with the collection lol.
We were kind of bummed a bit. We found out that the huge Christmas tree that they put up in Rockerfella Square would be going up in the next week. Bloody typical, this whole trip, we've either been too late or too early. Damn seasonal stuff. Oh well, we got some pictures of the ice skating rink and I'm planning on going back to New York for New Years, so hopefully I'll get to see it then.
After that, we went looking for a jewellery store so I could try and get a charm for my charm bracelet. I wanted to get a Statue of Liberty. Not one place on the entire street of jewellery shops sold any. It was all gold and diamonds.
We went into the huge Macy's store, 13 levels, amazing, how can one department store have so much to sell??? I did buy myself a new pair of runners though. I brought 2 pairs with me from home and they've both had it. Lunch today was chocolate brownie with ice cream at TGI Fridays. I was a bit disappointed as the dessert menu in the states are so much different from the ones in the UK, I like the UK dessert menu better.
We then went to the theater where West Side Story was playing and waited for the show to start. I tried looking at the program to refresh my memory of the story as it's been ages since I've seen the movie, but it didn't really work. The show was amazing, the actors were great and the singing gave you goosebumps, all the things you want for a show, especially broadway. So, then it came time to leave the city. We made our way back to the hostel as the car was still there. Then following the directions out of New York, we headed out. Although, we both missed the first sign and got lost before we even got out of the city. About two hours later, we were finally out of the city and making our way for Massachusetts. With people beeping and flashing their lights at me along the way.

---

Photos

Me in the middle of Times Square
These stairs were in the music video for New York by Jay Z and Alicia Keys