New York - the final leg

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The thing about New York is that there is such a wealth of things to see that it almost becomes too big a choice to whittle it down. We hadn't made a firm plan before arriving, as we figured with 5 days in New York we had plenty of time to mosey around and see everything we felt we wanted to. As it was the last leg of our travels we had splashed out on a super central location in Manhattan, next to Penn Station and Madison Square Gardens. It was a stones throw away from lots of really cool things like the Chrysler building, Times Square, Broadway, Macy's and lots and lots of other shops!

We arrived late at night and were keen to crawl into our beds after a day of travel. After a lazy sleep-in the next morning, we needed kill time before our friend Mel would join us. Mel was traveling up from Washington for the day to be our tour guide and reminisce about our Annecy days. Looking at the map we saw that Central Park was only a short stroll away and we (naively) thought Senan would enjoy running around 'a park'. The sun was beaming down on us, but we loaded him into the buggy and set off at a fair pace, still slightly dopey from our recent travels. Initially you are trying to take it gently in, amused by the American street names and the general hustle and bustle of the place. However, interestingly, independent of each other, we were both struck by how unkempt the city was. There was lots of garbage thrown in streets and it apparently no one taking ownership for cleaning it up. Then every so often we'd stumble across a nut-job shouting random words at passers by. It was at best interesting, but on the whole it was actually quite disheartening to see such a dishevelled image of a city I had higher expectations of. After all it is 'New York, New York, so good they named it twice!'.

Then, not 10 minutes down the road, there's no other way to say it other than our senses were assaulted by the sheer madness that is Times Square. And this was during the daytime! I have to admit that even by day it is very impressive, but I also couldn't blame Senan for shrinking down into his buggy to try to cocoon himself away from all the sensory overload. It was already a lot for us to take in, but it was clear that it was just too much excitement for our little boy! We took a few quick snaps and then battled our way through the hoards of pedestrians (mostly tourists taking selfies) and eventually emerged the other side. The remainder of the way to Central Park was still busy, but at least we felt we could breath again - and Senan was even willing to pop his head out of the buggy again. We walked onwards to Central Park, every so often having another moment of recognition of a building or something else that we saw on the telly. Our conversation was peppered with 'Hey look it's Carnegie Hall', or 'That's the Trump building', but by the time we got to Central Park we were irritable and in need of a bit of a rest. Senan was restrained long enough to slap on some sunccream, but then he took off as soon as he saw the playground. However with the size of the park and the forty or fifty other kids in this section alone, it's not the sort of place you let him out of your sight for even a second!

After Senan had had his fill of the playgrounds and Philippe had tested the supposed language skills of the horse carriage ride vendor, we were delighted to see Mel making her way our rendez-vous point at the entrance to the park. Much like with Antoine and Cambria, with some friends the passing of time just really doesn't matter! We essentially picked up where we left off, meandering through the less busy parallel streets, catching each other up on the goings-on of the past 5 years. Mel stepped up to the tour guide plate and plotted a route to take us past some well known buildings and sculptures, before appropriately ending up at the supposed 'Friends' waterfall. Dinner was in a gorgeous little Italian restaurant, by the end of which Senan was done for the day, so we took a yellow cab back across town to retire for a beer or a bed at the hotel.

Throughout this leg I've had a side-line project of finding myself a suitable outfit for a wedding in Ireland once we get back. Ah the stress. Despite several good tips from Mel, you can never find something when you are up against a deadline. I dedicated a whole afternoon to it, but still didn't get very far and ended up doing late night shopping around our hotel to keep looking for bits to complete the outfit. It was very nice to replace some of our jaded clothes in the backpack with pretty ones! ...and it would be rude to come to New York without picking up some new handbags...shoes... etc!

Over the subsequent few days we ventured further away from our hotel, navigating the subway with panache with Senan on our back. He is really becoming a total pro at this by now. One of our pre-decided stops was to go visit the World Trade Centre memorial. Staring into the elegant deep pools surrounded by the names of all the victims made for more than a few sombre moments of reflection. The most poignant bit for me was noticing that the remembrance team there place a white rose on the name of the victims on what would have been their birthday. It really brought home the senseless loss of the 9/11 attacks and the randomness with which people can be taken from us.

Given the ridiculous entry cost to all these big buildings, we made our big building of choice the defiant One World Tower that is erected near the old foundations. After a rapid history of the site as the lift whizzed up the 100 floors, we emerged to phenomenal views. It quickly became clear that Senan does not share his father's fear of heights as he proceeded to give said father a heart attack by larking about in the big window frames. At that height you can also see a few planes who are just in transit on a regular flight route, however when you first see one it makes for a chilling moment to imagine what must have gone through the minds of those poor victims.

On another jaunt we took the ferry out to Staten Island to give a quick wave to the Statue of Liberty and enjoy a few drinks on a terrace admiring the New York skyline from a different approach. Upon our return we wandered around Wall Street, commenting on all the bank names that were so common place in the news a few years ago. Interestingly there was a solid street barricade in front of the Trump building, which, unless he was in town, seemed a tad excessive. We hoofed it back through Little Italy, grabbing some grub en route.

On our second last day we were hit with miserable rain. Nothing for it but to find a museum and take cover. We quickly agreed on the Natural History Museum as somewhere that would likely have something for everyone. And so it did! We spent a very enjoyable few hours meandering through animals, dinosaurs and space before emerging for a nice trek to the hotel back through Central Park.

Our last supper on the trip was in a nice restaurant not too far from the hotel. As we reflected on New York and on the larger trip in general, we concluded that although at times we were potentially too busy during the trip, we did get the feeling that we managed to squeeze a lot into our 80 days travelling. In a final nod to the time of Trump, our last morning was spent in the part of Central Park which Trump 'rescued'. Given that it wasn't winter, it wasn't an ice-rink, but instead they had crammed a bunch of kids amusement rides. Senan was high as a kite running around them all. Actually, it was the perfect final hurrah of 'Senan's playground tour of the world'.

As the clock wound down we grabbed a yellow cab to the airport and fell into pensive mood as we wound our way towards JFK. Sad that our trip had come to and end, but also ready to get back to a bit of stability for Senan. We were away for the best part of three months and at this point that means that he has been traveling for 10% of his life! It was a certainly a hefty financial investment but we both agreed that it was absolutely worth every penny as we return richer in travel experience and family memories - something that can never be taken away from us. Despite concerns raised by several people about the trials and tribulations of bringing a toddler on such a long trip, it really went so much better than we might have feared. Senan has grown so much throughout the past few months, both physically and mentally. His little imagination has exploded and is a delight to watch. His bond with his Mammy and Daddy is stronger than it has ever been and his adaptability to change score is now off the charts!

Although he is still very young, I truly hope that this blog manages to keep some of the memories alive for him. We loved traveling with him and hope that he has caught the travel bug from us - and that it will bring him on many more exciting adventures throughout his life!

Team Counet - signing out!

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