Boy, New York was a whirlwind tour! We got there Monday, the 18th around 4pm.
We stayed on the Jersey side at a place called Liberty Landing Marina. Nice place and very convenient, although a bit pricey. But, we decided to treat ourselves anyway. When else will we be in New York?
This is the marina office, believe it or not. It's an old lighthouse ship. They used to anchor them off the coast to serve as a floating lighthouse. In addition to the office, they also have showers and laundry in the boat as well as classrooms for the Offshore Sailing School. It's really cool to hear the boat creaking and moaning, like an old, old man. (I guess I should say woman, since boats are usually referred to as feminine...but for some reason, this boat reminded me of an old man...so there you have it.)
This is the view of the financial district of Manhattan as seen from the end of our dock. It's especially amazing at night. We tried to take pics but they didn't come out. If you'd like to see some, check out the ones on Liberty Landing's website. It also shows pics of their water taxi, which is right next to the office. Very convenient!
We got settled into Liberty Landing around 4pm and decided to jump on the taxi "just to check things out." It dropped us off in the financial district. The first "museum" we came to was one dedicated to the Irish (good sign, eh?). It's a hillside built on a ramp with all kinds of plants from Ireland and a boulder from each county. Yes, I touched the one from County Wicklow where my ancestors were born. Below is a shot of it, although not a great one. The bottom part of the museum was an actual stone cottage from Ireland. The walls leading into the complex had all sorts of quotes and facts about the thousands who immigrated to America during the potato famine. Very touching.
We walked by the site of the twin Towers and were amazed at how cramped everything in that area is. We couldn't imagine how terrifying it must have been for everyone who was at or around the site.
We finally found the subway station and figured out which subway to take into the heart of Manhattan. Let me just say that they print the subway maps in the most teeny weeny typeface possible so there's no guessing if you are a tourist or not. (As if our casual dress code and tennis shoes didn't give it away. But I digress...) I was excited about being in NYC so I suggested we hop on the subway and take a look around.
Times Square was loud and crazy with tons of people, blazing signs everywhere you looked and just general chaos run amok. I did not like it at all. Just toooooo much for me. Kind of like Vegas on steroids.
Judging from the map we had (again, tiny type and darkness do not make for easy navigation) it appeared that Rockefeller Center was not far off so we walked uptown to see it. Boy, it took a while! The photo above was actually taken the second day when we returned to the area. It was really beautiful at night. But by that time we were exhausted, having traveled a good part of the day to get to the city to begin with. We took a subway back to the financial district, wandered around a bit to find the PATH train to take us back to New Jersey (the ferry had stopped running), got a taxi back to the dock and were VERY happy to be back on the boat.
The next day we headed off again (like lemmings to the cliff). We skipped Times Square and went straight to Rockefeller Center. We took the tour of NBC studios which was really cool. Saw where they broadcast the evening news (did you know that Brain Williams writes or edits 80% of the news every night?) and Conan O'Brien.
Then we went to "the top of the Rock" for a great view of the city.
Looking at Central Park.
The Empire State building with the Statue of Liberty in the far distance.
After our tours we stopped by St. Patrick's Cathedral so I could light some candles and say a few prayers. It is just breathtaking! Tried to take some photos but they came out too dark.
Then we ended the day in Little Italy with a fabulous dinner. Whew! A long, but great day.
Our second full day in Manhattan was spent bicycling through Central Park. We had to take a taxi to get to the top of the park (near Harlem) then rode all through the park down to 5th Avenue. To my surprise (and much dismay) it was not a casual ride. Turns out the rest of Manhattan is flat as a pancake but some joker must have thought it would be a great idea to fill Central Park with a bunch of lousy hills! As I was huffing and puffing up the 6th hill or so, I couldn't help but mutter, "I liked this park a whole lot more when I rode through it in a horse and buggy!" (Opps...just couldn't keep the spoiled princess in check.) We also stopped at Tavern on the Green for lunch. The place is beautiful but the service was terrible and the food ok. Wouldn't put it on my list again.
By this time, we'd had all the NYC fun and wedded bliss we could stand (did I mention that getting lost a bunch of times because you can't read a blasted map can really wear on your nerves?) so on day three we opted to go our separate ways. Bill went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I went into Jersey City for some much-needed pampering. (I'll post the details on the next entry.)
In the end, I'm not sure if we took a bite out of the big apple or it wore us out to the core...but either way, it's another port we can check off our list!
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