Sorry for the late blog - huge day yesterday at Niagara Falls, so didn't get a chance to do it! So here goes...
The shuttle to take us to the airport was due to arrive at 6.30am. I set the alarm for 5am, but instead of pressing snooze, we turned it off. Oops! So we were woken with a phone call from the front desk telling us the bus was ready for us. Oh no!!! A mad dash around the room and we headed downstairs in 10 minutes! Got downstairs, and the driver reminded us we needed our passports.. Oops! Mad dash upstairs to retrieve said passports, and we were off.
We were driven to JFK and got on a plane to Buffalo, NY. When we arrived, we met our tour guide, Eduardo and discovered that we were the only people on the tour! Yay! Tour guide all to ourselves. He tailored the visit to suit whatever we wanted to do. Only problem with the day was how damn cold it was, and it was snowing!
Fantastic views on the American side of the falls, and then we headed over the border to Canada. A quick passport check and they let us through.
Here we took in the view of the falls, surrounded by snow. Absolutely stunning. Our guide was full of information about the falls and the river and was a lot of fun.
We then went to the 13th floor of the Sheraton for a buffet lunch overlooking the falls. Joe ate so much chicken soup I thought he was going to explode!!
Then we went for our tour behind the falls. I'd been there before and was looking forward to showing the kids all the water rushing past the portals. Oops again! It was all snow and ice! Couldn't see any water rushing past. So we went out on the observation deck and watched it all tumbling over. The power of the water rushing down was quite amazing. And it was only at half capacity compared to summer!
Then through the shop to pick up some bits and pieces (including extra scarves, gloves, hats and anything else we could find to keep warm!). Found a book that looks really interesting, and I know someone who will enjoy the section on Tesla... ;)
After that we went on a drive by of the hydro electric system and then took the kids to Clifton Hill where they enjoyed going through the Guiness World Records Museum.
Then we were off and back to the airport. Another crossing of the border went smoothly, except they told the kids their hats weren't allowed through.. lol First time I've ever had a US Customs official crack a joke!
We boarded the plane at around 8.45pm and flew the 55 minutes back to JFK where our driver met us and took us back to the hotel.
We went up and started trying to fit all our shopping into the extra suitaces we bought. We arrived with 3 half empty cases, and we're leaving with 6 packed full cases, plus a carry on! Oops again and again!!
I fell into bed at around 2am and woke up this morning to the wake up call at 5am in time to get our shuttle back to JFK for our trip home.
So right now, we're sitting at the airport, drinking coffee and waiting for our departure at 12pm.
Next post will be from home with a general wrap up of the trip! Thanks everyone for all your great comments about the blog. I really think, that as difficult as it was some nights to get it done, it was really worth doing so we'll all remember what we did on our action packed trip!
No pics, because the cable to connect the camera is in our checked baggage! Another oops... lol
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Day Twelve: Epic Shopping Day in NY
Today we were supposed to go to an outlet mall in New Jersey. After speaking to a lot of locals, they all said we were mad to go there when there was so much more to do in the city. So, we decided not to go. We had also not had a chance to go to a lot of places we wanted to head to, so we replaced a day at an outlet mall, with a day of shopping around here.
We headed first to Times Square - again... There's so much to do there and we barely scraped the surface on our previous visits, and today was no different. We went into Toys r Us again to grab some things the kids had seen on our last visit. First we grabbed tickets for the indoor ferris wheel. How fun was that! We had several goes around before coming to a stop and from up there we saw all sorts of great places we had to go check out.
There was a great Build-a-robot thing so we all built a cool robot and we can level it up on an associated computer game. It was fun being a kid! Then we went upstairs and grabbed a magic light trick thing that the kids had seen, and a cool hackey sack game. Joe got an awesome magic kit as well and a couple of other cool things. The shop has to be seen to be believed!
We walked out of there totally loaded with bags and tossed up whether to head back to the hotel to dump the bags and come back again. We decided that the next store wasn't too far away and we could manage.
So we went up to the M&M's store. What a fun place! They've got staff members at the bottom of the escalators having dance offs with the yellow M&M, Elmo and the Cookie monster were hanging around outside the store too. The whole shop is an explosion of colour. It was really amazing. 3 floors of every type of M&M merchandise you can imagine! We loaded up in there with heaps of stuff and somehow managed to carry it all along with the Toys r Us stuff.
We definitely decided that was enough and then realised we had to walk about 5 blocks to the subway... blech... On the way there we walked past the Hard Rock Cafe, so that's where we decided to stop and have lunch! Yummy stuff and a great atmosphere. The kids really enjoyed it, and I got to have my favourite American dessert - key lime pie!!
So back to the hotel, and the kids decided they didn't want to go out again. Now this is where I finally got cranky. My whole plan of our next adventure was about to go out the window, and they were being mean. So I sent them on a guilt trip about how much I had done for them - how much I had bought for them, and they couldn't even spare me an afternoon for shopping for me. The guilt trip worked so off we set on an even bigger adventure.
My plan was to go to the Staten Island Mall. The journey meant we had to catch the subway to the very last stop on the #1 line all the way downtown, to South Ferry. We popped up right at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. From there we go on the Staten Island Ferry which was my treat for the kids. We got pretty up close and personal with the Statue of Liberty and had an awesome 30 minute ferry ride. The Staten Island Ferry is free!! The kids seemed impressed with the views and also the amount of ice in the water!
Once we hopped off the ferry we headed to the bus terminal to catch a city bus to Staten Island Mall. Little did I know that with all the snow and all the traffic at around 5pm, the bus trip took us an hour and a half!! But at least it was free too. Once you've paid for a train trip, a bus trip is free within 2 hours.
We eventually got the the Mall and had 3 hours of shopping time with the mall closing at 9pm. We walked through JC Penney and picked up 2 suitcases. Then we went to the boys clothing and bought an astonishing amount of clothing for Joe at really amazing prices. And the clothes are awesome!
Then, we headed to a store Sofie had forgotten she wanted to go to.... Hot Topic. Here she bought a crapload of t-shirts that she really loved, and one that she hated, but bought to wear as a joke... You'll have to ask her to give you the punchline....
Afterwards, the kids decided they wanted to go to Build-a-Bear. I got a bit cranky then too, because it was now 7.30 and I'd gotten nothing for myself. So I told them there would be no bear building until I'd done some shopping!!! So we headed back into JC Penney and bought a few bits and pieces. At least I have a new pair of jeans to wear now! Then I decided we had enough time to go build their stupid bears... so back we went to the workshop.
Joe got himself a cute bunny, and Sofie has a rockin' bear with an iPod connection and speakers in it's feet. Pretty cool. They got some accessories to deck them out and then we grabbed a drink. After that we figured we'd better find a way out of the mall to a cab rank.
On the way towards the front of the mall, I spotted an awesome shoe shop and just had to go in. And then the kids started their whining and moaning again. I grabbed 2 pairs of boots, a pair of shoes and a handbag and paid less than $90 for the lot. Bargain!! By this time the shops were closing and the kids were at their most joyful... NOT. While I was in the shoe store, the girl in there pointed out to me that there were no cab ranks, and actually no cabs at all on Staten Island. There are only car services and you have to call them to come and get you. They asked if I had a number for one, and quite obviously I did not... So here's where my plan all started to unravel.
A fabulous lady in the store overheard my plight and called a friend of hers to get a number for a car service, and she passed that number on to us. So there was one hurdle cleared. Then we left the store and searched for a public telephone. Finally we found one, but it didn't work. The one next to it got a dial tone, but it kept spitting my coins back out. Gah!!!
So we decided to head to the other bank of phones on the other side of the mall. Bear in mind, this is an American mall and it is massive! When we reached the main entrance of the mall, the security guard took pity on us and asked if we were ok. I told him the situation and he was fabulous. He got his partner to call us a car service and then chatted to us for ages while we waited. They were a great pair. We had a lot of fun chatting with them. We then went outside to wait, and the kids amused themselves throwing snowballs at each other and trying to knock icicles off the roof of the mall.
Eventually around 10pm, the car service arrived. The driver was a young guy - maybe around 20 - named Angelo. He was an absolute gem. He had a great Italian-American accent and took us on a scenic route past some impressive houses valued around $20 million, with amazing views over the water. He took us down Jersey Street which is the most dangerous street on Staten Island. I knew it was bad when he locked all the doors before heading in there! He told us this was where gangs, homeless, drug dealers and the like hang out. And there was a police car on every corner just about! He said that it was one of those experiences that was pretty cool. And to be honest - it was!
Eventually we got to the terminal and waited around 20 minutes for the ferry. Had a great trip back seeing all the lights of the city, and the Statue of Libery all lit up. It was really beautiful. We hopped on the #1 train, again with a little help from a friendly local who pointed the way to the right platform without us even asking!
No trouble at all from that point and now we're back safely in our room. It was a great adventure and I'm really glad we did it. I feel like I could go just about anywhere and do anything now!
So tomorrow we have our day trip to Niagara Falls. Waking up early again and meeting the tour guide in the lobby at 6.30am. So goodnight! Enjoy the photos below.
We headed first to Times Square - again... There's so much to do there and we barely scraped the surface on our previous visits, and today was no different. We went into Toys r Us again to grab some things the kids had seen on our last visit. First we grabbed tickets for the indoor ferris wheel. How fun was that! We had several goes around before coming to a stop and from up there we saw all sorts of great places we had to go check out.
There was a great Build-a-robot thing so we all built a cool robot and we can level it up on an associated computer game. It was fun being a kid! Then we went upstairs and grabbed a magic light trick thing that the kids had seen, and a cool hackey sack game. Joe got an awesome magic kit as well and a couple of other cool things. The shop has to be seen to be believed!
We walked out of there totally loaded with bags and tossed up whether to head back to the hotel to dump the bags and come back again. We decided that the next store wasn't too far away and we could manage.
So we went up to the M&M's store. What a fun place! They've got staff members at the bottom of the escalators having dance offs with the yellow M&M, Elmo and the Cookie monster were hanging around outside the store too. The whole shop is an explosion of colour. It was really amazing. 3 floors of every type of M&M merchandise you can imagine! We loaded up in there with heaps of stuff and somehow managed to carry it all along with the Toys r Us stuff.
We definitely decided that was enough and then realised we had to walk about 5 blocks to the subway... blech... On the way there we walked past the Hard Rock Cafe, so that's where we decided to stop and have lunch! Yummy stuff and a great atmosphere. The kids really enjoyed it, and I got to have my favourite American dessert - key lime pie!!
So back to the hotel, and the kids decided they didn't want to go out again. Now this is where I finally got cranky. My whole plan of our next adventure was about to go out the window, and they were being mean. So I sent them on a guilt trip about how much I had done for them - how much I had bought for them, and they couldn't even spare me an afternoon for shopping for me. The guilt trip worked so off we set on an even bigger adventure.
My plan was to go to the Staten Island Mall. The journey meant we had to catch the subway to the very last stop on the #1 line all the way downtown, to South Ferry. We popped up right at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. From there we go on the Staten Island Ferry which was my treat for the kids. We got pretty up close and personal with the Statue of Liberty and had an awesome 30 minute ferry ride. The Staten Island Ferry is free!! The kids seemed impressed with the views and also the amount of ice in the water!
Once we hopped off the ferry we headed to the bus terminal to catch a city bus to Staten Island Mall. Little did I know that with all the snow and all the traffic at around 5pm, the bus trip took us an hour and a half!! But at least it was free too. Once you've paid for a train trip, a bus trip is free within 2 hours.
We eventually got the the Mall and had 3 hours of shopping time with the mall closing at 9pm. We walked through JC Penney and picked up 2 suitcases. Then we went to the boys clothing and bought an astonishing amount of clothing for Joe at really amazing prices. And the clothes are awesome!
Then, we headed to a store Sofie had forgotten she wanted to go to.... Hot Topic. Here she bought a crapload of t-shirts that she really loved, and one that she hated, but bought to wear as a joke... You'll have to ask her to give you the punchline....
Afterwards, the kids decided they wanted to go to Build-a-Bear. I got a bit cranky then too, because it was now 7.30 and I'd gotten nothing for myself. So I told them there would be no bear building until I'd done some shopping!!! So we headed back into JC Penney and bought a few bits and pieces. At least I have a new pair of jeans to wear now! Then I decided we had enough time to go build their stupid bears... so back we went to the workshop.
Joe got himself a cute bunny, and Sofie has a rockin' bear with an iPod connection and speakers in it's feet. Pretty cool. They got some accessories to deck them out and then we grabbed a drink. After that we figured we'd better find a way out of the mall to a cab rank.
On the way towards the front of the mall, I spotted an awesome shoe shop and just had to go in. And then the kids started their whining and moaning again. I grabbed 2 pairs of boots, a pair of shoes and a handbag and paid less than $90 for the lot. Bargain!! By this time the shops were closing and the kids were at their most joyful... NOT. While I was in the shoe store, the girl in there pointed out to me that there were no cab ranks, and actually no cabs at all on Staten Island. There are only car services and you have to call them to come and get you. They asked if I had a number for one, and quite obviously I did not... So here's where my plan all started to unravel.
A fabulous lady in the store overheard my plight and called a friend of hers to get a number for a car service, and she passed that number on to us. So there was one hurdle cleared. Then we left the store and searched for a public telephone. Finally we found one, but it didn't work. The one next to it got a dial tone, but it kept spitting my coins back out. Gah!!!
So we decided to head to the other bank of phones on the other side of the mall. Bear in mind, this is an American mall and it is massive! When we reached the main entrance of the mall, the security guard took pity on us and asked if we were ok. I told him the situation and he was fabulous. He got his partner to call us a car service and then chatted to us for ages while we waited. They were a great pair. We had a lot of fun chatting with them. We then went outside to wait, and the kids amused themselves throwing snowballs at each other and trying to knock icicles off the roof of the mall.
Eventually around 10pm, the car service arrived. The driver was a young guy - maybe around 20 - named Angelo. He was an absolute gem. He had a great Italian-American accent and took us on a scenic route past some impressive houses valued around $20 million, with amazing views over the water. He took us down Jersey Street which is the most dangerous street on Staten Island. I knew it was bad when he locked all the doors before heading in there! He told us this was where gangs, homeless, drug dealers and the like hang out. And there was a police car on every corner just about! He said that it was one of those experiences that was pretty cool. And to be honest - it was!
Eventually we got to the terminal and waited around 20 minutes for the ferry. Had a great trip back seeing all the lights of the city, and the Statue of Libery all lit up. It was really beautiful. We hopped on the #1 train, again with a little help from a friendly local who pointed the way to the right platform without us even asking!
No trouble at all from that point and now we're back safely in our room. It was a great adventure and I'm really glad we did it. I feel like I could go just about anywhere and do anything now!
So tomorrow we have our day trip to Niagara Falls. Waking up early again and meeting the tour guide in the lobby at 6.30am. So goodnight! Enjoy the photos below.
This is a special picture for Karen. It's the ball that drops for New Years in Times Square. Enjoy photoshopping!
The entrance to Toys r Us
The kiddies in the ferris wheel
Spongebob hitched a ride in the car next to ours
And Superman saved us from a speeding truck. Thanks Superman!
In the ferris wheel on about our 7th spin around. Getting dizzy now!
See - totally dizzy... I decided to get with the program and be a stupid kid
Joe watches his robot being sent to somewhere to get it's special powers
Sofie with her completed robot
I had to photograph this. Barbie has a huge house in Toys R Us!
Sofie and Joe at M&M's World
Wall of candy! So many different flavours of M&Ms
Sof and Joe at Hard Rock
The Staten Island Ferry going the other way
Sof and Joe on the ferry
Sofie and Joe with some green woman in the background
Sofie and Joe choosing their bears at Build-A-Bear Workshop
Accessorizing!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Day Eleven: The Lion King
OK, so one night out probably wouldn't ordinarily be worth it's own blog post, but this was pretty special. I have no pics because cameras etc were not allowed, so I didn't even bother taking it with us.
We hopped on the subway back to Times Square, took a wrong turn and headed parallel to where we were supposed to be going, but thanks to the friendly NYPD we quickly found our way.
When we arrived we picked up the tickets I had ordered nearly two months ago with no trouble. Everyone who asked for tickets and helped direct us to our seats were impressed that we'd come to see the show given the snowy conditions, and even more impressed when they realised we were from Australia. We were also told repeatedly how good our seats were.
And boy were they ever! I knew that we had booked pretty good seats, and I assumed row C was 3 from the front. Apparently rows start at B in this country lol. So we were in the second row! The show opened with an amazing woman playing the part of Rafiki. She had an incredible voice as well as being completely hilarious. Then the ensemble sang Circle of Life and by this stage I was getting all emotional. The experience of being on Broadway and being so close to everything as well as the amazingly good performance had me all teary before the sad bits even happened! (Speaking to Sofie, she had the same emotional overload as I did, so that made me feel better). We were so close to the stage that when the giraffes bowed down we could almost touch them. Characters were appearing all over the theatre, coming down the stairs everywhere! So much was going on it was hard to know where to look next.
I can't begin to describe how fantastic the show was, and to know that we were actually on Broadway. All I can say is that it was an incredibly good night and an experience that could never be repeated. I alternated crying and laughing all night. Brilliant stuff!
As we left, we spent a crapload of money in the souvenir stand.
We walked back out into the chilly street and tried to figure out the way back to the subway, while Joe complained he was hungry, Sofie needed to use the bathroom, and I needed both! We found a Macca's right near the subway station. Eating there was an experience too! We sat at a long bench that ran down the wall on stools. All down the wall were small televisions playing music videos. About every 3 seats was another TV. I've never sat at a Macca's and had my own personal TV before!
An uneventful trip back on the subway and it's now 20 past 12 and time for sleep.
If you're ever in NY you MUST do a Broadway show, and if you can - I highly recommend the Lion King!
Speaking of shows, Bryan Adams is playing at the theatre next to our hotel tomorrow night after a sold out show tonight. And if we were still here on Feb 9, Jerry Seinfeld will be there too! The kids aren't keen on Bryan Adams though... lol
We hopped on the subway back to Times Square, took a wrong turn and headed parallel to where we were supposed to be going, but thanks to the friendly NYPD we quickly found our way.
When we arrived we picked up the tickets I had ordered nearly two months ago with no trouble. Everyone who asked for tickets and helped direct us to our seats were impressed that we'd come to see the show given the snowy conditions, and even more impressed when they realised we were from Australia. We were also told repeatedly how good our seats were.
And boy were they ever! I knew that we had booked pretty good seats, and I assumed row C was 3 from the front. Apparently rows start at B in this country lol. So we were in the second row! The show opened with an amazing woman playing the part of Rafiki. She had an incredible voice as well as being completely hilarious. Then the ensemble sang Circle of Life and by this stage I was getting all emotional. The experience of being on Broadway and being so close to everything as well as the amazingly good performance had me all teary before the sad bits even happened! (Speaking to Sofie, she had the same emotional overload as I did, so that made me feel better). We were so close to the stage that when the giraffes bowed down we could almost touch them. Characters were appearing all over the theatre, coming down the stairs everywhere! So much was going on it was hard to know where to look next.
I can't begin to describe how fantastic the show was, and to know that we were actually on Broadway. All I can say is that it was an incredibly good night and an experience that could never be repeated. I alternated crying and laughing all night. Brilliant stuff!
As we left, we spent a crapload of money in the souvenir stand.
We walked back out into the chilly street and tried to figure out the way back to the subway, while Joe complained he was hungry, Sofie needed to use the bathroom, and I needed both! We found a Macca's right near the subway station. Eating there was an experience too! We sat at a long bench that ran down the wall on stools. All down the wall were small televisions playing music videos. About every 3 seats was another TV. I've never sat at a Macca's and had my own personal TV before!
An uneventful trip back on the subway and it's now 20 past 12 and time for sleep.
If you're ever in NY you MUST do a Broadway show, and if you can - I highly recommend the Lion King!
Speaking of shows, Bryan Adams is playing at the theatre next to our hotel tomorrow night after a sold out show tonight. And if we were still here on Feb 9, Jerry Seinfeld will be there too! The kids aren't keen on Bryan Adams though... lol
Day Eleven: New York Snowed Under
Today began with a rush to open the blind to see what had happened overnight. We were amazed to see how much snow had fallen! Apparently there were record falls here, a foot of snow in the city and up to 19 inches in New Jersey. The kids were really impressed to see it all. Snow plows were going up and down Broadway and people were out on the sidewalks madly shovelling snow. There were caution tapes around a lot of buildings as snow was falling off buildings and crashing to the ground!
We had a phone call from our new friend Chafin to move to plan B for today. He told us to hop on the subway and go one stop past Wall St to the Clark St stop. We were headed to Brooklyn! We easily managed to get there and waited for Chafin. He took us for a walk through Brooklyn Heights and it was simply stunning. The beautiful old buildings and trees covered in snow were realloy something to look at. Then he took us down to the promenade and we looked out over the East River for an incredible view back into Manhattan and over to the Statue of Liberty.
We were then treated to another surprise, and something Chafin isn't allowed to do. He got us onto a bus and we headed through downtown Brooklyn and to his apartment. We were stunned with the view from his 18th floor apartment. He looks right out over Manhattan on one side and over Brooklyn the other. He had an incredible view of what happened on 9/11 and saw everything happen right out his window. It must have been a shocking day for him and his wife. We were also privileged to meet his lovely wife. She is a beautiful lady. In her young days she looked just like Michele Obama (he showed us photos of them in the 1960s). Sadly she is in a wheelchair and can barely do anything for herself anymore due to crippling arthritis. But she was a delight to meet. She's clearly very proud of her husband. Chafin also showed us the award he won in 2005 for Greeter of the Year. It's a beautiful piece from Tiffany in the shape of an apple.
Chafin then took us to the subway station and gave me directions on how to get to the Rockefeller Centre. A quick hug and a kiss and we were on our own!
We caught one train, then switched to another, switched to another and then another and managed to get our way to the right stop. Then the fun started as we tried to work out which way to go to get to the Nintendo Store. Eventually we found it with help from some friendly locals. The Nintendo store in NY is the only one in the world and it's awesome! The kids had so much fun there. You can play DS games, play Wii games and there are merchandise and games galore! The kids started going through the store and all I heard from Sofie was "oh my god! look at this!" over and over.... The kids ended up with a shopping basket each and they filled them both... I very nearly passed out when we checked out and the total was $550!! Eek!
So we left there loaded with bags, went downstairs to the Rockefeller Centre and found the bathrooms, and then tried to figure out which way Times Square was. It's very easy to get turned about in NYC, but we figured out the way to go and when the neon became more prominent we knew we were headed the right way.
We stopped in a little souvenir shop to get Joe his Statue of Liberty, and he also found a mask of the same. It's actually kind of scary to look at! We also picked up a new suitcase because our arms were tired from carrying around the Nintendo stuff and I knew it wouldn't fit in the bags we had.
We were headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, but it was on the other side of the road. By this stage we were walking in soaked shoes from getting around all the slush on the ground and the prospect of walking through more slush was too much for Sofie, so we went into Planet Hollywood instead. The kids enjoyed all the props and costumes there and were really excited that we were sitting at the booth in front of the Star Wars display.
So we then realised it was 4.15pm and we'd done hardly anything! And the kids feet were freezing off. So we stopped in a couple of stores and grabbed some boots, and hit the subway to get back home so we could rest before our night at The Lion King.
On the way back to the hotel, I fell ass over, and I am typing this with wet knees... I hope noone notices tonight! I've done no clothes shopping yet, so all I have are these jeans!! There will be no classy people in our group tonight on Broadway....
Anyway - have to run and get myself cleaned up. here are the pics from today!!
We had a phone call from our new friend Chafin to move to plan B for today. He told us to hop on the subway and go one stop past Wall St to the Clark St stop. We were headed to Brooklyn! We easily managed to get there and waited for Chafin. He took us for a walk through Brooklyn Heights and it was simply stunning. The beautiful old buildings and trees covered in snow were realloy something to look at. Then he took us down to the promenade and we looked out over the East River for an incredible view back into Manhattan and over to the Statue of Liberty.
We were then treated to another surprise, and something Chafin isn't allowed to do. He got us onto a bus and we headed through downtown Brooklyn and to his apartment. We were stunned with the view from his 18th floor apartment. He looks right out over Manhattan on one side and over Brooklyn the other. He had an incredible view of what happened on 9/11 and saw everything happen right out his window. It must have been a shocking day for him and his wife. We were also privileged to meet his lovely wife. She is a beautiful lady. In her young days she looked just like Michele Obama (he showed us photos of them in the 1960s). Sadly she is in a wheelchair and can barely do anything for herself anymore due to crippling arthritis. But she was a delight to meet. She's clearly very proud of her husband. Chafin also showed us the award he won in 2005 for Greeter of the Year. It's a beautiful piece from Tiffany in the shape of an apple.
Chafin then took us to the subway station and gave me directions on how to get to the Rockefeller Centre. A quick hug and a kiss and we were on our own!
We caught one train, then switched to another, switched to another and then another and managed to get our way to the right stop. Then the fun started as we tried to work out which way to go to get to the Nintendo Store. Eventually we found it with help from some friendly locals. The Nintendo store in NY is the only one in the world and it's awesome! The kids had so much fun there. You can play DS games, play Wii games and there are merchandise and games galore! The kids started going through the store and all I heard from Sofie was "oh my god! look at this!" over and over.... The kids ended up with a shopping basket each and they filled them both... I very nearly passed out when we checked out and the total was $550!! Eek!
So we left there loaded with bags, went downstairs to the Rockefeller Centre and found the bathrooms, and then tried to figure out which way Times Square was. It's very easy to get turned about in NYC, but we figured out the way to go and when the neon became more prominent we knew we were headed the right way.
We stopped in a little souvenir shop to get Joe his Statue of Liberty, and he also found a mask of the same. It's actually kind of scary to look at! We also picked up a new suitcase because our arms were tired from carrying around the Nintendo stuff and I knew it wouldn't fit in the bags we had.
We were headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, but it was on the other side of the road. By this stage we were walking in soaked shoes from getting around all the slush on the ground and the prospect of walking through more slush was too much for Sofie, so we went into Planet Hollywood instead. The kids enjoyed all the props and costumes there and were really excited that we were sitting at the booth in front of the Star Wars display.
So we then realised it was 4.15pm and we'd done hardly anything! And the kids feet were freezing off. So we stopped in a couple of stores and grabbed some boots, and hit the subway to get back home so we could rest before our night at The Lion King.
On the way back to the hotel, I fell ass over, and I am typing this with wet knees... I hope noone notices tonight! I've done no clothes shopping yet, so all I have are these jeans!! There will be no classy people in our group tonight on Broadway....
Anyway - have to run and get myself cleaned up. here are the pics from today!!
Out our window this morning
And again
And again
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn
More Brooklyn
The lady on the other side of the river
Oh -there she is again!
the view of Manhattan from Brooklyn Heights
And the kids to prove they were there!
Whoops - over went Joe...
Some people making a cool snowman in front of their house
Proof that we were brave enough to do the subways in NY
Sofie was so excited to see Pikachu she went sideways
This GameBoy was damaged in the Gulf War and still works!!
Joe playing Wii
Joe making Lego people at the Lego shop in NY
Again...
The kids at Planet Hollywood
Sofie was ready this time!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Day Nine: NYC Photos
Waiting for dinner at Manhattan Diner
Dinner has arrived! Oh my goodness - how much food can three people eat?!?
Sofie is pondering how she's going to eat it all, and Joe is just happy to have food I guess?
Day Ten: Big Apple Greeter!
The alarm went off at 8am, and we struggled to wake up. When Sofie looked out the window and saw it was snowing, everyone jumped out of bed to look. The kids were really excited, and even when I told them we had to walk around in it all day they didn't seem to care. Until of course we were actually out walking around in it all day....
Our Big Apple Greeter called and gave us instructions over the phone on how to get a subway ticket and which train to catch down to Wall St. Before we headed off, we stopped in at Starbucks for coffee and hot chocolates.
Then we had a great adventure! Purchased a Metro Card from a vending machine, hopped on the subway and rode until we got to Wall St. Off we got and our greeter, Chafin Elliott arrived on the next train coming from the other way. I recognised him because he was wearing a beanie with Australia printed on the front! What a great guy he was, but then being an Elliott - could he be anything less?? He's 80 yrs old and been married to his wife for 60 years. She was diagnosed with chronic rheumatoid arthritis when she was 32 years old and he's stuck with her the whole time. What a man! Takes a strong man to stick by a wife with a chronic illness... pity I haven't been able to find one like that!
He took us up through Wall St and we got a pic of the Wall St bull.
Then we headed to Ground Zero. What a sobering experience that was. I was completely fine until we headed into the Amex building and saw the memorial they had built in their lobby. It was a big chunk of crystal suspended over an 11 sided pool with the names of the 11 Amex workers and tributes to them engraved in each side. From somewhere above small drops of water splashed down into the pool. The crystal and the drops represented tears. It was a very moving memorial and I found myself tearing up. I think by that stage I'd seen so much, so many memorials and things that it all hit just how many people were affected by what happened on 9/11. After that we went into a memorial exhibit and store. I picked up a little book about the site.
We left there on the subway to Grand Central Station. What an amazing building!! We ate in the dining concourse at Junior's and I had a piece of their award winning cheesecake. I can see why it's voted #1 in NY. Divine!
After that we headed to Times Square. We wandered through Toys R Us. Awesome place with a Ferris Wheel in the entrance. The kids could spend all day there and we probably will tomorrow. Times Square is massive! So much going on there - so much to see. We will spend most of the day there tomorrow.
We headed to Rockefeller Plaza, then Trump Tower, then FAO Schwarz. We went in and out of so many buildings today I can barely rememeber them all! I know we went into Tiffany at Wall St and also on 5th Ave. We went into the Chrysler Building, the Daily News building (which our guide described as the birthplace of Superman), 30 Rock, gosh I can't remember them all! It was a very full day and I have trouble remembering it all, but we saw way more than we would ever have seen on our own.
Our guide was brilliant, and I recommend anyone who is coming to NY for the first time get in touch with the people at Big Apple Greeters and see if you can have a volunteer assigned to you!
The down side was that the kids were getting really tired with all the walking and all the snow was freezing. The kids complained a lot about how tired they were and how cold they were and how wet their clothes were. So we're tucked up safely in our hotel at the moment. 5.30pm and it's dark outside. Apparently 6-10 inches of snow will be falling tonight, but tomorrow afternoon it's going to be sunny! Hopefully a much better day weather-wise than today.
The kids are in bed watching telly and resting their feet.
Tomorrow - a free day visiting the Time Warner building, Rockefeller Plaza, and Times Square, followed by our night out on Broadway seeing The Lion King!
Our Big Apple Greeter called and gave us instructions over the phone on how to get a subway ticket and which train to catch down to Wall St. Before we headed off, we stopped in at Starbucks for coffee and hot chocolates.
Then we had a great adventure! Purchased a Metro Card from a vending machine, hopped on the subway and rode until we got to Wall St. Off we got and our greeter, Chafin Elliott arrived on the next train coming from the other way. I recognised him because he was wearing a beanie with Australia printed on the front! What a great guy he was, but then being an Elliott - could he be anything less?? He's 80 yrs old and been married to his wife for 60 years. She was diagnosed with chronic rheumatoid arthritis when she was 32 years old and he's stuck with her the whole time. What a man! Takes a strong man to stick by a wife with a chronic illness... pity I haven't been able to find one like that!
He took us up through Wall St and we got a pic of the Wall St bull.
Then we headed to Ground Zero. What a sobering experience that was. I was completely fine until we headed into the Amex building and saw the memorial they had built in their lobby. It was a big chunk of crystal suspended over an 11 sided pool with the names of the 11 Amex workers and tributes to them engraved in each side. From somewhere above small drops of water splashed down into the pool. The crystal and the drops represented tears. It was a very moving memorial and I found myself tearing up. I think by that stage I'd seen so much, so many memorials and things that it all hit just how many people were affected by what happened on 9/11. After that we went into a memorial exhibit and store. I picked up a little book about the site.
We left there on the subway to Grand Central Station. What an amazing building!! We ate in the dining concourse at Junior's and I had a piece of their award winning cheesecake. I can see why it's voted #1 in NY. Divine!
After that we headed to Times Square. We wandered through Toys R Us. Awesome place with a Ferris Wheel in the entrance. The kids could spend all day there and we probably will tomorrow. Times Square is massive! So much going on there - so much to see. We will spend most of the day there tomorrow.
Times Square and the kids freezing with Chafin
Times Square again, this time they don't look so pained!
We headed to Rockefeller Plaza, then Trump Tower, then FAO Schwarz. We went in and out of so many buildings today I can barely rememeber them all! I know we went into Tiffany at Wall St and also on 5th Ave. We went into the Chrysler Building, the Daily News building (which our guide described as the birthplace of Superman), 30 Rock, gosh I can't remember them all! It was a very full day and I have trouble remembering it all, but we saw way more than we would ever have seen on our own.
Our guide was brilliant, and I recommend anyone who is coming to NY for the first time get in touch with the people at Big Apple Greeters and see if you can have a volunteer assigned to you!
The down side was that the kids were getting really tired with all the walking and all the snow was freezing. The kids complained a lot about how tired they were and how cold they were and how wet their clothes were. So we're tucked up safely in our hotel at the moment. 5.30pm and it's dark outside. Apparently 6-10 inches of snow will be falling tonight, but tomorrow afternoon it's going to be sunny! Hopefully a much better day weather-wise than today.
The kids are in bed watching telly and resting their feet.
Tomorrow - a free day visiting the Time Warner building, Rockefeller Plaza, and Times Square, followed by our night out on Broadway seeing The Lion King!
This awesome painting was in the Amex building
As was this awesome painting
I loved the art deco in The Chrysler building
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Day Nine: San Diego to New York City
We woke up at sparra's this morning. 3am to be exact. We were up, dressed and ready to go by 3.30. We went downstairs to checkout, and discovered our shuttle wasn't due to arrive until 4.30, and not 4.00 as I'd thought. Oops! Quick phone call and the shuttle came to get us at 4.00.
We got to the airport in San Diego and experienced the wonders of domestic air travel in America. Self check in was fine, then discovered that we actually had to pay for our bags! $75.00 poorer we headed through to security. There we got to go through the fabulous nudie xray machine. Totally a random pick, and we got randomly picked.... :( Oh well, some creepy man in a booth caught sight of my nudie bits... worse things could have happened I suppose! I'm sure my day was better than his....
So we wandered in and got some thickshakes at Macca's for breakfast. They were served with whipped cream and a cherry on top! Waited and waited and boarded our flight at 5.50am.
A boring 4hrs and 40 mins later we arrived in NYC at JFK. It was very pretty to see everything covered in snow. Not so pretty to see our fingers falling off from frostbite. lol
Couldn't figure out where to get the shuttle, but a nice man outside directed us to a phone and we were picked up 5 minutes later. It took one and a half hours from the airport to get to our hotel. Saw some great architecture along the way. NY houses are quite pretty, and in the snow, they looked like a painting.
Our hotel is quite nice. We are on the 6th floor with a view out over Broadway and into a kiddies ballet studio. They were very cute pirouetting all over the place.
We had to run out to buy Sofie a warm coat and found a great discount place a few blocks away. On the way back we stopped at a place called Manhattan Diner and ate a delicious dinner. The waiter was awesome and even told us we can call 24 hours a day and they will deliver to our room!
Back in the room and I went to do the laundry which will be finished drying in about 7 minutes.
Tomorrow we meet with our Big Apple Greeter. Should be a great day if the weather holds out. It says in the forecast snow and rain.... with a low of -4C to a top of 3C. My fur is getting a work out! Lets hope I don't run into any animal activists!!
Google is telling me I can't insert pictures at the moment for some reason!! Poo!
Ah well, hopefully tomorrow it will be all sorted....
We got to the airport in San Diego and experienced the wonders of domestic air travel in America. Self check in was fine, then discovered that we actually had to pay for our bags! $75.00 poorer we headed through to security. There we got to go through the fabulous nudie xray machine. Totally a random pick, and we got randomly picked.... :( Oh well, some creepy man in a booth caught sight of my nudie bits... worse things could have happened I suppose! I'm sure my day was better than his....
So we wandered in and got some thickshakes at Macca's for breakfast. They were served with whipped cream and a cherry on top! Waited and waited and boarded our flight at 5.50am.
A boring 4hrs and 40 mins later we arrived in NYC at JFK. It was very pretty to see everything covered in snow. Not so pretty to see our fingers falling off from frostbite. lol
Couldn't figure out where to get the shuttle, but a nice man outside directed us to a phone and we were picked up 5 minutes later. It took one and a half hours from the airport to get to our hotel. Saw some great architecture along the way. NY houses are quite pretty, and in the snow, they looked like a painting.
Our hotel is quite nice. We are on the 6th floor with a view out over Broadway and into a kiddies ballet studio. They were very cute pirouetting all over the place.
We had to run out to buy Sofie a warm coat and found a great discount place a few blocks away. On the way back we stopped at a place called Manhattan Diner and ate a delicious dinner. The waiter was awesome and even told us we can call 24 hours a day and they will deliver to our room!
Back in the room and I went to do the laundry which will be finished drying in about 7 minutes.
Tomorrow we meet with our Big Apple Greeter. Should be a great day if the weather holds out. It says in the forecast snow and rain.... with a low of -4C to a top of 3C. My fur is getting a work out! Lets hope I don't run into any animal activists!!
Google is telling me I can't insert pictures at the moment for some reason!! Poo!
Ah well, hopefully tomorrow it will be all sorted....
Monday, January 24, 2011
Day Eight: Legoland
Today was an epic adventure. I was terrified it was all going to go bad, but it actually turned out ok! We found a train that travelled to Carlsbad near Legoland. We caught the 9.48am train to Carlsbad and that was easy and went well. Then we arrived at the Carlsbad Village Coaster stop, and that's where we struck trouble. There were no directions to any sort of main street. There were no cabs, nothing. So we wandered around the town for a while hoping a cab might drive by. Eventually we found one, and the driver was awesome! He took us to legoland and promised to come back and get us around 4pm.
We got in and it was great! No lines for anything and the kids had a ball! Joe ran around a playground shooting foam balls at people for ages. We went on rollercoasters, checked out mini lego cities, cruised around to see the sights of the world made out of lego. It was all pretty cool, especially for a lego fan like Joe! We ended in the shop and bought stacks of Lego, for incredibly low prices. Today was really Joe's day.
The cab driver came back as promised, drove us to the station and we hopped the train back to San Diego. All went very smoothly. Now we're back in the hotel and getting Italian delivered for dinner. Should be great!
Early night tonight - got to get the shuttle at 4am to go to New York. Next report direct from Broadway!
We got in and it was great! No lines for anything and the kids had a ball! Joe ran around a playground shooting foam balls at people for ages. We went on rollercoasters, checked out mini lego cities, cruised around to see the sights of the world made out of lego. It was all pretty cool, especially for a lego fan like Joe! We ended in the shop and bought stacks of Lego, for incredibly low prices. Today was really Joe's day.
The cab driver came back as promised, drove us to the station and we hopped the train back to San Diego. All went very smoothly. Now we're back in the hotel and getting Italian delivered for dinner. Should be great!
Early night tonight - got to get the shuttle at 4am to go to New York. Next report direct from Broadway!
Entrance to Legoland and the kiddies being ninjas
The kids locked up! Pity the padlock was made out of lego, I'm sure they could just pull that apart..
Joe decided to eat the lego man...
Sofie finally found her raccoon!
San Fran city skyline made out of lego!
The big tower thingie in Vegas - and yeah - it's made of lego..
The kids on one of the rides, actually doing some team work!
The Venetian hotel in Vegas, in lego..
Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, in lego
San Francisco lego style
The Mirage hotel, Vegas, at lego land
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