Our fun in NYC started when we finally saw the Manhattan skyline lit up from near where we were staying after a long and delayed flight and a bit of a navigational nightmare with the tubes (which turned out to be us just being stupid!). The next day, the weather was perfect (and we knew the snow was on its way, hence we decided to cram in a lot of the tourist attractions in one day!). So we got to the Empire State Building very early to avoid the queues to go up to the top (definitely a good choice). They sell a sky-taxi info tape there, but if you have a guidebook/can read a map, it's not necessary. We had about a 25-mile visibility range, and the skyline really is phenomenal.
After that (bein
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After that (being shopaholics), we went to Macy's to look for perfume deals (or you can just go round to loads of stores and get loads of free samples, which takes care of the need to buy any!) and then to Times Square. Taking a fast subway downtown, we came out at Ground Zero, which was a very thought-provoking experience when we talked about it and looked at the memorial of all the names of people who had died. After digesting this, we walked to the ferry terminal and took one to Staten Island. This is free and goes really close to the Statue of Liberty. It also gives great views of downtown Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge.
A short tube ride uptown to Chinatown heralded a great choice of Chinese food for very reasonable prices (one was about $5 each for soup, a massive portion of meat and rice, and as much green tea as you can drink--just wander around to find the best deal of the day), which we really needed by then, having run around town all day! We then walked back to Brooklyn across the Brooklyn Bridge just as the sun was setting, so the views were beautiful!
After having had a warm up (it was about –10 degrees C all day), we headed back into Manhattan for a few beers. We went to Stonewall Bar, which is a gay bar where the riots of 1969 happened against discrimination of homosexuals and then moved next door to the Duplex, where I was in my element! It was live cabaret, and you could sing any show number if you wanted! We went back to the Duplex the following Monday for a fab one-woman show called "The Sexless Years", written and performed by one of the staff there called Kate Praxis (it was fab!). The bar is a gay bar, but if you love camp musicals (and Steven Sondheim!), you’ll love it!
The next few days we spent experiencing one of the bigget snowfalls they’ve had in NYC for a few years. I have never seen that much snow fall so fast! It was amazing, especially when we got to Times Square. It was also amazing to see how well the city was prepared for it! In England, just 1 inch of snow will fall, and the trains won’t run, the motorways are blocked, etc., etc.! Here there was a few foot of snow, and within a day the roads had been cleared, and the subways kept running throughout--it was great!
I found people were also very good at clearing the street outside their houses to make it safe for everyone. In fact, all the New Yorkers we talked to in the bars we visited were extremely friendly and pleasant. I can’t wait to go back, but maybe I’ll go in the spring next time, as although I enjoyed the experience of the cold, I think I’m better suited to warmer climes!
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