Sitting on Apple in the Big Apple

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Ed had been to New York before, but for Lois and Sasha it was our first time in the Big Apple, NYC.

We landed at Newark Airport and had our finger and retinal scans before making our way to our hotel, Milford Plaza in the theatre district.   Great spot, just around the corner from Times Square (and the infamous Hotel Carter, which Ed stayed at last time he was here, with our friend Cas).  One recent Trip Advisor review says…”Hotel Carter? no, no….NO!”    hilarious!

Sasha couldn’t  believe all the honking of horns going on in the traffic. “Why do they do that…it’s not going to do anything!!???” she exclaimed, hands over her ears.

Lois had a meeting with Lauren, a counsellor at the Dancer Career Transition Centre, next to Times Square. It was fantastic to see this much needed service being provided to dancers. Inspiring stuff.

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One of Lois’ dreams was to see a Broadway show…and what better show for her to see (being a dance lover) than Billy Elliott.  Absolutely fantastic!!  Great cast, brilliant sets, music was fab (a la Sir Elton, so of course it was) and the dancing was just terrific, even the young ballet girls who convincingly acted like non-dancers, until the end finale.

Ed, being a Monty Python fan, took us along to Spamalot, which came highly recommended by our friend Steve.  It was a hoot and we all had a great time.  And yes, we have heard many a rendition since…. (thanks Steve!!!)

For four days we didn’t have internet which was just as well, as there was so much to do and see.  We did go

to the Rockefeller Centre to check emails and whilst there spotted a NY police horse down below.  The day before we had been to the special exhibition on horses at the Natural History Museum and had watched a video about Apple (the police horse) and the police officer. And there they were!  Well, Sasha couldn’t get down there fast enough and was lucky enough to be invited up on Apple’s back.  How fantastic.

It was a very moving experience to visit outside Ground Zero and St Paul’s which was open to the public and had lots of displays of the 9/11 banners, firefighters badges and well-wishers notes and cards.  It was incredible that the little church that was home to the support crews as a recharge stop was saved from the falling debris, only the big tree outside was crushed.

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All three of us like our nature, so after a couple of days in the frenetic theatre district and Times Square it was time to head to Central Park.  Aaaaahhhh……  Sasha was doing her “Squirrel Whispering” in Central Park, we lost count of how many of them we saw.  So pretty, and again, like in Switzerland, we had the autumn (um, make that “Fall”) leaves.  Just gorgeous.

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A bit of schoolwork…off to the Museum of Natural History for these three kids.  Oh, and what a surprise to find that there was a special exhibition about horses!  It was great.  The museum was fantastic and we wished we had three days to spend just there (and wished our friend Mark the “Dinosaur Man” could be our personal tour guide.  Not just because he knows everything about dinosaurs…but he might have helped us from getting lost. Which we did, more than once!)

We met up with friends Vinnie “from Brooklyn” and Deb and had a brilliant time on a rainy day in NY.  We did the NYSE, the Wall Street Bull, we walked the Brooklyn Bridge in the rain and looked like drowned rats, but it was worth it.  Here is Vinny’s version… which is great and very detailed (we have gone for brevity as we are travelling for 6 months all up!)

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We went to the Top of the Rock at The Rockefeller Centre, then took the 3 hour circular cruise on the Hudson the next day which was nice and clear.  Pretty chilly out there on the deck but brilliant views and we had a “kwaaaaaffffeee” to heat us up (that’s NY speak for coffee, ya know )

A culinary highlight was eating at “The Australian” with our Brooklyn friends. What a brilliant night, the barramundi was perfect, Lois had the best Thai Chicken Salad ever and the pavlova was to die for. There was even rugby on the TV screens (league though..) Our waiter was great (a student actor) and Ed put him through his paces re: the capital of Australia and who the prime minister was. (He didn’t know either of them, but who can blame him.  He now knows its Perth and Molly Meldrum, so don’t worry!) The chef even came out to receive our compliments and we got more free desserts. Definitely one of the best meals on the trip, up there with Riccardo’s in Tuscany and the Ullapool Tapas Bar. (Hey, the budget doesn’t allow for Michelin stars, this trip.)

Wow, NY is fantastic…and expensive!  – there is no getting away from that fact, and with the exchange rate at around 67c US, it was time to make a quick getaway….flying off to Vancouver, BC.  Until next time, NY, we love ya. xxx