An earlier start today - caught the Riverside Drive bus all the way down from 96th Street to Whitehall Street - the very tip of Manhattan to take the free ferry to Staten Island. An hour later we were in a queue of what looked liked thousands to board the ferry but in reality it took only 2 or 3 minutes to start our 25 min trip. A lovely clear day so the Manhattan skyline slowly disappearing looked impressive.
Staten Island came as a complete surprise - wasn't expecting to see suburbia - no high rise - just houses, backyards and garages - something not seen in Manhattan. Caught a bus from the St George Ferry Terminal out to Staten Island Mall (somewhat smaller than Dubai Mall but much more manageable) for a bite of lunch. Took a different route back to the ferry - after 10 mins realised we were travelling in the wrong direction, hopped off, crossed the road and caught the correct bus, through more suburbs and lovely park areas. The trip back to Manhattan was more striking coming home - we stood outside this time and passed close by the Statue of Liberty.
The ferry pulling into Manhattan
The bus ride back to the apartment seemed to take forever in peak hour traffic - we had to go home to rug up for we were off to the Empire State Building and it would be freezing on the Observation Deck on the 86th floor. We raced in, picked up the jackets and trained in downtown to midtown - our first stop - The Oyster Bar (again) in the Grand Central Terminal. We saw the same waiter from our earlier visit - he gave us so much time and made such good recommendations - he proved just as good the second time around. He and his fiancee had just returned from Florence and Rome so we had plenty to talk about.
Too cold to walk so we caught the bus 3 blocks to the Empire State Building - lovely decor inside - crowd was minimal, but I had an express pass which was also taking us to the 102nd floor. The view at night was amazing - so much better than from the Rockefeller Centre during the day. The night was so clear and it was so quiet up there away from the noise and mayhem and crowds that is NY.
Staten Island came as a complete surprise - wasn't expecting to see suburbia - no high rise - just houses, backyards and garages - something not seen in Manhattan. Caught a bus from the St George Ferry Terminal out to Staten Island Mall (somewhat smaller than Dubai Mall but much more manageable) for a bite of lunch. Took a different route back to the ferry - after 10 mins realised we were travelling in the wrong direction, hopped off, crossed the road and caught the correct bus, through more suburbs and lovely park areas. The trip back to Manhattan was more striking coming home - we stood outside this time and passed close by the Statue of Liberty.
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| Carriages outside Central Park |
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| New York City Public Library |
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| Gary on the 5 bus downtown saying 'no' dont' take my photo |
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| Staten Island houses |
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| Cherry blossom time in New York |
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| Staten Island suburbia |
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| Beautiful private residence |
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| These yellow school buses started running in 1939 and the colour and style has remained unchanged    |
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| Lovely Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan |
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| Empire State Building from Bryant Park |
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| The beautiful Chrysler Building on sunset |
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| Grand Central Station |
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| Gorgeous interior - can't believe it is a train station |
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| Dining at The Oyster Bar - again |
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| Another fabulous meal - yes they are sea scallops - the largest I have every eaten |
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| Empire State Building as seen from 34th street |
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| View from 86th level - Chrysler building on the left |
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| Looking up to the top from 86th level |
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| The bright lights of Times Square illuminate the surrounding buildings
So cold when we came out of the Empire State Building - caught subway back home to Central Park and arrived home just on midnight - what an exhausting and fun filled day.
Ann
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