Arriving in New York
As we had changed our plans and were arriving in New York a few days later than we had originally planned, we had completely forgotten to book our transfer. After asking around at the airport the best option seemed to be the NYC Airporter bus. I must say it wasn’t the nicest or comfiest bus I have been on but it did the job for about $18 per person each way. However, it only had 3 drop off points which meant that we had to walk about 5 streets to our hotel. Next time I would definitely look in to an airport shuttle that drops you off directly at the hotel as lugging a 20kg case through Times Square is not ideal.
Accommodation
We stayed at Hotel Edison located on 47th street. It was ideally situated right in the centre of it all. We would step out of the hotel, turn right, walk 10m and we would be on Times Square. It was also a good central hub for all of the tourist attractions. The accommodation was also really nice inside, the rooms were modern and well equipped. However, they were slightly on the small side. They held a couple of managers evenings where they would provide guests with refreshments whilst live music was playing in the lobby. I think this was to make up for the fact that the hotel does not have it’s own restaurant or bar. Then again, I think that is quite common with accommodation in NYC.
With it being Shawn’s first time in New York I just had to take him to all of the tourist attractions. We bought the New York City passes which give you access to six of the top attractions. I used the city pass last time I visited and found that it saves you money whilst also allowing you to queue jump in most places. To be honest I loved doing them all again. On our first day we walked up to Central Park, it was about 10 streets north from where we were staying. I managed to direct us through the park, past the lake over the beautiful bridges and through the tranquil forests without getting lost. Once we had reached the North West of the park we headed to the National History museum. Museums’s aren’t really our thing but the exhibition they had on about the Big Bang was quite interesting. Shawn might of fallen asleep though. After that we headed to the Rockefeller building and went to the ‘Top of the Rock’ to look at the amazing views. I much prefer the views from the Rockefeller instead of the Empire State, building I think it is because you can see Central Park so much clearer. That night we went to Haven rooftop bar. Its located just to the right of Times Square. Typically the one night we decided to go to a rooftop bar, New York decided to have a thunder storm. It didn’t really matter as the bar was sheltered, we had a couple of cocktails and then headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep before day 2!
On our second day we headed down to lower Manhattan. To get there we used the subway which is actually really simple. We got off at Wall Street to have a look around the financial district before heading to Battery Park. From Battery Park we took the ferry to Liberty Island where we walked around and took some pictures of the famous Statue of Liberty. Luckily it was a really nice day. From there, the ferry then takes you to Ellis Island where you can have a look around the immigration museum. We decided to pass on this part as I’ve done it before and it wasn’t a very interesting museum. Once the ferry got back to Battery Park we headed to Ground Zero. It was quite easy to find, you just need to look up and following the really tall pointy building. The fountains where the twin towers once stood were surrounded with tourist’s paying their respects. The 9/11 memorial museum is so moving. As I said, museums are not really my thing but I would recommend the attraction to anyone visiting New York. There are so many interactive elements to the museum which really capture your attention instead of just looking at glass cabinets and reading pages of information. After the museum we headed back to our hotel to freshen up before we went out for dinner. That night we went o Fogo de chão brazilian steakhouse. For those of you who have not been to a Brazilian restaurant, the the waiters bring a selection of meats to your table and you can help your self to the salad bar. You have a card which is green one side and red the other which indicates if you would like more meat. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. It was definitely the best meal I had whilst in the US. With out belly’s full we headed home ready to pack our bags before our last day in NYC.
On the last day we headed down 5th Av, past all of the designer shops and to the Empire State Building. The Empire State is the tallest building in the city with something like 86 floors. After that we walked up to the public Library where we sat people watching. After that we went back to Central Park. This time we went to the East side near the fun fair and chilled for our last couple of hours in the city. As I said, this was my third time in NYC and it just gets better every time.