Andrew and Elizabeth Caldwell's
Travel Page
Act I – New Zealand to New York to London. Saturday 14 April (Easter Saturday) Flew out of Wellington @ 4:00pm arriving in Auckland at 4:50pm. Not a bad flight with views of the mountains and good views of the Waikato. Andrew bought a “Baby G-shock” watch duty free in Auckland (NZ$175) Left Auckland @ 7:00pm (1/2 hr late) on a flight from Melbourne. The plane was full and the flight was very bumpy in places (at one stage the captain called for “all cabin crew return to your seats now!”), but we landed safely in LA @ 11:00am. Cleared customs and immigration then rechecked our baggage for LAX to EWR (Newark, New Jersey) flight. Grabbed some lunch then boarded the next leg of our journey. The flight left at 2:30pm and we flew over the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Page and the Glen Canyon Dam, and Royal Gorge / Canon City (all places we visited last time we were in the States) then through a BIG bank of thundercloud to arrive early in Newark at 10:00pm. Caught a cab through chaotic traffic to our hotel (Belvedere Hotel, 319 W48th Street) (driver got lost trying to find the hotel – got the right street but couldn’t find the right block) arriving at 11:30pm. Definitely ready for bed! Sunday 15 April (Easter Sunday) Fine 18°C Up at 8:00am to grab breakfast at the hotel café ($US12 each!) Walked to Times Sq then caught a subway to 59th St/5th Ave (Grand Army Plaza) (subway fare, one way = $US1.50). Walked along 5th Ave then over to Madison Ave and grabbed a coffee. Walked back to 5th Ave and almost bumped into Paul McCartney as he walked past us on 5th Ave, humming a little tune. Watched the Easter “Parade”, which basically consisted of lots of people standing around wearing Easter Bonnets (aka silly hats). Walked along 59th St (the south end of Central Park) to Columbus Circle then back to Center Drive where we jumped on a horse and carriage ride through the south end of Central Park ($US34). Photo: "View down Fifth Ave to World Trade Center" We then walked through Central Park to the Dairy, past the ballparks, Tavern on the Green, Bethesda Fountain (where we patted a 10ft yellow snake), past the boat lake, over Bow Bridge to Strawberry Fields. Saw Howard Stern (Radio DJ) walking through the park Photo: "The Dairy, Central Park" Photo: "Ice Rink and view of the City, Central Park" Photo: "Bethesda Fountain, Central Park" Photo: "Boat Lake, Central Park" Photo: "Bow Bridge, Central Park" Photo: "John Lennon's Memorial, Strawberry Fields, Central Park" Photo: "Liz in the Daffadils, Central Park" Walked back to Grand Army
Plaza and went to FAO Schwartz Toy Store (HUGE) and then to Trump Plaza
(closed). Back to the subway and
back to Times Sq. Picked up
tickets for the Lion King theatre show (which I booked from NZ - $US90 ea)
from New Amsterdam Theatre (42nd St).
Liz bought a bottle of Volupte perfume (50ml) for $US20. Walked back to hotel @ about 4:30 for a rest. Out for dinner at a Mediterranean (pizza) then to 42nd St to see the Lion King. Amazing show with superb costumes. Back to hotel @ 11:00pm Monday 16 April Cloudy and cold 11°C Up at 8:00am and down for breakfast in the hotel then walked to 49th St station, bought a day pass for the subway ($US4), and caught the subway to 34th St. Walked along 34th St to 5th Ave looking at shops then back Macy’s to see their flower show. They basically put thousands of flowers around their normal shop display so it is like shopping in a garden. Back to the subway bound for the World Trade Center. Joined the queue for the observation floors @ 10:30, and after having the obligatory photo taken and the necessary bag search and x-ray, got up to the 107th floor at 11:30. Had lunch on the 107th floor before heading onto the roof of the building (110th floor) for the open air observation walkway. Amazing view over New York and the surrounding area, but we were a bit worried about the planes flying overhead! When you are this far above the ground you feel detached from what you can see, a bit like being in an aeroplane. Photo: "View looking North from World Trade Center" Photo: "View looking West from World Trade Center" Photo: "View of Ellis Island from World Trade Center" Photo: "View of Statue of Liberty from World Trade Center" Photo: "View looking South from World Trade Center" Photo: "View looking East from World Trade Center" Photo: "Yep that's me, and the view looking North from World Trade Center" Back down to ground and walked through Trinity Church and down Wall Street to the East River, then past the Staten Island Ferry to Battery Park to watch the boats to the Statue of Liberty. Quick coffee at Starbucks then walked to Whitehall Station to catch a subway to 8th Street. Photo: "Wall Street looking East from Trinity Church" Photo: "Wall Street looking West" Photo: "New York Stock Exchange and George Washington Statue, Wall Street" Photo: "War Memorial, Battery Park" Walked through Greenwich Village to Washington Square then to the 4th Street station for a subway back to 34th Street. Had a quick look around Manhattan Mall (just another shopping mall) then back to Times Sq and back to the hotel for a rest. Photo: "Washington Arch, Washington Square" Picked up two tickets to the
NY Mets vs Montreal Expos baseball game from the concierge ($US73 ea,
face value of the tickets $US45 ea!) and walked to Times Sq to catch
the “7” subway to Shea Stadium. Arrived
@ 6:40pm, grabbed a hotdog for dinner and watched the game.
The Mets won 4-3. Left @ 9:30pm by train back to Times Sq then back to the
hotel. Tuesday 17 April Cloudy and cold 15°C Up @8:00am for breakfast in the hotel. Walked to 49th Street station for subway to 14th Street (Union Square) and walked to 12th Street to “Exotic Rentals”. Picked up Jeep Wrangler rental for the day (booked from NZ ($US149/day). Drove through downtown Manhatten then over the Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn (that’s why it’s called the Brooklyn Bridge I guess!). Stopped at a gas station to buy some maps (usefeul) then drove south to the Belt Parkway (the road that follows the south coast of New York), past the Verrazano Narrows bridge and around to Coney Island. Stopped at the beach for a brief walk on the boardwalk. Back into the car and carried on driving east along the Belt Parkway past JFK Airport to Green Acres shopping mall (in Nassau County, which is next door to NY City) for lunch and a look around. After lunch we drove south through the pretty suburbs of Cedarhurst and Woodmere to the south coast of Long Island, then across the Gateway National Recreation Area. Stopped for a hot chocolate and a piece of cake at Starbucks, then headed west across the Verrazano Narrows Bridge ($US7.50 toll) onto Staten Island. Drove round to the ferry terminal (called the Manhatten Ferry on the island, known as the Staten Island Ferry everywhere else) then, after getting lost in some very run down areas, drove to the Bayonne Bridge and crossed into New Jersey. Headed north east on the Pulaski Skyway, through Hoboken (where Frank Sinatra was born) and into the Holland Tunnel ($US6 toll). Back to 12th Street to return the car @ 5:00pm. Photo: "Coney Island Boardwalk" Well worth the cost of hiring a car as it gave us a look at the suburbs of NY rather than just Manhatten. Subway back to the hotel, then out for tea at TGI Friday then walked through Times Sq to “easyeverything” (cyber café) to send an email. Back to the hotel @8:00pm to do some washing. Wednesday 18 April Fine and cold 12°C Up @9:00am (sleep in) and
hotel breakfast again. Walked to
50th Street station for subway to Penn Station then subway to Wall
Street. Walked to 20 Broad Street
to pick up tickets to the New York Stock Exchange (free!) for entry @ 11:45.
Starbucks for coffee then looked inside Federal Hall on Wall Street
(the original City Hall). Went into NYSE, through
the security checks, x-ray’s
etc, and the necessary multimedia
hype before getting a 10 minute look at the trading floor,
with an explanation of what we were seeing. Very interesting to see the organisation amongst what appears
to be chaos. Liz bought a NYSE
sweatshirt for $US45. Left the building @12:45.
Walked up Broadway, past
the current City Hall, then
subway to 23rd Street to take photo of the Flatiron Building.
McDonalds for lunch then subway to 34th Street.
Walked along to 5th Avenue then up 5th Avenue to
a discount Levi’s shop where I bought a NY Yankees cap.
Crossed to Park Avenue then walked to Grand Central Station.
Caught subway back to hotel @ 3:30pm. Photo: "Grand Central Station" Out for dinner @ 6:30 then back to hotel 8:00pm. Thursday 19 April NYC Fine - London Cloudy and cold Up @ 5:00am for cab (flash black Cadillac) to JFK airport (3/4hr drive). Checked, had McDonalds for breakfast and boarded the flight @8:30am. Left on time @9:10am. Took off and headed out over Long Island, Boston, Maine and Nova Scotia (where there was snow on the ground right next to the sea) and then out over the Atlantic. A bit bumpy in places but not too bad. Flew over southern Ireland then over Cardiff. Due to land @ 8:50pm but put into a holding pattern. Made “final” approach @ 9:00 but, due to there being another plane still on the runway, the pilot decided to “go around” when we were about 1 mile from touchdown (about 20 seconds). Back into the queue to land and landed @ 9:30pm. Straight through immigration and customs (only two officers at the customs desks) and caught a black cab to Thistle Euston Hotel (£45). Checked in, looked around hotel, then realised that it was 11:30 and went to bed. |
