Act 8
7 September 2008 – 13 September 2008
7/09/08
Another wonderful day in New York both Reg and I love this city. We headed out this morning and walked to
Central Park where we caught a downtown loop bus. Hopping 
off the bus at Battery Park we headed for the
Staten Island Ferry, which is free, for a trip across to Staten Island so we
could see the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan Skyline. Oh boy what great sights they were
too.
We
even saw a cruise ship in port in Brooklyn but could not quite make out which
one. This just reminded us that we
will soon be enjoying a wonderful relaxing cruise back
home.
Once
back ashore it was well after 2pm and we started to make our way home to get
ready to see the Lion King, on Broadway, at the Minskoff Theatre. We were in the queue for the next hop on
hop off and it seemed like we could be there for quite awhile when we noticed
the subway. So we hopped on it and
were at our stop in no time at all.
Then a couple of blocks and we were home.
After
a short rest we headed out for our night at the theatre. As it was way too far for me to try and
walk we opted for a cab and it also took no time at all and was very inexpensive
(around $US7). It is so inexpensive
to get around in New York.
We
were at the theatre and in the queue to collect our tickets a little before
5.30pm. Both of us were pleased we
had arrived early as not long after us the queue had really grown. After getting the tickets we wandered
next door and had a soft drink and shared some raspberry cheesecake
(yummy).
The
performance was due to start at 6.30 so we were back at the theatre around
6.00pm so we could be in our seats and settled ready for the show in plenty of
time. We had good seats in the
middle of the first row of the Mezzanine.
The
show was absolutely fantastic and the costumes have been so well done that the
performers really bring their animal character to life. We really enjoyed the show and there
were a few great comic moments in it as well.
After
the show we headed home and stopped in at a bar across the street for a drink
before looking for somewhere to have dinner. We chose “Chola” an Indian Restaurant
which is 2 doors from us. Well what
can I say but this was an excellent choice the food was
great.
Dinner over we headed home (only a few paces really) and as it was getting quite late I hit the ‘hay’ almost immediately for a well earned sleep.
8/09/08
After our late night last night we had a good sleep in and headed out
around 11am. We had a typical New
York breakfast of coffee and donut from one of the vendors on the street corner
(they are everywhere here in New York).
Well it was one of the best donuts I have had sure beats what we get at
home. It was very fresh and the
coffee was pretty good as well.
We
were heading to Central Park to pick up the Uptown Loop Tour but on our way we
detoured into Bloomingdales for a look.
Then we went to get some off Broadway tickets to Buffalo Gal at 59on59th
Street Theatre for Wednesday night.
The show was recommended to us by Phillip our Big Apple
Greeter.
Then
we headed for the pickup point for the tour and once on it we stayed put and
enjoyed seeing all the sites and all the varied architecture as we headed around
Uptown New York. The tour took over
2 hours and we ended up back in Downtown around 3.30pm.
Time
for a little bit of shopping and browsing before we looked for somewhere to have
something to eat.
After
eating we headed down 42nd Street to the Circle Island Cruise
terminal for their 2 hour Harbour Lights Cruise. The cruise left at 7pm and it was very
enjoyable and we have some great photos of the New York skyline at night. Thanks to another brand new camera that
Reg 
just
had to have (lol) but it does take much better photos. The daytime shots are really good and
the night time photos have come out well too so we are very pleased with the
purchase.
The
cruise lasted around two hours and we definitely would recommend it. After disembarking we had to walk a
couple of blocks before catching a cab back home.
Another
day is done and we had a great time seeing New York. Tomorrow we are off to the Empire State
Building, Rockefeller Centre and the Chrysler Building.
So till next time have a great day everyone.
9/09/08
We arose this morning to a rainy day so decided we would go and do some
shopping today.
After
a relaxing morning and a light breakfast we headed downtown by bus for
Macy’s. The bus system is really
good and once we can get an idea of how it works properly it will be even
better.
We
have learnt that we must have lots of quarters as the driver’s do not carry
change and you have to pay with quarters into a machine which gives you your
ticket. Alas we did not have the
right money but the lovely lady driver let us on and then actually gave us two
tickets to get us where we needed to go.
Oh yes we can go from 58th Street to Macy’s on 34th
Street (35 blocks) for $2 each. Now
that is a great bargain.
Once
inside Macy’s we wandered around for awhile having a look. The prices really seem very similar to
at home. From there we wandered
into Manhattan Mall which a lady at the bus stop had told me was really good and
cheap. Well the Mall is under
renovation at the moment but we did find a clothing shop which had very
reasonable prices. A couple of
T-shirts later and we were on our way out.
We
headed back into Macy’s to have some lunch and we went to their downstairs
restaurant, Macy’s Bar & Grill.
Reg and I both had some bbq chicken with coleslaw and fries and it was
good.
The rain had cleared somewhat by now but both of us are still feeling the effects of the colds we have had for the last week (we have been pushing ourselves a little). We were both feeling quite stuffed so decided to head back home and try and rest up a little.
10/09/08
After a good night’s sleep we are rested although still not feeling great
but it is another beautiful day in New York so we are off to do some more
sightseeing.
We
headed downtown on the bus again for the Empire State Building. I had purchased our tickets online we
were able to bypass the first queue and go straight to the security check and
then we also missed the ticket line and headed toward the queue for the
elevators.
As
we are making our way a voice called out something and we turned around and a
man is pointing and calling us over.
I was not sure what we had done wrong but it turned out that, as I had
the cane with me (the knee has not been great), we were getting to jump the
queue to the lifts as well. I was
certainly not unhappy with that idea as the wait was going to be quite
awhile.
Well
the view was magnificent and at 86 floors above the roadway we were just a
little up in the air. There were
lots of people up there so we just had to wait till spaces at the edges became
available to have a good look and get photos.
After
we came downstairs we went on the New York Skyride in the ESB which was quite
good.
From
there we stopped in at the Heartland Brewery Restaurant (under the ESB) for some
lunch before we headed off toward Grand Central Station and the Chrysler
Building. We both love the
architecture of the Chrysler Building.
Grand
Central Station is beautiful and the pictures we took just don’t do it
justice. It is just like it must
have been when it was built (1903-1913).
There has been quite a bit of restoration work to the
station.
By
now Reg was not feeling well at all so I took him home to rest up a little
before we head out to an off Broadway Show.
After
a rest for an hour or so we had some dinner and changed and headed out to see
Buffalo Gal at the 59E59th Street Theatre. It was in a small theatre
and we had front row seats so were a couple of feet from the stage. It was a really good show and we both
thoroughly enjoyed it.
Well our stay here in New York is slowly coming to an end and tomorrow will be our last day. There is so much to see and do here I think it would take a lifetime to cover it all. We can certainly understand why New Yorkers love their city. It is certainly our favourite city so far.
11/09/08
Today was very quiet for us.
It is our last day and we took it very easy only doing a 3 hour cruise
around Manhattan. We found it very
interesting and the commentary was quite good.
Also
it was the 7 year anniversary of 9/11 and there was quite a large remembrance
ceremony held at the site.
After our cruise we headed back to our home base with the intention of picking up our washing and then heading off to Little Italy. Well we were both fairly tired so opted to get the wash and then go and have a couple of drinks and some dinner to refresh ourselves for the wonderful job of packing.
NEWS FLASH - I had an sms this evening from my daughter, Kim, letting us know that her boyfriend Steve has proposed to her. Congratualtions to you both.
12/09/08
Well the packing didn’t get done last night thanks to one too many of the
refreshing drinks. So we were up
very early 4am to be packed and ready for our 6am pick up. Needless to say
neither of us felt like flying yesterday.
We
were at La Guardia in plenty of time for our flight and the lady who checked us
in was very helpful. As we only had
35 minutes between our arrival and our next flight she suggested a wheelchair as
I would not be able to get from where we land to the next flight in time.
This
seemed a great idea and it would have worked but our flight was late leaving La
Guardia due to a traffic jam waiting to take off. I could actually see the incoming planes
from the window and they were lined up in a row pretty much right behind each
other. They had enough time for one
to land and one to take off.
Of
course our flight arrived at the gate at 10.40am and our flight was due to leave
at 11am. The wheelchair was waiting
and off we went and I am sure we got to the gate a little before 11am. But there were no calls for the flight
to board or final calls or anything.
Yes of course we had missed it.
We
were waitlisted for the 1.20pm flight and had definite tickets for the 7.20pm
flight. There was no clue as to
where our luggage would be we just hoped it made it to Indianapolis and would
still be there when we finally arrived.
Oh
well we thought we might as well go to the Admirals Club and wait. As we checked in at the reception
counter Reg explained our predicament to the lady behind it and she took our
boarding passes to check what had happened.
It
seemed obvious that as our flight was down as having arrived at 10.40am from New
York that they had given our seats to someone else on the assumption we would
not make it from one Terminal to the next.
This
lady was very kind and said she would keep checking the flights for us. There was a call for Reg to go to the
counter and when he returned she had got us seats on the 1.20pm flight. Although we would not be seated together
but that didn’t matter at least we didn’t have to sit around O’Hare Airport for
hours. I went to see her to check
something about our seats and she told me she couldn’t give me the seat after
all. She told me to leave it with her and when it was time to go to the gate to
see her first. When we went back to
see her she had seats for us. She
was excellent and we were so grateful to her.
The
Admirals Club does not even hold a candle to the Qantas Club. They provide tea, coffee, cold water,
some pretzel things and some fruit.
Anything else you pay for unlike Qantas where you can have breakfast,
lunch and dinner and a soft drink or alcoholic beverage for
free.
We
have seen quite a few differences between American Airlines and Qantas and our
other Australian airlines. The
biggest thing we have noted is the very poor standard of the safety
presentation. They still provide
water, soft drink or tea/coffee for free.
Also for all the security you have to go through there is no real
checking of the boarding passes.
They very rarely put them through a machine and they rarely keep the tear
off section.
Well
we arrived (in fact the flight itself was only 30 minutes) around 3.30pm and
headed straight for where we were staying. The room is large and the bed very
comfortable and a continental breakfast is included.
13/09/08
Reg went to the track today for the MotoGP qualifying sessions while I
stayed at the motel and had a day of doing very little. He had a good day and came back with
some merchandise of course.
Tomorrow
we will both be going. The motel is
running a shuttle out to the racetrack at a cost of course but still it is very
handy.
