I took loads of pictures throughout our recent, week-long New York vacation (over 300) and what follows are just a few with commentary. Enjoy and please let me know what you think of them, of New York and whether you have been yourself. I haven't edited any of these yet, but will bring some back edited/enhanced in the future.
We did the compulsory boat trip to the
Statue of Liberty and Elis Island, though it was too cold and windy to go upstairs so the pictures were all taken through the grubby windows of the boat. They aren't too bad considering.
Ellis Island
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Central Park was lovely, although cold and windy.
I can imagine it looking beautiful in the
Spring or Autumn and very vibrant in Summer. |
I always do a point shot or two in any set of pictures. I don't know why? I did it once and it became a prerequisite thereafter. Here I'm in the
Carlyle Cafe pointing at a hand painted china cup which contains the only decent coffee I had the whole trip. It wasn't cheap at $20 a pot but it was so yummy and the warm atmosphere was extremely welcome as it was literally freezing outside. Brrr!
Here I'm pointing at a huge burger. On our first night we popped into
Planet Hollywood as it was on our doorstep, practically. The fries were cold but burger was nice enough. However, the place itself was busy, irritatingly loud (dance music?) and unclean. The money that place makes, yet they can't afford to keep the walls painted or the carpets clean? Needless to say, we didn't return.
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My hubs is the figure in the background. He was waiting for me to take pictures again - he is getting used to this part of any holiday now. :) I absolutely have to mention that this place - The Carlyle Cafe - is where Woody Allen plays jazz weekly right now. I don't know if it's a permanent thing or not. I adore him and would have loved to have seen him but we flew back (well, spent 24hrs int eh airport hoping to fly back only to get refused - then having to fly the following day: standby sometimes sucks!) so I missed him. :( I recommend the place however. Its gorgeous and classy, although also expensive. |
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| Times Square: Our hotel - The Paramount - was on Broadway, just off Times Square which was a great location. The hotel itself was expensive for what it was. Our hotel room was the smallest I've ever seen. |
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I dragged my poor hubs to the flea markets - I like this picture - check out the sleeping market trader in the corner :) Hubs bought me a crystal necklace to match the earrings he'd bought me for Christmas. There were designer handbags which looked brand new and the usual fur/denim/knitwear stalls. Then bric-a-brac and word carved items form all over the world. Fabulous. My hubs calls it junk, I call it treasure :) |
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Yes I know I look a tad ridiculous in this hat, but the wide rim kept the rain and snow off me and the attached under chin tie kept my ears warm and it on my head. Hubs laughed his head off when he saw me leave the shop in it, until I gave him the 'look' and he desisted. :P |
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On our honeymoon we went to Koi in Los Angeles for some superb sushi. We've longed to go to another Koi since then so hubs booked us into the Nw York Koi as soon as he found out they had one, months before we got there. I have to say we were really disappointed. The food wasn't anywhere near as fantastic as the previous Koi experience we'd longed to repeat, so we were a bit gutted. |
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| Above is one of the many exhibits hanging from the Guggenheim Museums ceiling in the lobby. |
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| Another hanging exhibit |
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And another - this look so real t freaked me out.
It actually looked lie a dead dog, which it probably is!
Grand Central Station
This is a beautifully designed and maintained building and absolutely the most aesthetically pleasing station I'll ever see. The pictures below need some light so I'll do that when I get a moment.
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Overall, our New York experience was not as good as it could have been. The weather wasn't conducive with happy faces or lingering romantic walks. But it wasn't totally off-putting. The architecture was outstanding in places and we adored Central Park, the Carlyle Cafe and Grand Central Station. The boat trip would be much better in the sun, but it was still lovely.
We did way too much in the week we were there. Now we've done the tourist sight-seeing things, next time we go it won't be as hectic. We will research where to eat instead of popping into places off-spec. And we will do the same with hotels! It's the same as anywhere; you need to know where to go and what do before you go there. It's too late once you're there. In our defence we did take the iPad to do a little surfing on just that while there, but hubs forgot the charger. And anyway, we really wouldn't have had the energy or time to fit in anything else. Next time :)
Have you been to New York? What was your experience like? Would you go back?
I always do a point shot or two in any set of pictures. I don't know why? I did it once and it became a prerequisite thereafter. Here I'm in the Carlyle Cafe pointing at a hand painted china cup which contains the only decent coffee I had the whole trip. It wasn't cheap at $20 a pot but it was so yummy and the warm atmosphere was extremely welcome as it was literally freezing outside. Brrr!
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