The first couple of full days in New York continued the winter weather theme we arrived into.
In the morning (and twice more during the trip) we picked up breakfast from a local deli a short walk away from our hotel. It meant a very relaxed, albeit slightly early, start to our days.
That morning we already had an appointment to see the Friends Experience (“The One in New York City”), but on the way there we thought we’d have a quick wander down 5th Avenue – the shops were generally a little out of our price range but still good to see.
Our first stop was actually Madison Square, answering the first question of where the name of MSG came from (sort of – the concert / sports venue isn’t actually that close as we saw later that evening).
The Friends Experience itself was excellent – a very faithful-to-the-original collection of props, scenes and memorabilia which brought back and recreated some good memories from the show.
On leaving there, the snow really started to come down pretty heavily. It was cold but actually it was gorgeous.
We wandered back to our hotel via another Irish (themed) bar and relaxed for a bit before aiming to head for the south end of the High Line.
Except it was closed. We didn’t really know why but suspect it was related to the weather. There had been a lot of snow and it was probably quite icy, but ultimately we couldn’t go there so instead we just followed the line of it north towards Hudson Yards and then made our way back to the hotel via another pub and later a lovely Italian meal just across the road from our hotel.
The next morning we planned to cross the bay on the Staten Island Ferry (which looking back at this now shows me we actually crossed into New Jersey during the trip). We got the necessary photos of the Statue of Liberty, then because everyone had to get off the ferry at each end we had to run around to the entrance to the ferry station to catch the return trip.
Next up, we made our way towards the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. Everyone is going to have their own memories of the terrible event itself – mine were mainly of the aftermath as during the attacks themselves (bearing in mind these days were before everyone was always online in some way) I was in a classroom studying for an accounting qualification. I knew nothing of it at all until seeing someone I knew by the cycle park before I went home.
The actual museum was really thought provoking. There was a section inside where the main exhibition was kept more quiet and respectful with no photography allowed and very much hushed tones throughout. The artifacts and debris and personal items found just told a story of horror contained within the event. There were screens showing the planes hit as shown live on TV news and the towers collapse as well. Just incredible stuff.
We popped across the road by the Oculus shopping centre to see more…. interesting… exhibits.
In a fairly diverse turn to the day, after another break back at our hotel we went to Broadway to watch the jukebox musical & Juliet. While the story was a bit mad, it was an excellent afternoon’s entertainment. Great performances, excellent signing and a great atmosphere throughout.
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