Lizzybear
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2006
- Messages
- 2,955
4th October
Awake at 4:30am again, boo! Went down for breakfast around 7:30 (I was most distressed that there were no lucky charms in the cereal rotation today!) and made a new plan for the day as some things had changed, namely we realised Coney Island is only really open during the summer and we decided against going to Red Bank NJ. After breakfast we showered, dressed, left by 9:30 and got the subway to the Staten Island Ferry port.
Spotted this on our walk to the subway, very cool
We boarded and did the loop Great views and it doesnt cost a penny, definitely the best free activity in Manhattan tied with Central Park!
Staten Island
There was a fish tank in the ferry port on the Staten Island side so Steve took the opportunity to practice his aquarium photography!
Smoggy Manhattan!
Statue of Liberty on the way there...
...and on the way back.
Next we walked through Battery Park where there was some sort of running event on: Busy and lots of stalls dotted about including one selling Russian dolls which my sister loves so I bought one towards her Christmas present. From here we walked to the World Trade Centre site which was very humbling, despite most of the site being under construction and pretty much covered up you can feel the sombre mood in the area and see the dust in air. Unfortunately, some scumbags have taken it upon themselves to sell 9\11 literature for their own financial gain (there was a notice about them not being genuine it in the nearby fire station)
The development of the area is well underway
A short while later we walked to Soho, passing through the madness that is Canal Street (lots of stalls with fake handbags and assorted clothes, toys etc from China Very crowded!!) We spent a while shopping in Soho: First stop was Tokidoki where I bought a bag for myself and a journal for my sister, next Kidrobot for various plastic figures for me, Steve and my sister (why yes I do buy all her presents in the US!) and finally YRB as Id heard good things about it and I wanted some new trainers but ended up leaving empty handed, the snotty staff who made Steve check in his camera bag didnt help Needless to say he waited outside! By now nature was calling but public restrooms in Manhattan seem to be a rare species so we resorted to buying a drink from Starbucks, but the restroom queue was huge we ended up not bothering (though I did enjoy my pumpkin spice latte, come on UK Starbucks we need them over here!) After making ourselves even more needing of a restroom, we walked to Chinatown and decided to bring dinner forward to more of a late lunch at Vegetarian Dim Sum House (yes a restaurant serving only veggie dim sum, New York is so cool!!) Shortly after we arrived there was a bit of an altercation between a waiter and a patron which thankfully was short-lived, nothing like a bit of drama to liven up a meal! We ended up choosing something like eight dim sum between is and were totally overfaced, but for $34 including tip we didnt mind leaving a few. After our meal we got the subway back to the hotel area. I popped into Lush to see if they had anything different to at home (some stuff, but it also costs a lot more!) and Gap where I bought a cardigan and two longsleeve tops. Once back at the hotel we decided to have a chilled rest of the day, though it was tempting to go out and do more we didnt want to burn out so early in the holiday. We watched some TV and packed (this was our last night in New York, boo!), Steve got us some snacks from the 99 cents store over the road as we werent really hungry enough for another meal and then bed!
As this was our last full day in New York I did a little list in my trip notes of weird/silly/cool things we saw in New York, and I thought Id share it. Definitely one of the most unique, sensory overloading, diverse and amazing cities Ive ever visited and I hope we can return at some point in the not too distant future:
-A man and woman dancing barefoot around a tree in Central Park.
-A man in what I can only describe as a flying position being carried across a road by a group of other men.
-A man dressed as a sphere (Steve told me about this one!)
-A skull themed pedicab.
-Cute tiny dogs everywhere, including a miniature schnauzer in a denim jacket.
-Pashmina for sale on every corner.
-A husbands waiting area outside a shop.
-Fake Mickey and Minnie in Times Square.
Not sure which point in the day this was taken but I love it and had to include it!
Awake at 4:30am again, boo! Went down for breakfast around 7:30 (I was most distressed that there were no lucky charms in the cereal rotation today!) and made a new plan for the day as some things had changed, namely we realised Coney Island is only really open during the summer and we decided against going to Red Bank NJ. After breakfast we showered, dressed, left by 9:30 and got the subway to the Staten Island Ferry port.

Spotted this on our walk to the subway, very cool
We boarded and did the loop Great views and it doesnt cost a penny, definitely the best free activity in Manhattan tied with Central Park!





Staten Island

There was a fish tank in the ferry port on the Staten Island side so Steve took the opportunity to practice his aquarium photography!


Smoggy Manhattan!

Statue of Liberty on the way there...

...and on the way back.
Next we walked through Battery Park where there was some sort of running event on: Busy and lots of stalls dotted about including one selling Russian dolls which my sister loves so I bought one towards her Christmas present. From here we walked to the World Trade Centre site which was very humbling, despite most of the site being under construction and pretty much covered up you can feel the sombre mood in the area and see the dust in air. Unfortunately, some scumbags have taken it upon themselves to sell 9\11 literature for their own financial gain (there was a notice about them not being genuine it in the nearby fire station)



The development of the area is well underway

A short while later we walked to Soho, passing through the madness that is Canal Street (lots of stalls with fake handbags and assorted clothes, toys etc from China Very crowded!!) We spent a while shopping in Soho: First stop was Tokidoki where I bought a bag for myself and a journal for my sister, next Kidrobot for various plastic figures for me, Steve and my sister (why yes I do buy all her presents in the US!) and finally YRB as Id heard good things about it and I wanted some new trainers but ended up leaving empty handed, the snotty staff who made Steve check in his camera bag didnt help Needless to say he waited outside! By now nature was calling but public restrooms in Manhattan seem to be a rare species so we resorted to buying a drink from Starbucks, but the restroom queue was huge we ended up not bothering (though I did enjoy my pumpkin spice latte, come on UK Starbucks we need them over here!) After making ourselves even more needing of a restroom, we walked to Chinatown and decided to bring dinner forward to more of a late lunch at Vegetarian Dim Sum House (yes a restaurant serving only veggie dim sum, New York is so cool!!) Shortly after we arrived there was a bit of an altercation between a waiter and a patron which thankfully was short-lived, nothing like a bit of drama to liven up a meal! We ended up choosing something like eight dim sum between is and were totally overfaced, but for $34 including tip we didnt mind leaving a few. After our meal we got the subway back to the hotel area. I popped into Lush to see if they had anything different to at home (some stuff, but it also costs a lot more!) and Gap where I bought a cardigan and two longsleeve tops. Once back at the hotel we decided to have a chilled rest of the day, though it was tempting to go out and do more we didnt want to burn out so early in the holiday. We watched some TV and packed (this was our last night in New York, boo!), Steve got us some snacks from the 99 cents store over the road as we werent really hungry enough for another meal and then bed!
As this was our last full day in New York I did a little list in my trip notes of weird/silly/cool things we saw in New York, and I thought Id share it. Definitely one of the most unique, sensory overloading, diverse and amazing cities Ive ever visited and I hope we can return at some point in the not too distant future:
-A man and woman dancing barefoot around a tree in Central Park.
-A man in what I can only describe as a flying position being carried across a road by a group of other men.
-A man dressed as a sphere (Steve told me about this one!)
-A skull themed pedicab.
-Cute tiny dogs everywhere, including a miniature schnauzer in a denim jacket.
-Pashmina for sale on every corner.
-A husbands waiting area outside a shop.

-Fake Mickey and Minnie in Times Square.

Not sure which point in the day this was taken but I love it and had to include it!