South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Sports & Welfare section were organising a trip to New York and as my son Richard had wanted to go there for the past nine years I booked it as a surprise for him.
First let me mention that we did not do the shops, theatre or museums as this would have been too time consuming for us. We intended to see as much of New York as we possibly could in the short time we were to be there. So this is how it went.
Sunday November 9th:- Our flight out was delayed four hours due to the fault being that the aeroplane need a new windscreen fitted, but the delay was a frustration that we knew we would forget once we got to New York and its better to be safe than sorry.
The flight went well and when we arrived in New York we took a yellow cab to our hotel. Edison Hotel was located centrally to most attraction and although our room was basic and clean we did not intent to spend much time in it. We had been up twenty hours, so after a quick sandwich we decided to call it a day and get some sleep as we wanted to be rested to start our sightseeing the next day.
Monday November 10th: - It was a beautiful sunny cold day and we made our way to the Grand Central Terminal. On our way to Grand Central I took Richard’s photograph with a couple of NYPD cops and just after that some idiot threw a cup of coffee at Richard then ran off shouting up the street. Luckily I managed to convince Richard to see the funny side of it as not to spoil our day, but I must admit it was a bit scary.
Grand Central Terminal was just as we had seen it on TV with its busy main concourse and the great astronomical mural on the ceiling, the grand staircases, the shops and eating area including the oyster bar.
We had some breakfast and I got talking to a New Yorker who gave us a few tips on the best way to see New York.
We bought a fun day ticket that allowed you to travel on the subway and buses all day for $7.50. We took the subway to Bowling Green station as it was the nearest station to Seaport where we wanted to catch the Staten Island Ferry.
We had three choices, one to get the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, two get the ferry to Ellis Island to see the immigration station, or three get the ferry the Staten Island. We decided to get the ferry to Staten Island because from the ferry we could see the statue of liberty and Ellis Island as well as getting a good view of the Manhattan skyline, also the ferry was free. If we ever visit New York again then we would spend more time going to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, but we had too much to pack in this time and at least we had seen them both.
After getting off the ferry we walked up to the Financial District seeing the Stock Exchange on Wall Street, Trinity church and the World Trade Centre.
We walked back down to Seaport passing Pier 17 where we saw the old ships, shops and restaurants, and as we were not doing the shops we continued to walk towards the Brooklyn Bridge.
We passed the City Hall, the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as the office of the Mayor of New York City and the chambers of the New York City Council.
We walked over the Brooklyn Bridge that was built between 1869 to 1863 and was one of the most magnificent landmarks in New York, we stood and tried to remember the films that had shot scenes there and once we got to the other side decided it was time for lunch.
We went to the famous Grimaldi’s the restaurant under the bridge that was famous for its pizza. We had to queue for about fifteen minutes to get a seat, but it was worth it just for the atmosphere inside. It was obviously very popular and I wondered just how many famous people had eaten there. A man who was visiting from Vermont with his disabled son came across and introduced himself to us, which I thought was very nice of him.
Now that we were fed and watered we walked down to the East River and there were some Japanese couples that had just got married. They were having their photographs taken and were quite happy for me to take a photograph of them for our album.
We made out way up Brooklyn Cadman Plaza west to get the bus back to Manhattan as we did not have enough time to see Brooklyn Heights. The bus took us back across to the East River and we had to change buses once we got back to the City Hall. The next bus took us past China town and up 1st Avenue turning onto 49th Avenue. We walked to the Rockefeller Centre that was located between 48th and 51st Street, and 5th and 7th Avenue.
I liked the Rockefeller Centre as soon as I saw it with its art deco style. It had shops, restaurants and attractions, which we took full advantage of and bought tickets for the Top of the Rock Observation Deck, NBC studio tour and the Radio City Musical hall tour. The tickets cost $46 each, which I thought was good value for money for the three attractions.
We decided to do the Top of the Rock Observation Deck as we thought it would be good to see New York by night. We got the lift to the 67th floor that took 50 seconds and as soon as we saw the views, we thought WOW.
We took the escalator to the 69th floor and then the steps to the 70th floor. I must admit the views were spectacular it was like looking at a view of a city of diamonds. On the top floor, there are not any glass barriers between you and the incredible 360-degree panorama, but we felt safe. It is definitely worth a visit. We would have liked to seen the views by day from Top of the Rock, but decided we would see that from the Empire State building on another day.
It had been a wonderful day and by 20:00 we had been sightseeing for twelve hours. As soon as Richard’s head hit the pillow he was out. As for me I planned our tomorrow’s route. Some of our group was meeting in the lobby so I went down for a chat. It was one of the girls birthday and she had tried to keep it quite, so we had a drink together and wished her a happy birthday. She was in New York drinking a tequila sunrise what could be better than that. I just had an orange juice and left wishing them a good evening.
Tuesday November 11th: - I had been awake since 04:00 but Richard slept until 07:00. Another beautiful sunny cold day and our first stop today after breakfast would be the NBC studio tour.
The tour gave us the opportunity to enter and visit some of their most famous studios, including: Studio 3C - home of the NBC Nightly News, Studio 6A - Home of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and Studio 8H - home of Saturday Night Live. Richard was in his elements as they named his favorite TV show Saturday Night Live, the sitcoms and the famous people they had interviewed.
Two Canadian women volunteered from our group to do a news reading and a weather forecast. They made us laugh with their attempts and they took it all in good fun.
Next stop was the Radio City Music Hall. The theatre reopened after an extensive restoration on October 4, 1999, the Music Hall now reflects its original grandeur of opening night, 1932, sporting behind-the-scenes upgrades and refurbishment. Following the lead of Radio City's experienced tour guides we explored the beautiful art-deco interiors, learn the secrets of the Great Stage, one of the largest indoor performance stages in the world; the stage's hydraulic system, still in operation since the '30’s. The best part for Richard was having his photograph taken with one of the world-famous Radio City Rockettes.
I was really impressed with the design of the theatre it has 5,933 seats for spectators; it became the largest movie theatre in the world at the time of its opening. Designed by Edward Durell Stone, the interior of the theatre, with decor by Donald Deskey, every seat in the theatre is the best seat due to the layout.
I thanked Richard when we came out because if had not been for him I would have never visited the NBC or the Radio City Music Hall and I had thoroughly enjoyed the tours.
Next stop was Central Park. On the way up 6th Avenue to Central Park we passed some NYPD motorbike cops and other motorcyclist on Harley Davidson bikes who were preparing for the Veterans Day possession.
Once we got to Central Park we took a ride in a horse and carriage that just took 20minute with the driver pointing out things of interest.
Central Park was the first landscaped public park in the United States and covers 843 acres.
We passed various statutes, the Dairy that was built in 1870, the Victorian carousel that was under cover and had been in the park since 1872, we saw skaters on the Wollman Memorial skating rink, various buildings around the park were pointed out stating the cost of the apartments and some of the famous people that lived in them.
After the carriage ride we made our own way in the Central park and walked up to Strawberry fields the memorial site for John Lennon. The black-and-white mosaic, a reproduction of a mosaic from Pompeii, is located near the west entrance. It includes a single word IMAGINE, the title of a popular Lennon song. The Dakota building where John Lennon lived was nearby and we got a better view of this on our last day when we did the bus tour.
The trees in the park with the sun shining looked beautiful in the autumn colours. We went to watch the ice skaters for a while but decided against having a go. We didn’t want any injuries at this early stage of our trip. There was too much to see in the park what with the zoo, the conservatory gardens, the Bethesda fountain, the carousel, and bow bridge just to name a few.
We were feeling peckish and decided to walk down Fifth Avenue and look for somewhere to eat. I thought maybe Richard might succumb to some shopping, but no such luck. I wonder if his dad had put him up to steering me off shopping. Well anyway we went into Trumps Tower for a snack which was near Louis Vuitton store and Tiffany’s. I did manage to get a look in Tiffany’s before we continued walking down Fifth Avenue.
Fifth Avenue was full of all the top brand names like Prada, Fendi, Gucci, Cartier and Saks to name a few. What were more amazing were the old churches that stood in between the tall buildings.
We had a look inside the famous St Patrick’s Cathedral. The cathedral is the largest gothic-style cathedral in the United States. The corner stone was laid in 1858, but the doors didn’t open until 1879.
We continued down Fifth Avenue and as I saw the Lord and Taylor store one of the few stores that had got the Christmas decorations lit up, I had to just pop in. We were too early to see all the Christmas decorations being lit up, as Thanks giving day was on 29th November and most stores don’t put their decorations on until after that.
It was getting dark so as we neared the Empire State building we went in to get our tickets for tomorrow. I was told that the queues could be quite long and at this time they were not too bad. Getting our ticket now meant that in the morning we would be able to go straight through without queuing.
Next it was time for our evening meal. It had been suggested that Richard might like it in the Jekyll and Hyde Club. This was located at the top of the Avenue of Americas not far from Central Park. We caught the bus up and managed to get inside without queuing.
Jekyll and Hyde club provides continuous live entertainment and spooky special effects. Wacky club members and domestic staff such as Professor Shroud or Dreadworthy the butler mingle with the guests while the spirits bring to life the unusual artefacts collected from around the globe. The meal nothing outstanding but the entertainment made up for it.
We walked back to our hotel and called in a bar restaurant to have a dessert and coffee as we chose not to have a dessert in the Jekyll and Hyde club. Richard chose a piece of chocolate swirl cheesecake. It was such a large piece that we shared it and still left some. As I looked at the meals the others were being served up the portions were enormous.
As our hotel was central we had to cross Time Square and walk through some of the theatre crowds. Time Square was buzzing, but we decide to have a better look another day as Richard was very tired by this time. At the hotel some of our group were in the lobby and were going to go and skating in Central Park. We exchanged details of our day before going up to our room. Another good day came to an end.
Wednesday 12th November: - Today was a little overcast and dry. Our first stop after breakfast was to be the Empire State Building.
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Its name is derived from the nickname for the state of New York. It stood as the world's tallest building for more than forty years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Centre’s North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Centre in 2001, the Empire State Building again became the tallest building in New York City and New York State.
It was a good idea to get the tickets the day before at the time we did because we were able to go straight through to security checks and then up to the top. We took the lift to the 86th floor then another lift and some stairs to the 102nd floor. There were some reconstruction work going on and I was pleased that it wasn’t busy. We had paid for an audio handset which we found very helpful in explaining the views. The narrator was a Sicilian man who obviously lived in the area known as little Italy. The views were fabulous even though the day was overcast you could still see New Jersey, Brooklyn, and other distance views.
On our walk up to the Chrysler building we noticed the New York City Library and decided to go in and have a look around. The cornerstone was laid in May 1902, but work progressed slowly on the project, which eventually cost $9 million. In 1910, 75 miles of shelves were installed, and it took a year to move and install the books that were in the Astor and Lenox libraries. On May 23, 1911, the main branch of the New York Public Library was officially opened. The last time I saw this library before we came to New York was in the film “Sex and the City” as Carries was to marry Mr. Big in there, although I must have seen in many films before.
The New York Public Library was the largest marble building ever built in the U.S. when it opened in 1911, using 530,000 cubic feet of marble. It really is a lovely building and worth a visit to look at the architecture, paintings as well as the various library sections.
Next stop was to be the Chrysler Building although we has seen it in the distance many times just as we had seen the Empire State building, we didn’t realise that when we went to the Grand Central Terminal that is was practically next door.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the race for the tallest building in the world started and the Chrysler Building was the first building to top the then tallest structure, the Eiffel Tower in Paris. New York would keep the tallest building in the world until 1974, when the Sears Tower was built in Chicago.
The Chrysler building is one of the last skyscrapers in the Art Deco style. The gargoyles depict Chrysler car ornaments and the spire is modeled on a radiator grille. Since it was restored in 1996 it glitters again like it must have in the 1930s. When it first opened there was a viewing gallery on the 71st floor, but it was closed to the public, so the only disappointment with this building was that the public now are only allowed in the lobby area.
The next place we decided to go to was Greenwich Village and as we were so close to the Grand Central Terminal we went to get the tickets to go on the subway. We noticed some of our group doing the walk tour around Grand Central and as we had seen a documentary about it before we came to New York we continued our journey to Greenwich Village.
We got the subway to Christopher Street and walked through Christopher Park and you could not help but notice the Gay Liberation sculptures de George Segal.
Christopher Street was at the center of New York's gay rights movement in the late 1970s. To this day the street serves as a symbol of gay pride.
We continued towards the Arch in Washington Square Park at the end (or the beginning) of Fifth Avenue, this 77 foot high monument marks the centennial of the first President's inauguration.
We walked through Washington Park. The park, surrounded by New York University, it usually maintains a carnival atmosphere year-round. Street entertainers take over the centre fountain to amuse the dog walkers, skateboarders, musicians and chess players. As there were some reconstruction works going on some of the atmosphere was lost.
On walking back to the subway we walked down some tree lined streets and came across a building that had a plague on it saying it had been the home of Emma Lazarus (1849-1887) a poet. We also passed the 18th squad Fire Department that was now closed.
Back on the subway we got off at Time Square and as it was getting dark the neon signs were brightly lit up displaying what was on at the theatres as well as other types of logos. We spent some time just looking around from a viewing point at the busy pace of life.
We went back to the hotel to get change because with it being our last night in New York we decided to go to the Rainbow Room in the Rockefeller Centre for our evening meal. The Rainbow Room is located on the 65th floor, overlooking the north, south, and east side of Manhattan and we managed to get a table without booking. It was the Cipraini Italian group of restaurants so of course we had an Italian dish. The service was good with a charge of 20% on top of the bill. The only let down was that as we went to get our coats we were asked for a $2 tip which I thought was rather rude as we had already paid extra on top of the bill with the service charge.
I asked Richard what had been his favourite meal and he said this one, so really to me it was worth it. We walked back to our hotel taking in the night’s atmosphere in the city that never sleeps and for some reason we had difficulty dropping off to sleep that night and this being our last night. Maybe we had adjusted to the time difference and tomorrow we would have to start and adjust back to the time difference at home. Again a good day came to an end.
Thursday 13th November: - Today the group were meeting in the lobby at 16:00 to make our journey back home. I had already packed by the time Richard woke up so it was just a matter of getting showered and dressed, then taking our case to the concierge until we were ready to leave.
Today it was very overcast with the possibility of the rain coming around midday. After breakfast we went on the Grey Line bus tour so that we could see the bits that we had missed so far. We did the uptown tour first and the tour guide was well informed and a funny guy with his jokes every so often.
We got on the bus on 8th Avenue and travelled uptown on the west side towards the Worldwide Plaza and then passing Columbus Circle, Lincoln Centre, Dakota apartments, American Museum of Natural History, Upper West side, American Youth Hostel on Amsterdam Street, the Cathedral of St. John Devine, Riverside church, Cloisters, Apollo theatre, Fort Tyron Park, New Leaf Café, seeing parts of Harlem before travelling down the east side of Central Park passing Central Park Conservatory Gardens, Museum of the City of New York, Smithsonian National Museum of Design, Jewish Museum, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frick Collection, Whitney Museum, Central Park Zoo and when we reached the Rockefeller Centre we got off the bus. It had started to rain as we came down the east side on the bus and we were given a plastic throw away poncho each to put on so that we could continue to brave the open top bus.
We had lunch in the Rockefeller Centre before braving the downtown tour as the rain was set in for the rest of the day. Fortunately we managed to get on a glass top bus so that we could still go on the upper deck to see the tour.
We got the bus in Time Square to go downtown and travelled down the west side passing Macy’s the largest store, Madison Square Gardens, Empire State building, the Flat Iron building, Unison Square shopping district, Ground Zero museum workshop, Greenwich Village, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, City Hall, Brooklyn Bridge, World Trade Centre, Whitehall Street, Bowling Green, Battery Park, South Street Seaport, Lower East side, East Village, United Nations and then we got off the bus at 49th Street Park Avenue.
The route had varied a little from the normal route due to President Bush being in the Financial District area and this causing traffic congestion. Although we had passed some of the places that we had already visited, it was nice to have someone pointing things out of interest and giving more details on the history behind the sites.
We walked back to our hotel for the last time got our cases and met the rest of the group waiting to go to the airport. In the mini bus to the airport we all exchanged our feelings about the trip and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it.
The flight was delayed one hour, but once on the planes and after we had eaten our meal we tried to get some sleep. We eventually got home at 12:30 the next day. By the time we got to bed we had been up forty three hours and had very little sleep, so it goes without saying that once we were in our own bed we slept the best sleep we had all week. In fact a twelve hours undisturbed sleep. It was great to be home.
Summary
New York is definitely an experience that we will never forget. Everyone’s view of New York would give a variety of different stories, also depending on the time of year you went that would also paint a different picture. We really enjoyed the experience of going to New York and saw everything that we had planned to see. You definitely need a plan before you go because even with all that we saw I am sure that there was just as much to see and do again. As always with this kind of trip it is very tiring and requires a lot of stamina, sensible shoes and most of all a lot of patience.
I think New York is a place that everyone should go and see and if you want to return then that will all depend on what you experience on your first visit.
We would like to thank Tony Moore for making it possible for us to make the trip, but unfortunately Tony and his family had cancel due to Toni’s illness. We wish him a speedy recovery.
We would like to thank Peter Riggall for taking over as lead and organising us at the airport and with the transfers.
Also it was nice to meet Christine Riggall, Rebecca Montgomery, Mr & Mrs Logan and Mr & Mrs Andrews, as it is not very often that we get the chance to meet other colleagues and their partners from different sections of the Fire Service. I would like to thank the group for making Richard feel very comfortable and included you were all great.
The end
By Richard Moody
