New York, New York
New York, New York!
The Big Apple did not disappoint!
My most favourite part about New York was staying with the Wolf pack and going to see the Broadway show I told you about with Adam and Lisa. But I was also very impressed with the rest of New York City! Time Square with all it’s screens and lights feels like daytime even at night. There are yellow taxis everywhere, tall buildings, tons of shops selling anything you can think of and millions of people crossing the street with you just before the walking light turns green. The city has such an exciting and energetic vibe to it. Many people are dressed in business suits and you can tell they are on a mission by the way they walk. The guys selling the tourist bus and bike rentals annoyed me though… Do we really look that much like tourists!?
We watched the sun set over New York City from the top of the Empire State Building. We were lucky, because usually there are thousands of people waiting to get in but we went straight to the top without waiting at all. (And we didn’t pay the extra $30 to be VIP and fast tracked.) When we left, after sunset, there were queues of people waiting. The Empire State Building used to be the tallest building in the world for about 40 years, before the original twin towers were built.
We paid a quick visit to the 9/11 Memorial and saw the new One World Trade Center. The memorial consists of two pools which are now in the footprints of where the twin towers used to be. Around the edge of the pools are the names of the almost 3000 people who lost their lives in the 9-11 tragedy. The new trade center is also quite a site to behold!
What would a first time visit to New York be without a visit to Lady Liberty!? We went and checked out the big, greenish statue from up close. The copper statue representing the Roman goddess of liberty, was a gift to the USA from the people of France more than 100 years ago.
Central Park is such a contrast to the city surrounding it. There are many trees and lots of thick grass to lie on. Such a quick escape from the city in the city. Holden, from the book, Catcher in the Rye, was forever obsessing where the ducks in Central Park go to during the winter. Some day I’d like to see what New York looks like during the winter. It was really hot and humid while we were there. (Not complaining, I like the heat.)
New York looked to me like what it looks like in the movies… Except there was no King Kong, alien or Godzilla destroying things. 😜
We arrived back home last night. My bag didn’t make it to Joburg airport… so we left without it. I thought it had been stolen but we found out it was accidently dropped off at London during our stop over there. I was pleasantly surprised that it arrived via courier in Ladybrand this afternoon! What a quick recovery by Virgin Atlantic.
Thank you to everyone who made our trip to the USA so memorable! It was an awesome experience! 😊
