New York

Stunning view from Mick and Rita's apartment

Sunday 15^th May

New York

Our first experience with subway today and it was very smooth sailing.  Thankfully Mick, himself’s younger brother,  took us and showed us the ropes which eased us into it very gently, when we come off the subway we were in Time Square which was very exciting.  A few steps up the street and we were right in Broadway.  It was much busier than I expected for a Sunday but of course most of the people in Time Square were tourists just like us!!  I was under the assumption that Time Square was actually a square, like the piazza’s in Rome, but no its not. Time Square is a stretch of a few blocks with fabulous pulsating neon lights, it   is remarkably bright, colourful and very cheerful, with billboards showing all the shows on Broadway.  It was great to see and just buzzing with activity.  There are people everywhere.

Herself Time Square

The day was a bit overcast and a small bit of rain but nothing significant but very humid. We made our way to the Time Square visitors centre and picked up some maps that were of great benefit to us on the days walk.  The Rockefeller Centre was first stop and it was very easy to find we decided not to go up to the top of the rock as it was a bit foggy, we decided to leave it for a clearer day.  We then decided to walk up to Central Park which is enormous and almost impossible to miss.  We entered at the South side.  We meandered along the intricate footpath that had no discernible organisation and   stumbled upon the Walk for Aids rally. 

Walk for Aids Rally in Central Park

Thousands of people had flocked to the park despite the gloomy weather and we seemed to land ourselves flat bang in the middle of them. The walkers were raising money for local service organizations that help people infected with AIDS or the HIV virus and try to spread the word about prevention.  There were bands playing and so many people who were brightly dressed and very exuberant in their mood, it was lovely but we decided to avoid the masses and return tomorrow.  Coming out of central park we noticed some  red and white pipes sticking out of the road that had steam coming out of them, we had no idea what they were and decided that this was a question for Mick.  Mick advised us that they are underground steam vents.  Steam is used to distribute heat and power to the heart of the Manhattan business district. They deliver a clean, efficient energy source. By all accounts there are no adverse health effects associated with steam use.  Steam can be used for everything from heating and cooling to sterilizing and food processing.

steam vent

  

Off to the natural history museum which was fantastic and huge.  The display of animals, mammals and dinosaurs was incredible and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We wished that we had more time to have looked through the displays more thoroughly, but we decided that we couldn’t possibly see everything.  We then made our way back to Time Square, we had had a lovely long walk today, we found the subway for our trip home and there were people demonstrating to Free Palestine.  We jumped on the subway and made our way back to the apartment.  After dinner we went for a lovely walk along the boardwalk of Mick and Rita’s apartment and took some photos, as the view is incredible.  We also got the iconic Pepsi sign in.  What a grand day we had in New York. 

Pepsi Cola sign just near Rita and Mick's apartment