New York trip

Right. Just to let you know that this time we're not going to document every single thing about our holiday as it was just too action-packed and fun-filled to do so! Instead, we have a condensed version, beginning with our favourite bits:

James Top 5
1. toy stores - FAO Schawrz, Freeport toy store
2. the blimp sighted from the top of the Empire State Building and again later from our sunset cruise boat
3. the playgrounds of Central Park
4. Auntie Jenny & Uncle Howard's dog, Sophie
5. M & M's - the chocolate, the store and the view of the Times Square sign from our hotel room
6. hailing New York cabs
7. old red fire truck on Diamond Island, Maine
8. sailing and sleeping on Uncle Howard's boat
9. dancing on The Big Piano at FAO Schwarz
10. garden sprinklers at the Rockefeller Centre

Ok, so it's hard to narrow them down when you've had this much fun!

Merrilyn's Top 5
1. Shopping. Anywhere. Anytime.
2. Strawberry Fields, John Lennon memorial, Central Park
3. the Brooklyn Bridge
4. pecan and raisin French toast with maple syrup, Brooklyn Diner 'The Finer Diner' W 57th Street NY
5. streets of Boston

Martin's Top 5
1. Sunset Manhattan cruise: the lights of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.
2. Sailing Casco Bay. (James' first sail!)
3. Watching a ball game in Central Park.
4. Walking Times Square at night. So much buzz!
5. L.L.Bean. What they don't have - ain't worth having!

Photos are here.

New York in a Nutshell

Day 1 Thursday 6th September. All of you who have experienced this incredible city will get this. We loved the pace and the friendliness of the people we encountered. James was greeted on many occasions as "Hey, big guy!" Corny, but cute! BA from LHR to JFK was only 7 hours and we arrived at lunchtime on Thursday. Supershuttle to our hotel, the Doubletree Guest Suites in Times Square. We had a 37th floor suite overlooking the Hudson River to the west and Central Park to the north. We were welcomed with warm cookies and an amazing view over the colourful screens and signs of Times Square. James was happy to sit and watch the cheeky M & M's signs below. We ventured out into the chaos and walked a couple of blocks to a Food Emporium and bought beer, pretzels, fruit and Hershey's Peanut Butter cups (my fave!) Then did a scout around Radio City Music Hall, Madison Ave and circled back to W 57th St and found the Brooklyn Diner for dinner. Bed at 8.30. Couldn't hear the nightlife or sirens.Must have passed out!

Day 2 Friday 7th September. Had a peek out the window at 6am. Die-hard gym-maniacs hitting the treadmills before starting work for the day. Nuts! Had breakfast in our room. Walked east to the Rockefeller Centre where the GE Building dominates and saw where the ice rink is set up in winter. My feet were just itching! St Patrick's Cathedral, GAP for clothes, down Lexington to Grand Central Station dining concourse for lunch. Back to street level and into the beautiful Chrysler Building then back to the hotel for a rest! Crazy yellow cab to the Empire State Building - queues not bad at all. Elevators to the 80th floor then walked the last 6 flights up to the Observation Deck. Phew! Needless to say the view was stunning. James was captivated by a blimp, just floating about, watching us watching them. Caught another cab past Madison Square Garden and Penn Station to the Circle Line pier for our Lower Manhattan evening cruise. James had a big pretzel for dinner - nutritional value - zero. The cruise sailed along the Hudson River, past all the landmarks now lit up in the setting sun. James got tired and hungry so I gave him an apple. He thought it funny to be eating a red apple in 'The Big Apple'. There were two light beams pointing straight up into the night sky from the World Trade Center site in readiness for the 9/11 service a few days later. They made an impressive sight.

Day 3 Saturday 8th September. Breakfast back at the Brooklyn Diner - the staff were so pleased to see us back again. We had eggs Benedict, fried polenta and 'Tony Bennett's pecan and raisin French toast with maple syrup'. Then Martin went shopping (don't ask!) and James and I went to Toys 'R Us and had a ride on the 60ft Ferris Wheel in a 'Toy Story' Woody & Buzz Lightyear car. It was great! Upstairs the roaring animatronic T-Rex scared the pants off James and it was a little too life-like for me! Then we went shopping and walked up 5th Ave, past Trump Tower, to meet Martin in Central Park. James had walked a long way and it was hot so he had a mango ice cream. He had waaaay too much ice cream this trip! We circled The Pond and sat for awhile watching baseball games which were exciting due to their quick pace. Further up the west side was Strawberry Fields, a piece of the park that was purchased by Yoko Ono as a memorial to John Lennon. I have always wanted to see this a simple paving with he word 'Imagine' set into the stone and I enjoyed the few minutes reflection. We sat down in a cool glade a little way further and laid on our backs and watched the clouds drift by. It was a strange feeling being in the midst of this energetic city and able to hear birds and insects in the trees surrounding us. We skirted around Bethesda lake and arcade and after another play at a playground walked back to where we'd started near 5th Ave. On the corner was FAO Schwarz, the oldest toy store in the US, being in NY since 1862. A toy soldier greeted us at the door and it was like stepping into a storybook. The whole first floor was plush animals. James loves dogs, and he was picking each one up, kissing it and making little cooing sounds! So cute! Upstairs was the 'Big' Piano, used in the Tom Hanks movie 'Big'. It was a coloured keyboard on the floor that lit up as you walked/danced/hopped along it. James spent a long time there and was reluctant to leave. He is a lucky boy with a birthday and Christmas coming up! Outside we caught James hailing a cab also which was took back to the hotel. I made a detour to Starbucks and had a pumpkin spice latte (I know, I know, but it was delicious!). After a rest and change of clothes we cabbed it to Mulberry Street in Little Italy. The atmosphere here was awesome and we had dinner at Il Picolo Bufalo with window/doors opening onto the street. After that we strolled about, then got completely lost and made it to Dean & De Luca for a quick look - it's an upmarket deli/specialist supermarket. Back to Mulberry Street and the 100 year old Cafe Ferrara for gelati (see what I mean about ice cream?!). As the cab pulled up outside our hotel James commented on the M & M store over the street "we don't have to catch a cab and it's not far for our legs". However, it was 10pm so it was out of the question!

Day 4 Sunday 9th September - breakfast at another Dean & De Luca outlet at the Rockefeller Center. Then purchased Metrocards and headed into the subway downtown to Chambers Street. Came up at the World Trade Center site. We hadn't really planned to come here, but had some time and I'm really glad we did. The site is the size of a huge city block and as I stood there against a wire fence I could not comprehend how two skyscrapers once filled this massive space. It was a sad and solemn place to be, despite a lot of noise and construction going on. The enormity of the catastrophe was almost too much to take in. We walked around the site and into the adjacent World Financial Center, through to the river and marina and glass Winter Garden, complete with 50ft palm trees inside it's soaring dome. It seemed half of New York was out running/jogging/blading/walking to dog this Sunday morning. Continuing on we came to Trinity Church at one end of Wall Street. Wall Street itself was closed off for the filming of a History Channel advert, as was the New York Stock Exchange. A film crew had control of a young deer, fox and bear. A strange sight in the middle of the city! We were hungry so ducked into Starbucks and had the best lunch - design-a-salad, won't go into details except to say it was delish! Back out again and down Wall Street to the South Street Seaport the other side of Lower Manhattan. The path took us along the East River to the Brooklyn Bridge where we got some more photos. I love that bridge! Back along Fulton Street (more shopping) to the subway. James fell asleep and it was incredibly hot down there and we got back to the hotel at 3pm. He actually had a day time sleep! After a good few hours rest we woke him and finally hit the M & M's store - he was thrilled! Martin stood in line and waited an hour for a table at 'Carmine's', a 'family-style' restaurant on W 44th Street. It was a great meal, spaghetti and meatballs, and enough to feed several families! We rolled out of there and into bed at 9pm.

Day 5 Monday 10th September, last day in New York. We went to Maxie's for breakfast - pancakes, eggs, cawf-ee and a bagel. James thought it amusing that in America jam is called jelly! Jelly on toast! We checked out and caught a cab to JFK and after hours of delay flew Delta to Portland, Maine. There ends part one. If you can bear it, part two is not quite so long and covers our time in Maine and Boston. So long now!