Well, the train journey from Philadelphia to NYC was a non-event really.  High density housing, industrial creep and only an hour away, meant we were there before we had time to worry about the crush for seats – first come first served.  Leaving Philly behind, we entered the world of the Canyon City of high rises and historic architecture via the massive Penn Station.  A short but entangled in traffic ride later in the iconic yellow cab to Lexington Ave, saw us opening the suitcases in a boutique hotel with a lift – yeeha!

The oldest toilet block (and apparently it plays music and has flowers galore); Tesla’s corner, tickets anyone? – the queues for last minute Broadway shows, and the entrance to the Empire State Building Observation deck.

A whole Saturday checking out the city sites, and tasting the street fare – Aspera corn and mozzarella fritters my fav from the markets.  The corner Deli encounter for our first night and last night’s delicious Chinese restaurant meal where I stoked my fuel tank with crunchy broccoli cooked to perfection as well as the lunchtime fresh pineapple and coconut moothie from the street cart have stirred the gastric juices well and truly.  We have spotted a great looking Irish pub for tonight’s pre- theatre dinner.

Our two hours at the 9/11 Museum and Memorial were very sobering.  The thoughtful and simple designs were so powerful, and the museum exhibitions showed how the collaborative input from the victims’ families can produce something outstanding.  A tremendous tribute.

Of particular interest was the remnants of the buildings and the foundations which can still be seen.

The familar sites and sounds from the movies, and from our first visit back in 1994, tended to lessen the WOW factor we feel from less familiar locations, but this sense of already knowing the street names and famous buildings and places was actually very welcome.  Without the references to the movies, however, I think the bus guides would have been struggling a bit.  😉  We were glad to see that references to the current encumbent in the POTUS position were scant!

I think I’ll let the pics do the talking (just click on the photos to enlarge)……unity in diversity, where the foundations of democracy lie,  bridges and famous car chases, subways and steam…the city that never sleeps (though it does get a bit quieter around 3.30 am).