New York City (Day 5 of 6)

We changed hotels so we would be staying in Manhattan for the Macy's Parade the following morning

The Hampton Inn where we were stayed was just around the corner from Macy's and the Empire State Building

The NY Skyride at the Empire State Building takes you on a virtual flying tour of New York. The ride was just okay and a little hokey but they were offering free tickets if you had a NY Pass.

Even though we were at the Empire State Building early there were still lines. Here a line, there a line, everywhere a line in this city.

Helen and Derek in the elevator on the ride to the observation deck

Looking northeast towards the Chrysler Building and Brooklyn across the East River




Looking north towards Central Park

Looking west and down at Macy's on 34th street. In the center of the picture you can see the green area marked off on the street where all acts perform on TV during the Macy's Parade.

Adam is covering his ears because it was blustery up there

Looking southwest towards the harbor, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island

Looking south towards Lower Manhattan and the Financial District (Statue of Liberty is in the distance on the right)

Same view south but with more of the immediate Midtown area in the shot. You can see the distinctive Flatiron Building in the lower center.

We went back to the hotel for some hot chocolate

Across the street to visit Macy's




Loved the vintage wooden escalators

Helen and the snow globe we bought for our niece, Lindsay




The front windows are all decorated to tell the "Yes Virginia" story

We took the train uptown to the Rockefeller Center station. I liked this shot of all the shoe shiners.


They were still getting the big tree ready


MoMA

Nice exhibit area

This "art" was actually interesting - 2 big fans pointing at each other with a thin film strip floating on the air currents

Some blinds laying on the floor? Come on now that's not art

At least it gave us an opportunity to discuss what constitutes "art" with the kids



Further uptown at the Guggenheim Museum

The distinctive spiral walkway

By the time we reached the Metropolitan Museum of Art it was closed. Not visiting more of the wonderful museums was a regret of the trip. Maybe on another trip.

We walked around to the west side of Central Park and rested for a bit in Columbus Circle. There were bleachers along Central Park West for the Macy's Parade the following morning.

They inflate the Macy's Parade balloons the day before on the west side of Central Park. We were trying to fight the crowds to see the balloons.

It was very crowded and the police had everything redirected. This was as close as we made it before giving up and turning around. You can kind of make out the pink Energizer Bunny.

We had to punt on the parade floats because we had to get back for the 8 o'clock performance of the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall

We had seen the Rockettes in Atlanta last year, but you can't go to New York at the holidays and not see the Rockettes in their home



We're glad we went to the show. It was similar to the one in Atlanta, but Radio City Music Hall was a better venue. The stage was much bigger and allowed for more dancers and bigger sets.

Wednesday November 24, 2010

On Wednesday morning we ate breakfast and then packed our backpacks because we were checking out of our hotel in Secaucus. We took the bus into Manhattan and then took the subway to our new hotel in Midtown where we dropped off our backpacks.

On the bus to Manhattan there were several young ladies who appeared to be Indian with beautiful princess like complections. They were discussing their plans and they had the most beautiful proper British accents. I loved listening to them speak. I could have just sat there and listened to them all day. We should all just agree to speak one way - their way. It was perfect. I couldn't help thinking about them the rest of the trip whenever I would hear someone speaking poorly, whether it be a full on New Yawka or back in Atlanta with Bubba and Eunice. It just goes to show you once again that all people are not equal.

Our new hotel was close to the Empire State Building, which is where we headed after checking in. I figured it wouldn't take very long to go to the top and look around, but like everything else - I underestimated. There was added security and then we opted to do the NY Skyride because they were offering free tickets. The morning was cold but clear and it was fun being able to see so many sights we recognized.

We stopped back by our hotel to warm up and get some hot chocolate before walking over to Macy's flagship store on 34th street where the Thanksgiving Parade ends. The store is billed as the World's Largest Department Store and is 9 floors. We grabbed a map at the information booth and set out for the 8th floor where the toys were. We loved the vintage wooden escalators and the general festive feel of the store.

We stopped for some cart food before taking the train to Rockefeller Center. We were headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) nearby. I had to get in another line to check my backpack into the coat check before entering the exhibit area. While waiting in the lobby you could hear different people screaming out every so often. Once we entered we saw that it was some performance "art" by Yoko Ono that was the cause of all the screaming. It's a very nice space and there were some interesting things, but a lot of it was hard not to laugh at. It's just a hunch, but I don't think the kids are going to be modern art fans either. Oh yeah, I had to wait in line again to get my backpack out of the coat check.

After MoMA we took the train farther uptown to see the Guggenheim Museum...where we started off by standing in line to check my backpack into the coat check. We had fun winding our way up the distinctive interior exhibit area. The artwork was more accessible to us "unwashed" than the art at MoMA. It's a fairly small museum and doesn't take too long to see but by the time we got out it was getting dark. We walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and tried to get in to walk around some but they were closing.

We were trying to see the Macy's Parade balloons being inflated in Central Park West and started walking that way. We were getting tired and caught a bus to Central Park South and then walked to Columbus Circle where there were bleachers erected for the parade in the morning. We rested some and decided to continue towards the balloons. We thought the bus or train would take us right there, but the police had closed a number of stops and were forcing the buses and trains to drop off well away from the balloon area. The crowds were getting worse and we had tickets for the Rockettes at 8. Helen's commitment was starting to waver and she was asking whether we should just head back. I made some gutteral response about "seeing those **** balloons". We finally reached the point where we could see the balloons with our own eyes and I was appeased so we headed back to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes.

We enjoyed the Rockettes. It's a very festive holiday show. Our tickets were just okay. I don't know why we were able to redeem our Orbitz ticket vouchers for such good tickets to Billy Elliot, but the tickets for the Lion King and the Rockettes were nothing special.

It was nice just taking the train directly back to our hotel instead of having to hop on the bus to Jersey. We were tired and not looking forward to waking up at the crack of dawn for the parade.