Weather: Overcast in the morning, but still hot, hot, hot!! Steamy hot!! Bright and sunny in the afternoon.
As I went to bed late last night, I'd planned to have a sleep in today. Not possible when everyone around you is up at 6am and slamming their doors as they leave!
First thing for me to do was to go down to Grayline's office and pick up my tickets for tonight's tour - Night on the Town. I had to go on a day when their air conditioner was broken. I started sweating as soon as I opened the door!! And not only me - the workers inside were worse.
Once I picked up my ticket, I was free until 5:30pm. I made my way uptown to Central Park. It was further than I thought. The walk was even harder because of the heat but it was still faster than taking a taxi - it looks like peak hour all the time here in NYC.
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| World Trade Center site at sunset |
It was then lunch time so my hunt for a decent place to eat that was not too overcrowded began. I ended up going to San Martin Italian Restaurant across the road from my hotel. As the outside seating area was full, I thought there wouldn't be a table for me. Then I went inside and discovered only one table of 5 and a table of 2 were being used - the rest of the restaurant was empty.
Now, this restaurant is supposed to be an Italian restaurant and their food is, but their staff and chef are all Latin Americans! I found it a little funny as I dug into my risotto primavera, full of vegetables. Yum!!
Then I went back to my hotel to clean myself up and rest before my night tour.
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| Brooklyn Bridge - Brooklyn side |
It was quite a good idea instead of getting rid of the tracks, they were beautified.
Then we walked over to the Chelsea Markets to meet our bus. We then headed off through the streets to the South Seaport - a familiar sight for me as this is where I'd taken the cruise yesterday. We were due to take the 1 hour dusk tour on a NY Water Taxi - the last taxi for the night.
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| Lady Liberty at sunset |
As the tour progressed, it started to get darker and darker and we were lucky that the weather was so clear as the sunset was beautiful. Seeing the city at sunset and at night with the lights on was truly a beautiful thing to behold. Even New Jersey looked great!The High Line is a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. It is owned by the City of New York, and maintained and operated by an organisation called Friends of the High Line.
Our water cruise ended after going under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. Then it was time to get back on the bus and head to our Italian restaurant - Grotta Azzurra - in Little Italy. As everyone was in groups, I asked a lady that was also travelling by herself if she'd like to sit with me.
We chatted about our travels, family, etc. She was great company and before we knew it, it was time to go back on the bus for our final destination - Top of the Rock at the Rockefeller Center.
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| View from Top of The Rock - Rockefeller Center |
This is where the tour ended. Nicole and I said our goodbyes and she left to find a taxi to take her back to her hotel near the Empire State Building. I stayed behind and took some night photos of the Rockefeller Plaza. As I was only a few blocks from my hotel, I walked back - I was a little more confident as there were police on nearly every street corner.
Then, it was bed time. Tomorrow, The Empire State Building.
