After spending a wonderful 3 months and 3 weeks in South Africa we left Cape Town on 19 October 2023, destination Trinidad via New York.
The 15-hour, non-stop flight was exhausting but we decided that it was better to get there in one go than stopping for a lay-over.
We arrived in Newark airport, to darkness and drizzle. Okay, it was only 5:30 am and autumn so it was to be expected.
Hotels in Manhatten are stupidly expensive, so we had booked an hotel in Secaucus which is an area just on the other side of the Hudson River. We arrived at the hotel at about 6:30, however, our check-in time was only 16:00, so we requested an early check-in, at an extra expense, of course.
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| Only South Africans plastic wrap their bags |
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| Gloomy view of Manhattan |
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| View from the 9th floor |
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| View of the breakfast nook from the 9th floor |
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| Buffet breakfast |
After breakfast and a quick shower, we found the nearest bus stop and hopped on a bus to take us to Manhattan. And then the walking started!
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| Early morning start for some |
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| 14:30 and so dark!! |
Sadly, the weather was not good with intermittent rain, what we call “mot reën” in SA, which means it’s a light rain but you still get soaked. We were not adequately prepared for rain, no umbrellas or rain jackets, but we did not let it deter us.
Our first stop was Times Square. We had to make sure that the Rear Admiral, Laura, kept up with us, as we kept being accosted from all sides by guys selling umbrellas, red bus tours and even a buddhist monk who gave me a card, then a bracelet and then asked for money! I politely gave his goods back to him saying that I had no money!
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| Buildings in the clouds |
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| Times Square |
We were amazed at the variety of languages spoken around us. It seemed like there were more foreigners than New Yorkers.
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| Five Guys for a burger |
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| Reflections |
We went into Laura’s happy place, the Disney store and had a look around. We didn’t buy anything for two reasons, one: it’s too expensive and two: we have no space in our luggage!
The Apple Store was a must visit. It was very busy!
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| Apple Store |
The hotel only supplies breakfast, we could not see a take-away joint nearby. So Andrew and I walked to the nearest Walmart supermarket which was huge. We selected our salads and cold meats and then tried to pay. It is a self-service check-out, which always amuses me. Would this ever work in SA? Then we tried to pay with Apple Pay. Nope, this one only takes cards which we had left in the hotel! By this stage it was pouring with rain and getting dark. We waited for a while hoping that the rain would stop but we realised after a few booms of thunder that it was not going to happen. We made a dash for it and got sopping wet. Andrew took one for the team and went back with his credit card.
We woke on Saturday morning, to more gloomy skies and rain. After breakfast we waited until the rain had abated slightly and made a dash for the bus. We had decided that we wanted to go to Ground Zero, so we hopped on the subway and headed off. It is so easy these days to ride the subway. Virtual tickets can be bought at the turnstile using Apple Pay on your phone. No standing in line or worrying that one hadn't bought a return ticket!
There are all sorts of people that make up this world, but there was one guy on the subway car with us who was shouting profanities at everyone. I'm sure he was harmless but we decided to get off at a stop further down the line and get on the next train.
We didn’t go into the Ground Zero memorial as the queue was long and it was $33 each. A bit much for us South Africans so we just walked around looking at the pools and the thousands of names etched on the coping surrounding the pools.
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| Occulus centre |
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| Music in the forecourt |
Next stop was Brooklyn Bridge. We joined thousands of others traipsing over the bridge and enjoying the fresh air and the views.
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| New Amsterdam |
Before the rugby match we found a ChopChop type place and bought lunch.
The rugby semi-final against England was on that afternoon. Andrew had done some research and found a restaurant/pub called Stout, nearby where we could watch. The place was packed with people there to watch the wrestling, but they had reserved the restaurant area for the rugby fans. What a nail biting match!
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| Order drinks by phone |
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| Cheers |
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| Nail biting match |
Before we walked back to the subway, we went across the road to buy some supper, then back to the bus station and back to the hotel.
On Sunday we awoke to a clearer sky which was encouraging. We had to wait quite a while for a bus as a tour guide had arrived at the bus stop and commandeered the whole bus for her enormous group. At least the sun was shining.
We stopped for a quick gander through B&H, the camera shop.
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| The best camera shop |
Then we went looking for the start of the Highline. Of course, it wasn’t where we expected it to be which meant we walked about 2 km further than we should have.
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| Consulting Google maps |
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| You are here!! |
The High Line is a public park with a path that runs along an old elevated railway line from Gansevoort Street to 34th St on Manhattan's West Side. It is about 2.3 km. It is very busy with many people walking both ways. Buildings line each side of the path with plants and small trees breaking the concrete path and making it green and cooler in some places.
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| Longing for our boat |
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| Pit Stop |
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| Like teachers waiting for kids to settle |
We took a half time break and walked about 2km to find a Starbucks in Chelsea.
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| Love this building |
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| And free internet |
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| Watching you |
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| End of the line |
After the Highline we took an Uber down to Battery Park. We were considering walking there but thank goodness we didn’t as it was quite far.
We struggled to find the ticket office, as it is not well sign posted, but eventually bought our tickets to Liberty Island. The security was as stringent as at the airport. But we finally got through and got onto the ferry. As we were about to board the ferry huge waves came through making it rock from side to side. We felt right at home!
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| Bumpy Ferry ride |
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| Lady Liberty |
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| Audio Tour |
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| Lady Liberty's foot |
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| Queue waiting to leave |
After a couple of hours on Liberty Island, we hopped back on the ferry and made our way back to the hotel.
We decided to treat ourselves to supper out at The Steakhouse which is just over the road from the hotel. Then we collapsed into bed.
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| Steak supper |
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| Finally a clear view of Manhattan from our hotel window |
Laura and I calculated that we had walked more than 45 000 steps in three days. On Sunday we had walked an impressive 19 000 steps.
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| Early hours, waiting for the Uber |
We were catching a 7:30 flight to Trinidad so we had booked a 3:30 Uber. Thank goodness he was on time and there was very little traffic to JFK airport.
