WARNING - This one is going to a long one, with many photos but I think well worth the read!
Our first full day in the gorgeous New York City we hit the ground running. That of course started with a good old McDonald's breakfast. The only difference, this one was in Times Square, and nothing there is done by halves. These photos are of the artwork on the walls of the second story dining area.... Just amazing. And yes I am one of 'those' people that eat McDonald's and have water to drink!
Then it was out into Times Square and the Lego X-Wing display. This is a replica X-Wing fighter from Star Wars... Made entirely from pieces of Lego. You could sit in it and all. This display included all of the main characters at full size in Lego too (including Yoda wearing an I heart NY t-shirt)!
After previous experience, we decided the best and cheapest way to see NYC was to purchase a couple day pass for one of the 'hop on, hop off' buses. And being Memorial Day weekend, our pass was extended for another day at no extra cost. Here is a quick shot of the US Postal Office in Manhattan (which takes up an entire block), taken from the top deck of the bus!
NYC Tip: There are several companies that run the hop on, hop off tours. You will see the staff standing around the streets of Time Square. Don't just take the first one you see. Shop between them and make sure you get the best deal.
With the weather looking horrible, we jumped off the bus and hit up Macys for a couple of wet weather jackets. One thing that has always made me laugh was that on each level of Macys there is a food area, such as this. Levis on one side, Ben & Jerry's on the other!!
Macys is such a beautiful old building.
The Flatiron Building and the view ahead of Freedom Tower (World Trade 1) close to completion.
This photo is amazing but saddening at the same time. This building was a hospital, and I say 'was' as it is in the process of being torn down as it had gone broke. Yes this is a fact of everyday life, especially when the land is so valuable. The sad aspect to this is that not only was this the hospital that took all the worst case injuries from September 11, but it was also the hospital all of the survivors from the Titanic were taken to upon reaching land. I am so glad I got to see this building, but so sad that it is coming down.... I wonder it if was haunted?!
Some of the buildings around Greenwich Village
A view from under the FDR at Pier 11 and beautiful Brooklyn in the background.
Soho
More of the beautiful architecture around the city.
We jumped off the bus again at Chinatown in search of the every shrinking Little Italy. We wanted to head that way for lunch. And can I say ever shrinking is an understatement. If you blinked you may have missed it, with Chinatown taking over. We found a beautiful old restaurant that was family owned and have been for over 40 years.
We ordered a Peperoni Pizza, a carafe of red wine (who wouldn't with lunch while on holidays) for lunch. I did make us try Mozzarella Sticks.... Yummmm
As it was pouring with rain we headed back to the bus stop to hop back on and make our way up town. Very few of these buses have seats down stairs under cover, so as you can imagine, the ones that did were full! We eventually hailed a cab who advised us that he wouldn't go as far as Time Square and drove off. We were left with the last alternative... getting on the bus and sitting up stairs in the pouring rain. It wasn't a whole lot of fun as told by the photo below taken 1 stop before we got off, but a travel story to come home with! I believe at this point I was asked if we ever have to come back to New York City ever again!
No NYC holiday is complete without a visit to M&M World. A whole 3 stories of M&Ms! This is a must for us as we try all of the new lines that will eventually make their ways to our shelves. This time it was Raspberry, Pretzel and Peanut Butter M&Ms. I always buy a new pair of pjs from here and have a ball with it as it is all mix and match! This years were a bit more funky than last time and oh so comfy! M&M World is open between 10am and midnight (I think).
And an Applebys dinner...
NYC TIP: Word of warning to anyone eating in the Time Square precincts: The gratuity (17%) is automatically added to the invoice in this area. This happens as it is a tourist mecca and a lot of nationalities are not accustom to tipping. The down side to this..... THE SERVICE WAS PATHETIC as they already know they are guaranteed the 17% tip. Our waitress was never to be seen.
The only restaurant in the Time Square precinct that wasn't automatically adding gratuity was TGI Fridays (and the service was fantastic).
Phew, that was a long one.... There is so much to see and do in NYC so, so many photos to share. I will be back with Day 7 soon.
