New York Observations

Just some general observations:

• Gumboots are very popular, and not just pretty patterned gumboots, but regular green farmer style gumboots. You can wear them with anything, jeans, summer dresses, shorts 
• Flannel is everywhere, not just for hipsters 
• A lot of signs are multilingual (Spanish), especially on the subway 
• EVERYTHING is unlawful. There are signs for everything warning people of dangerous and unlawful things. Like having too many people in a lift, or in a gallery at MoMA. It's like by posting the sign the organisation is no longer responsible if something goes wrong - customers you have been warned! Take action to ensure numbers are not exceeded (esp at MoMA, I'm sure there was a sign saying no more than 499 people) 
• Where ever construction is underway there is a sign: Excuse our appearance 
• Heaps of people had fluro pink toe nail polish 
• Homeless people poo/wipe their bums in the street - need more public toilets!! 
• There are signs in most restaurants showing you how to help a choking person 
• Everyone everywhere is casual, there are no fabulous people 
• Shops are all over staffed. There is a greeter/welcomer, a security person, someone to check for stock, multiple people in the changing rooms, someone to process sales 
• Lots of green energy and green behaviour promotion 
• Lots of French speaking people 
• No info at stations about when next train is - kinda annoying, except trains are pretty regular 
• Shit my dads says is going to be tv show with William Shatner - WTF! 
• You can go on a payment plan for cosmetic procedures - chemical peel etc 
• EVERYONE walks on the right - you'll never bump into anyone 
• There doesn't appear to be an evening rush hour - never awake early enough to know about the morning peak. Maybe everyone is on summer holidays? 
• Pedestrians always cross at the intersection - no jay walking in the middle of the block 
• Little league baseball is broadcast on the telly

Odd photos

After the Met we walked up to the Guggenheim - only went into the foyer, not into the exhibition space









Apple Store on Fifth Avenue


Outside Rockefeller Plaza on Fifth Avenue


St Patricks Cathedral


Hello Kitty?


Brunch at the Diner on 14th (this was the morning after our dinner at Daniel - a bit of a step down!)


We had lunch at the Burger Joint - it's on the ground floor of the La Meridian Hotel. Great Burger, although the line is about an hour long!

Niagara Falls

We flew up to Buffalo to vist the Niagara Falls for the day! It is an incredible force of nature - I couldn't comprehend how much water was flowing down that river, it was hard to understand how there could even be that much water!! I did wonder if you was really just a big loop - like a great big water feature!

We crossed the border into Canada - you get a much better view and experience on the Canadian side compared to the US side.

We took the Maid of the Mist boat ride up to the very base of the falls, plus did the Journey Behind the Falls, a lift that takes you to a platform, also at the base of the falls. Both attractions get you so close to the power of the falls!

The little township around the falls was very bizzaro - described as a creepy poor second cousin to Las Vagas. There are amusement arcades, burger joints, fun fair rides, a ferris wheel, and a wax museum!









The American Falls





The Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls from the Maid in the Mist



I'm hiding inside my poncho during the Maid in the Mist



After Maid in the Mist





American Falls with the Horseshoe Falls in the background







At the top of the Horseshoe Falls







At the bottom of the Journey Behind the Falls







Lots of "double rainbow" jokes

Grand Central

We stopped by Grand Central Terminal to go the the Grand Central Oyster Bar and the Camberwell Apartment - both I had read about in several places and seemed to be considered New York institutions. I'm not sure we felt the vibe - both places were a bit drab and the staff at the oyster bar really didn't want to be there!

Some pics from Grand Central







A photo shoot

Top of the Rock

Instead of going to the top of the Empire State Building we decided to go to the Top of the Rock. I had read it was a great place to get views of Manhattan, and it included a view of the Empire State Building - unfortunately the Empire State Building is so big it blocks of most of the view of downtown!!

We went up at night and the rain stopped and the weather cleared perfectly for some great views!

Cathedral Church of St John the Divine

It rained on the last days of the holiday and we started to run out of indoor activities so we visited Cathedral Church of St John the Divine. It's a pretty big cathedral but a bit plain on the inside.