We started the day at Circle West Diner in Midtown. What a great place! The pancakes were amazing!
Next we headed to Times Square to pick up our City Sights bus tour tickets and meet a wonderful friend I hadn't seen in 13 years!
New York awaits! The bus took us through the Garment District, Macy's, past the Empire State Building, Greenwich and down to Ground Zero. The bus was a great way to get around but be warned in winter they are still open top and there is no heating at all downstairs or upstairs!
We went to the World Trade Centre Memorial to pay our respects before lunching at the wonderful Blue Smoke in Battery Park City. Jeff and I shared the Rhapsody n Cue, a true barbecue treat...
As part of the bus tour, a river cruise is included and to escape the frosty day we took the hour long tour. A live guide gives information about the sites and the cruise is really great for photo opportunities passing under the Brooklyn Bridge and stopping a few hundred yards away from the Statue of Liberty.
After a toilet stop in the wonderful Conrad hotel, we walked to Wall Street to see the Bull and embarked back on the bus to East Village via South St Seaport.
As fans of the TV show Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives, we couldn't come to New York without visiting a place highlighted on the show. The Brindle Room did not disappoint, with the house burger and daily specials.
We tried to walk off some of our amazing dinner across town to Greenwich Village where we sampled the NY Jazz scene at the Village Vanguard before calling it a day.
Day Two
We started the day at the Time Warner Centre at Colombus Circle. The Whole Foods store had an amazing choice of fresh fruit, baked goods and healthy cereal options for breakfast. The Colombus Circle Christmas Market was out so we browsed the stalls while waiting for a bus to take us uptown. The City Sights Uptown tour takes you past the Lincoln Centre, points out where John Lennon was shot, through to Mornington Heights and on to Harlem.
After passing (a rather derelict looking) Apollo Theatre we alighted at the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market. We were promised a vibrant market by the guide books. Alas. At just before midday only a few stalls were fully open,all displaying similar items. It was a big surprise and rather disappointing! If you only have 2 days in New York you can give this a miss!
Back in Manhattan, we stopped at Pret A Manger for refuelling before heading to the Rockefeller Centre. As a fan of 30 Rock, I was delighted!
The Christmas tree and ice rink were up with giant Christmas tree decorations scattered around. So exciting! Here's me standing under Atlas...
Alas our trip to the Top of the Rock had to be cancelled due to zero visibility. The tickets (bought online in my great organisation) were non refundable so we were really disappointed, but a credit voucher valid for a year was given. Silly weather.
We walked along 5th Avenue to cheer ourselves up and stopped at Bryant Market to buy some lovely prints of the city. We ended a great day at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. What a beautiful theatre, what talented Rockettes!
Farewell Manhattan, we've had the time of our lives!
