Day 11 - Hometime

It was our final day today, Kathryn woke to a message on her phone saying the flight had been delayed for 5 hours. Therefore the time of our flight departing would be midnight! We had the hotel room until the check-out at 12 so we had a bit of a lie in and packed our bags. I popped out quickly to get some steroid cream as I had quite a few insect bites from being in the park yesterday.

The hotel was great and we were able to leave our bags with them until we needed to travel to the airport later. As it was raining, we decided to take a tour of the NBC Studies that is located in Rockefella Center which was a short walk from the hotel. It was raining quite heavily at this point. Our tour was booked at 2pm so we had a coffee, quick snack and browsed the shops.

Walking over to Rockefella Center, no rain yet!

The tour started from the NBC Shop on the ground floor. There was a brief security check before we were lead into a small cinema. Unfortunately we were not able to take photos and therefore I have nothing to show here. The tour began with a short film that covered the history of NBC filming in New York since 1933. Initially it was a large radio production venue (hence the name “Radio City”), however with the development of television, the studies were slowly converted to TV.

We went upstairs and the first stop was one of the newsrooms used to present the nightly news. We then went up to a larger studio that Seth Meyers Late Show is presented from. This is a nightly talk show, and had seating for about 250 audience members, and a band! After this we went up to the production floors to see the rooms where all the directing is done, sound and graphics added. It was a good tour but a little short as we were finished in about 50 minutes.

Statue and ice rink below Rockefella Center

We browsed the shops a bit more before having dinner. We went to Bill’s Burger Bar that was also situated in Rockefellla Center. We ate very slowly, knowing that all we really had remaining was to go to the airport. We sat by the window and watched as the rain poured in heavy bursts periodically.

To avoid the rain, we got the Subway back to Bryant Park which was near where we were staying. I made a final purchase of some baseball caps and then we found a coffee shop to sit for a bit longer. I actually had a really decent cup of tea which was very surprising.

We managed to wait it out until about 7pm before going back to the hotel. We were able to use their facilities to change into some fresh and comfortable clothes. It was only drizzling by the time we left. It was a short walk back to the Subway. Thankfully then temperature inside the Subway had started to drop from earlier, whilst we waited on the platform. Eventually an “M” train arrived and we rode this two stops before switching to an “E” train.

"M" train to the airport

It takes about 30-40 minutes to ride the Subway to the airport. We were very thankful for a passenger who spotted we were going to the Airport and advised we switched trains again as this train was actually going to finish at a different destination. Therefore we had a short wait on the platform and finally rode the train into JFK airport.

View of airport from the Airtrain

When we checked in, the staff advised us we could claim a voucher to use in the airport. So once we went through security, we grabbed this and then had a quick dinner. Kathryn had a salad and I ate some crisps as it was now just about 10pm and I wasn’t that hungry. By about 11:40pm we started to board. Unfortunately we were delayed further as 4 passengers had not boarded. It took about another half an hour for 2 more to turn up, and the other 2 to have their baggage removed from the airplane.

Our airplane to take us home

We finally took off about 00:20am and the flight was quite uneventful. I found it easier to get some sleep as the flight was later and there was no need to eat any food.

We are on the train back to Leeds now. It seems to be very stormy here; wet and windy! Very similar to what we have just left in the US. There was a bit of an incident on the train which has delayed us further, although we are hoping to be back for about 3pm. Then we will have a quick trip to the supermarket before getting some rest for the weekend!

Day 10 - Central Park Zoo

The weather was back to being quite hot today, in the high twenties Celsius. We had planned to go to a walking tour of Brooklyn today. However we were quite tired from two late nights in a row and decided to cancel. Therefore we went down to Bryant park for a coffee before heading to Central Park to visit the zoo.

Sunny view from Bryant Park

More views from park

It was pretty warm so we went at a leisurely pace and got the subway up. The zoo was a few blocks walk away. It was quite a cute and small zoo compared to most others that we had visited. We sat outside and ate some lunch before heading inside.

View of outside of the Central Park Zoo

The zoo only had two main houses which were a tropical zone and a polar region. Outside they had a snow leopard, red pandas and a grizzly bear. They also had a small tank in the middle with sea lions in. We got to see them perform as the feeding time as 3:30pm. After this, as the zoo closed at 5pm, most people had left and the zoo was pretty quiet.

Red Pendas

Afterwards we took a short work around the bottom part of the park before heading back downtown to visit Smiti. Whilst we sat on a bench, my back became really itchy, and later we found I had been bitten about 14 times on my back!

NYC skyline from the zoo

Smiti had arranged for us to visit a tall skyscraper a couple of blocks over from her apartment. It was called Liberty 28. They had a bar called L28 which was free to enter and we had a couple of drinks. We arrived at the same time as sunset and got to see some spectacular views of the Statue of Liberty. Afterward we went for dinner at the open air section of Stoan Street.

Sunset from the top of L28

View down below of Wall Street

Smiti and Kathryn

We had some pepperoni pizza and one with olives on too. They were delicious and this is definitely something we will do every time we will visit. We went back to Smiti’s for a final chat before we said goodbye and headed back to the hotel.

Pizza from Stoan Street

Day 9 - Baseball

We had a bit of late start thanks to seeing Smiti last night. I did pop out in the morning to get another coffee and update the blog a bit.

View of 6th Avenue outside the hotel, on the way to the coffee shop (and accidental photo of taxi which had been involved in an accident!)

We went to do a bit of shopping in the afternoon at Rockefella Center and then went for dinner near Times Square at a very traditional Italian restaurant. We popped back to the hotel to get changed and then walked over to Grand Central Station where we could get the train to Yankee Stadium. It didn’t take very long, although we had to change once as we didn’t quite get on the right train initially. The stadium was very busy when we arrived. It was quite dark and lots of people about. Once we got through a long queue for security, we had to get an elevator up to our seats in the top stand.

Inside Yankee Stadium

They were really good seats behind the batter looking out over the playing field. Thankfully we had some young lads sitting in front of us and fairly quite (compared to other areas!) supports around us.

View from our seats

Selfie

The atmosphere was great, every hit or other incident was cheered loudly. Unfortunately the Yankees gave up 3 runs in the 3^rd inning that really dictated the rest of the game.  They had a late rally at the bottom of the 9^th. By this time is was almost midnight, and although I would never usually leave a sporting match until it had finished, we left just before it finished. This actually worked out pretty well as we were able to get the Subway and back to the hotel for about 00:30am.

Day 8 - 9/11 Memorial Museum, Trinity Bar and Football

For the first time this holiday we actually had a late start today! The hotel has kindly given us a free breakfast everyday so we headed down about 9am for this. We had pancakes which were very nice a fluffy, typical American recipe.

American pancakes at the hotel

We then rested in the room for a bit. I popped out for a coffee at a nearby café that I knew from our last visit does excellent coffee.

Coffee and muffin

We left the hotel about 2pm and headed to Smiti’s apartment. She kindly let us do some much needed laundry. Whilst we waited for this we had a chat in her apartment, and then Kathryn and me headed over to the Word Trade Center complex to visit the 9/11 memorial museum.

The museum was just a short walk from Smiti’s apartment. It is still very new, and we weren’t sure what to expect. Our tickets were booked for 4pm. One thing that was immediately obvious was just how busy it was and how many tourists were about. We went straight in due to our pre-booked tickets. There was a short film at the start that included some of the leading figures in the US national and New York local government. This included George Bush, Condalisa Rice and Rudi Gulianni.

Freedom Tower disappearing into the cloud and roof of new subway station in foreground

After that, we were lead downstairs into a large auditorium that had some artifacts, as well as some remaining pieces of foundations from the original twin tower. I didn’t take any pictures, but there was also a section on the history of the WTC and how it was conceived and built. Finally there was a more historical section at the end which included all the details of that fateful day.

We left at 6pm and went to meet Smiti for dinner. We went to a nearby bar and restaurant which had been an old bank vault which had been converted. We had a few drinks as it was still happy hour and some bar food for dinner. After dinner we went back to Smiti’s apartment to watch the Americn Football as her hometome team of Washington were playing. They lost quite heavily so we didn’t really follow it very much and just had some more drinks and snacks.

Trinity Bar and Restaurant

Bar food

Smiti and Kathryn by vault door

We left about midnight, we had a slight issue getting back as the Subway wasn’t running due to maintenance. It was really hot in the Subway so we quickly went back to the street and hailed a taxi. Althought we were staying up in midtown, the taxi only took about 10 inutes as the traffic runs surpsingly well at the at time of night.

Day 7 - Back to New York, The MET and Prohibition Bar

After being a bit wiped out after yesterday where we probably did too much. We were a bit slow to get up this morning for our train back to New York.

However as we had packed yesterday we were still able to be up and away for about 08:15am today. It was a bit humid but the walk to the station was short. We had time to grab breakfast and lunch for the train in the station. We knew this time that a queue would form for the train as it is a very busy one and we went to join it about 15 minutes before our departure time.

Intersection on the way back to the station

This worked well as the train started to board at about 9:05am and we were scheduled to leave about 09:20am. There was a short walk down to the platform and then we had to board the train from ground level. We were more prepared this time for this as it involved having to lift your bags up some small stairs into the carriage.

Boarding train at Union Station from ground level

As we were at the front of the queue we were able to find a window seat that we could sit together. The journey so far I have just written this blog up. It has been cloudy and not too many interesting things to see out the window.

View from window of train

We arrived back in NYC on time and quickly made our way out to grab a taxi. However there was none to be seen and so we eventually headed back to the subway. It was only one stop and a short walk. We found at that there was a parade to celebrate Polish independence and therefore quite a few of the surrounding streets were closed.

We dropped our bags at the hotel, however we couldn’t check in yet. We therefore headed at to the MET museum to meet Smiti at 3pm. The sun was shining at it was very hot again. We sat on Central Park for a little while until it was time to meet Smiti. We actually bumped into her whilst walking the final section to the entrance.

The Iroquois Hotel, New York

Hotel room

Kathryn had wanted to see an exhibit called Heavenly Bodies which was about the influence of Catholicism on art. It was actually very spectacular and we enjoyed seeing all the intricate detail of the fabrics up close. We also took advantage of the rooftop garden and views of the NYC skyline.

New York skyline from top of The MET

Same again

After we finished, Smiti took us to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, which is traditionally a more diverse and working class neighbourhood, a bit like Camden Town in London. She took us to what was a hot dog fast food resteruant in a  basement. What she planned was at 6pm, a secret bar opens which you enter using the phone booth in the café.

At 6pm, a bit of a crowd had gathered, but thanks to Smiti we were able to get in straight away and were seated at the bar. The cocktails were really good and we had a long evening their before heading back to the hotel about 8:30pm.

Eat Me! Hot Dog fast food joint

Please Don't Tell! Prohibition bar hidden behind fast food cafe

Day 6 - parkrun and Botanical Gardens

Today was Saturday morning, which meant I was escaping off to do a parkrun. I managed to do one last year and since then another run has starting in DC, taking the total to 4. parkrun is still very much in a beginning phase in the US and is very small scale compared to the UK.

I hadn’t got any breakfast from Wallmart this time in the hotel room like last year. Therefore I had to stop by the station to be assured that there would be someone to get some food. I left the hotel room about 7:30am. It was still fairly cool, I think about 18 degree Celsius and cloudy. The station was quite and I had another pot of cinnamon and apple yoghurt  and grabbed a brownie to have later.

I set off on a slow jog over to Anacostia park which is on the south side of DC. This involved going over to the Capitol building first which was direction opposite the station. Once I got there, I was greet by barriers and police this time and had to be diverted around the perimetered of the building. I would late realise that due to the Kavanaugh confirmation there was prostests planned for later on.

I had a fairly easy route to take once around the Capitol building, straight south along the road. I was taken underneath a motorway and alongside the Washington Nationals baseball park. I was surprised that even a block from the Capitol building that the landscape became quite run down and unkempt.

Once I got to the river, I crossed the bridge Frederick Douglas memorial bridge which was just a highway with a small footpath alongside. I had checked in advance I got get over here as you can’t take for granted pathways in the US. Over on the other side it was clear where the Anacostia river trail was and I followed the path down to find a police HQ building I had been told was the start. I actually arrived about 08:30am and found a guy called Tyronne setting up.

Last week there were only 14 runners on this course so I had a bit of a wait until a few more people started to show up. I had offered to stay after I finished to help give out the finishing tokens. Eventually about 20 people were here for the start. There were some other visitors from Texas I think, Roosevelt Island (the other parkrun in DC) and myself.

We set off and unusually I was straight off at the front, I have only ever finished first on 2 previous parkrun (I’ve been second many times) so it was a nice feeling to be off the front. I don’t think running fast 5kms is as popular as it is in the UK at the moment. The river trial was a tarmac path which was very flat and even. We went underneath a few highways and alongside an access road. There was a pool and recreation centre before the final turn around point which had a larger parking area and visitor centre. It was an out and back course so I turned and made the run back.

After walking so much during the week I started to fade a bit on the home stretch. I finished in a time of 19:20 which is about 40 seconds off my personal best which I should have been close to because the course was so flat and there was no wind.

I was sweating so much by the end which seems to be normal hear even though it wasn’t that hot. I helped give out the tokens and got to meet everyone who finished. There were some young lads (age group 11-14) who finished a few minutes behind but certainly quite quick for their age. Most of the other runners were older and some preparing for a 10 mile race tomorrow. It strikes me how laid back everyone is, a lot of people have registered but do not bring barcodes and are not bothered about their time. This is quite a nice culture instead of the UK where people are quite insistent about getting their times. The “no barcode no time” isn’t enforced and I’ve seen the run directors happy to add people manually afterwards.

The group took a quick photo with me before I headed back to the hotel. It took me about 25 minutes to run back now I knew the route. I was back by 10:30am and picked up some coffee on the way. We spent an hour or so getting ready and planned to go to the botanical gardens and then get lunch. This was a short walk from the hotel to the other side of The Mall.

I was a comfortable temperature. I was feeling a bit tired but we spent a while around the botanic garden building and then the national garden which is alongside. The building is really nice and there is a lots of nice plants to look at. There is an elevated section too much gives a nice perspective of the building. In the national garden we found some wildlife in the form of some birds and butterflys.

We walked over to the sports bar again for some food. It was very busy on a Saturday afternoon, but we managed to get seated in a few minutes. I had my steak sandwich again, I was tempted for a burger but went for the option that we can’t get in the UK. We watched the football for a bit, we were both quite tired but decided to get the bus back to the Lincoln memorial. Unfortunately it seemed to take forever (about 45 minutes including waiting) so we just rode it all the way back to the station. We picked up a few items from the station and some cake before going back to the hotel.

I was feeling very tired by this stage and actually slept for a couple hours. We watched a bit of TV which including some Halloween themed cooking shows before packing our stuff for tomorrow.

Day 5 - Georgetown

We were up early again and this time we needed to get over to Georgetown for a walking tour we had planned. This is on the west side of DC and we needed to get the bus again as there was no subway in the older part of the city. We left about 08:30am and the bus got us over there with about half an hour for breakfast. We went to a Paul’s bakery which we have been to in London before. Fairly fancy (and expensive) but a nice brekfat when you’re on holiday.

The tour started at 10am, we met at a local park and it was obviously the little group standing in the corner. We have used this tour group before (DCtoursbyfoot) and they have a good pay what you feel policy that means it’s actually very reasonable. Not because people pay less but that the tour guides are self employed so there is little overheads and they get to keep all the money.

Start of walking tour

We set off and were taken to an old canal which was built in the mid 19^th century. It was shortly before trains so actually fell into disrepair fairly quickly. It is currently dried up but is being renovated for a tourist attraction which should be finished in a few years.

Street next to canal

The next part of the tour involved looking at some notable out buildings which were typical of the time period before Washington DC was created to be the new capital of America. There was an old prep-school which was turned into a hospital during the civil war and eventually we walked up to Georgetown university which was also built around the same time. The other bits of the tour included notable residences of famous people including the Kennedy’s and John Kerry.

Halloween decorations already out!

Georgetown University

Once we finished we didn’t hang around for long at the university and headed back. We did bump into a couple on the bus on the way back and we agreed that the tour wasn’t as historic as suggested in the title, and more trivial type information. It was still interesting though and the guide was good. Georgetown has a lot of cupcake outlets so we grabbed one from a place called Baked and Wired which the tour guide suggested.

Cupcakes from Baked and Wired

We had a bit of extra time so rode the bus back to the Natural History museum and had a quick look at their exhibits. By Friday afternoon it was quite busy but we were still able to get around everything ok and then headed back to the hotel.

We got changed quickly into some warmer clothes as we planned to go to the basketball in the evening which we knew would be cold. We went back to the MXDC restaurent to have the paella this time. It was great and we ordered it without aoli and coriander so it wasn’t too strongly seasoned. It was then a short walk over to the Capital One arena for the basketball.

Paella from MXDC

Capital One Arena

The basketball game was a pre-season game between the Washington Wizards and the Miami Heat. The arena is very modern compared to venues in the UK. There was a lot of entertainment during breaks and intermissions, including music, dancers and games. We really enjoyed ourselves. We then rode the subway straight back to Union station (after a little trouble topping up our metrocards!) and back to the hotel.

Inside the arena