New York
Although the QE2 was not sailing from New York until Sunday we had decided to get to New York 48 hours before departure in order to cover all eventualities – planes grounded, luggage lost etc
For the first time we can remember the traffic on the I-75 came to a complete halt due, we learned later, to an accident on the highway. Arriving at Tampa airport with only an hour to spare we quickly decided that as we were on an internal flight we would use the ‘kerbside’ check-in. It was chaotic with lots of other people obviously having been made late because of the accident. To make matters worse, having unloaded the luggage, Cliff was ordered by security to stay with the car with “If that car blows sir you’re going with it!”
Having dropped off the car we then had to go and pay the fee for taking the car ‘out of state’. We had been told it would be $600 but we were actually charged $450. Fortunately we knew the airport well as we only had a few minutes to spare before boarding. We were flying with Song, Delta’s ‘no-frills’ airline. To our amusement the usual safety tape was half-sung to a Latin-American beat and the usual actions dramatically carried out by the stewardess. For one moment we thought she would break into a song and dance routine!
After a good flight we arrived at La Guardia airport and made our way out to the cab rank. It was somewhat un-nerving to find the driver looked like a double for Sadam Hussein - a brave man to be working in New York. It was the first time I have been in a New York cab and not had a ‘white-knuckle’ ride. Very quickly we were entering the beautiful reception area of our hotel for two nights – The Roosevelt on Madison Avenue.
That evening we decided to go to Times Square which we had not seen on our previous trip to New York. We were slightly disappointed – it was like Piccadilly Circus, London with similar chains of restaurants but larger.
Next morning we were woken by our first road works of the trip – at 7am in the street below our window! We decided to go down to the harbour and see how close we could get to the QM2 which had arrived the day before. We walked to Grand Central Station to get the subway but were distracted by looking round the beautiful station – all marble and not a sign of a train. Inside we found a market of individual shops which would rival Harrods Food Hall.
We found our way to the harbour but it was not possible to get very close to the QM2, the whole area was swarming with police. We also suddenly realized that with thousands of passengers arriving for the two ships next afternoon and only one slip road for taxis to use it could be chaotic.
It was such a beautiful day we decided to take the 3 hour tour by boat round Manhattan Island and hopefully get a photograph of QM2 from the water. It is a great way to see all the famous buildings including of course the Statue of Liberty.
The northern part was a complete surprise – very green and hilly. Finally at the end of the trip we sailed past QM2 but were ordered further out into the bay by a police boat.
Afterwards we went to Ground Zero. Although 9/11 was horrific enough, it was unbelievable to think what could have happened if the towers had not fallen into their own footprint. There were a lot of people there but the whole area was very quiet and somber. On the boat trip we had been told that some people were not allowed back into their homes for a year because asbestos dust had been found. It is hard to imagine what it must be like not to be allowed into your home for a year.
We made our way back by subway to Grand Central Station and decided to eat at a Mexican restaurant we found there. Although the food was great we were the only customers there. The waiter seemed really pleased to have customers from the UK and, after we had finished eating, came and sat with us and talked about what it had been like
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