As our next trip stateside to Florida was not until April and we all felt like we needed a holiday, we booked (somewhat on a whim as we found a great flight price) a trip to New York to celebrate New Years Eve. Travelling are myself, my wife and out two children 13 and 11.
We had a very uneventful journey here, flights all on time - we booked through BA, but it was a code share flight on an American Airlines plane. We flew business and whilst the seats were nowhere near as comfortable as Virgin UC they were still pretty good.
Was very pleased that I had taken Katies Granddad's advice and booked our transfer whist in the UK as JFK airport was very busy and there was a huge queue of people waiting for taxi's. We used a link that KG had recommended at it was all very simple and easy. We are staying in a hotel on Lexington Avenue near 57th street. It seems like a great location. Night one, after a quick trip next door for dinner at TGI's (where once again I was reminded how much better TGI's in the UK is compared to the ones in the States) we headed back to the hotel for an early night. We all fell asleep just after 9pm to the sound of the bustling city.
Next morning (28th) we were all up early and walked a couple of blocks over to Maddison Avenue where we found a coffee shop for breakfast. We had pancakes with bacon and eggs and far too much syrup, washed down with coffee and hot chocolate. Great value and very tasty. We then took a taxi down to the the Statue of Liberty ferry terminal - the guide book said get there early, we arrived at 8.40 and walked straight through security and on to the boat. We took the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty and then on to Ellis Island. At the museum we went to the 45 mins talk and video - this was really very good and brought home to you just how strong the mixed emotions must have been amongst the immigrants arriving in NY for the first time. We found the whole experience at Ellis Island really amazing. To think that over 12 million people passed through there in just 14 years, following their hopes for a new and prosperous life, we really don't realise how lucky we are these days! When we finished the tour and returned back to New York, the queue for the ferry was huge (at least 2 hours), it was well worth getting there early.
We then walked up to Ground Zero. The building works is progressing well, but we were unable to visit the 911 Memorial as you need to book in advance now. We had lunch at Stage Door Pizza which had great views over Ground Zero.
By now the children were starting to feel a bit jaded and so we headed back to the hotel for an afternoon rest. They watched a film whilst Lynn and I went to enjoy the bar at the hotel. We were also able to go online and reserve spaces to visit the 911 memorial in the morning.
Once batteries are recharged and the sun has set, we are off to the Rockefeller Centre to see the christmas tree, do a bit of ice skating, take in the views from the top of the rock and have a bit of dinner...
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Originally Posted by mexico
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