New York City (NYC) ... what a place! Having visited it once before on a work trip, I was intrigued to see what it would be like returning with Gill and our good friends Nicola and Neil. Everybody was in high spirits and excited to take in all the big city could throw at us.
The city has attitude, a day and night buzz, people rushing about as if they're on a mission, and of course not forgetting the awesome vertical backdrop that the surrounding skyscrapers provide. Down on the street, some of the buildings defy belief in terms of height. You have to crane your neck to an almost impossible angle in order to find the top. You hope your camera can capture the magnitude of it all, but inevitably it can't.
NYC is still serving up all the magic that you've come to expect from TV and movies; yellow cabs, street-side hot dog stands, Central Park, elevator rides that continue past floor 80, glitzy shopping, rude people, police on horses ... great! I still have not had a good street hot dog experience. Maybe I'm hitting the wrong places, but they are just a limp sausage from a can in a basic bread roll. I want to love them, but so far I am disappointed.
The best day trip for us was the Statue of Liberty cruise which was really enjoyable on a sunny day. The food didn't disappoint either and the hotel made a couple of good local recommendations and TripAdvisor sorted the rest. A must see place!
By Darrell Grundy - visited on 23 March 2011