New York New York

Farewell New York, farewell holiday

asteinthal — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 04:42:00 GMT

Well here we are, the final day, the day that Karen and I fly home. It is a funny feeling, both happiness to go home to see my family and sadness that my wonderful holiday has come to an end. Karen and I went for brunch, packed the bags and booked a car to take us to the airport. It was still chaotic at the hotel as senior Korean diplomats were arriving so there was extra police, secret service, both American and Korean, press and protesters surrounding the hotel!! I will see you all back in Sydney. xxxxx

Photos: New York - Day Six

asteinthal — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 13:48:00 GMT

New York - Day Six

asteinthal — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 13:45:00 GMT

OMG this was our very last full day in New York! For the first time both Karen and I had a little sleep in - 8.45 am! We headed off to Soho area for brunch at Katz diner (Harry met Sally) and then did a little shopping - this time for the kids. We finished at Macy's again and then back to the hotel before dinner at a little local Greek restaurant which was fantastic. I forgot to mention that there was a little commotion at the hotel in the afternoon, apparently the Sth Korean President (or at least the dignitaries were staying at our hotel and there was secret service and police everywhere - how exciting! We did a little bit of packing before hitting the sack at around midnight- our time here in New York was drawing to a close in fact the whole holiday was drawing to a close Which was a little sad but I am looking forward to going home and seeing the family as I have missed them very much.

Photos: New York - Day Five

asteinthal — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 09:19:00 GMT

New York - Day Five

asteinthal — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 09:17:00 GMT

It was a beautiful hot day today which was great as we were going to walk the Brooklyn Bridge as it was a bit wet the other day. We took the subway to take us one way over the bridge to Brooklyn and walked back towards Manhatten which was quite spectacular which you will see from the pictures. We then stopped by Century 21 which is a large department Store before heading back to midtown for more shopping! We were going out for an early dinner in Chelsea so we didn't shop too long, we knew we had one more day left. Dinner was at Budderkan which I had booked about a month ago. We weren't disappointed - it was a very nice Asian restaurant ( it was on sex and the city). We had a night cap at the bar here at the Sofitel and then bed.

Photos: New York - day four

asteinthal — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 23:05:00 GMT

New York - Day Four

asteinthal — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 23:02:00 GMT

Wow I can't believe that Karen and I have been in New York just on 4 days. We have been so busy everyday that we are both exhausted at night. Today is no different! We are off to Central Park via a little bit of shopping at Tiffany's 5th Avenue. We have been using the subway everyday and feel quite confident with it. After popping into just a few shops we had a stroll through Central Park on our way to The Boathouse Restaurant where we were booked for lunch. The Boathouse was beautiful, right on the lake and the food was good. After lunch we strolled a bit more but it was so hot we caught the subway back to the hotel as we had to get ready to go to Yankee Stadium for the baseball that night. The weather was a bit stormy but really humid and it did rain quite a few times and we had to purchase some ponchos. We had fantastic seats, just 13 seats behind the Yankees dugout. In fact there was a sign to watch out for balls and flying bats as we were so close. The game was great and not hard to follow. We caught the subway home and flopped into bed once more.

Photos: New York - Day Three

asteinthal — Fri, 9 Aug 2013 10:19:00 GMT

New York- Day Three

asteinthal — Fri, 9 Aug 2013 10:11:00 GMT

As usual we were up early for another busy day. We were first off to the 911 walking tour which I was very much looking forward to. I was not disappointed as it was very moving. They are building on the site but not where the north and south towers that went down were. On those particular sites are beautiful memorials to the people killed in those towers on September 11th 2001. Karen and I spent quite a while there before heading off to the Staten Island ferry to take us past the Statue of Liberty. After walking back through the financial district ( the new york stock exchange and wall street) It started to rain quite heavily so instead of walking the Brooklyn bridge back to Manhatten we decided to take the subway home and then have a late lunch closer to the hotel. I must admit we are pretty shattered at the moment as it has been quite busy with lots of walking so we have decided to not go out for dinner but just chill in the room and prepare for tomorrow which is again busy ending with the Yankees playing at the Bronx tomorrow night. Catch you then.

Photos: New York - Day Two

asteinthal — Fri, 9 Aug 2013 08:25:00 GMT

New York - day two

asteinthal — Fri, 9 Aug 2013 08:07:00 GMT

We had a big day ahead so we were up early. We wanted to get to the Empire State Building before the crowds. I had prebooked the tickets which were fast track anyway so it was great to get to the top pretty quickly. It was absolutely fantastic. The audio guide was very helpful in getting your bearings on famous landmarks and the view was spectacular. From there we walked down Broadway to Union Square where there was a market garden and caught the subway to the meat packers area where we had some lunch and then walked the highline which is essentially an old railway track which has been developed into an amazing walking garden back downtown (now thats a fair distance). After a quick break we headed out for Broadway again as we had booked a show - The book of Mormons which was hilarious. It was a laugh a minute and Karen and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We the walked down Times Square which was equally fantastic, especially at night. We caught a cab to Nomads restaurant which was further down Broadway and made our way to the bar. For a Wednesday night it was definitely pumping! The food was delicious and the restaurant itself very sex in the cityish - well worth the visit. Finally we crawled into bed.

Photos: New York - day one

asteinthal — Thu, 8 Aug 2013 07:09:00 GMT

New York - Day One

asteinthal — Thu, 8 Aug 2013 07:06:00 GMT

Well we've made it to the big apple! The trip from Dublin to New York was fine although no individual movie screens!! Karen had organized a town car from the airport to the hotel which was nice. It was cloudy but fine and we were a little tired from our trip but we pushed on with our schedule and headed out for a walk around where we were staying. We visited Bryant Park, New York Public Library, Grand Central Station, The United Nations Building, St Patricks Cathedral and finally had a drink at the famous Wardolf Astoria Hotel - my feet were killing me and it was only day one!! We were supposed to go to the Hell's Kitchen area for dinner but only made it as far as Bryant Park where we had a lovely quiet dinner overlooking the park. We were in bed by 9pm but it was 2am back where we came from in Dublin.

Photos: Dublin

asteinthal — Wed, 7 Aug 2013 04:24:00 GMT

Dublin

asteinthal — Wed, 7 Aug 2013 04:19:00 GMT

Dublin
After the very emotional farewell to my relatives Karen and I headed south to Dublin. We checked into the Westbury Hotel which was very lovely. We were a wee bit tired after our late night so we took our time to have a look around. Unfortunately it was raining but we headed out to Temple Bar. The Westbury is in a very good position with lots of shops bars and restaurants very close by so we were spoilt for choice on where to go. We had a drink in Bono's (U2) bar and then settled on Thai food for a change for dinner. The next day we went to Trinity College first and had a great tour with Henry - a very entertaining Irish lad. The book of Kells and the college library was also fantastic. We then hopped on a red bus that took us around the city and went to the Guinness Factory. Karen and I then headed home to get changed as we were meeting Jean's ( my brother Patrick's wife) brothers for dinner. It was a delightful evening. We started in the Marble Bar at the hotel and then went onto an Irish pub and then a lovely Italian dinner. Jeans brothers (John, Frank and David) and their wives and john's son Owen made up the group. There was a fair bit of laughter and craziness going on but we had to make it an early night as we were getting up at 5am the next morning for our flight to New York.