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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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The
Golden Door As well as travel, one of my hobbies is winning competitions. In 2006 I won a trip to New York, with a five star hotel, flights and a helicopter trip thrown in, through Take a Break magazine. After the trip was booked, we had the terrorist scares at the airports. As we were flying American Airlines, we were a bit nervous. Fortunately it had calmed down a bit when we went, but we weren't allowed to take liquid on the plane. The security at the airport appeared the same as when we fly to Europe. In fact, when earlier this year we flew from Stansted to Spain, the place was filled with police with machine guns. When we asked the reason, we were told it was because of a football match! We had heard tales of taking hours to enter the USA. In fact we were through very quickly after having our finger prints and photo taken, and a paper stapled in the passport, to be removed on departure, to make sure we did not outstay our welcome. The reason we went through so quickly was that for both journeys in and out, the plane was only about a quarter full, and ours was the only plane load being processed. We were landed on a different runway from usual, and came out of another terminal. This meant we could not find our driver to take us to the hotel. We therefore took a yellow taxi, one of three we used over the four days. We had two miserable rude drivers, one of whom made us fear for our lives with his bad driving, and one helpful driver. Many do not speak English. The hotel Intercontinental Barclay was very nice, but food was expensive and the menu was not particularly interesting. However we soon solved the food problem. Both my husband and I have foods we are unable to eat, so it can be difficult, hence we try to self-cater. We found gourmet delis all over the city. They are really great, some being open 24 hours. There is a buffet consisting of lots of salad ingredients and usually Chinese dishes. These are paid for by weight, typically $5.99 a pound. There are all sorts of food such as yoghurts, cereals and flavoured coffees available to eat in or out. Plastic cutlery is provided. We would pay approximately $15 for both of us for a good meal and drink. Strangely we never saw anyone else who appeared to be a tourist in them. The first day we walked to many of the major attractions, and surprised ourselves at the distance we covered. The only place we queued and paid for was the Empire State Building. We waited about 20 minutes, but it was worth it; you really can see most of Manhattan Island from the top. Other places we visited were Grand Central Terminal, a beautiful marbled and chandeliered station; the Chrysler Building, a red marble foyer with painted ceiling; the Ford Building with gardens inside; and the United Nations Building. The last did have guided tours where you could see more of the building, but we didn't stay for that. We enjoyed their gift shop and coffee shop; my husband was particularly taken by the political cartoons on the walls from all over the world. To save our feet we took the subway to Central Park and had a horse and carriage ride in the Park. These rides are disappointingly short and show very little of the park. The subway system is the most difficult to use of anywhere we have been, with slow and express trains and lines running mainly north to south. Few lines run east to west and there are not many connections between lines. The next morning we rose early for the helicopter trip, taking a taxi as no subway went near the pick-up point. It was drizzling a bit, but was clear enough to see. There were six of us plus the pilot in the helicopter. We flew along the Hudson River taking in The Statue of Liberty and other sites, circling the Superbowl stadium, the latter of which seemed to excite the pilot during his commentary. We walked back exploring some shops. We loved the music and bookshops but found little else to get excited about. All the upmarket shops were near our hotel, but we were not interested. We did however walk round Saks of 5th Avenue, and Macey's, the latter billed as the largest store in the world. In the evening we went to a Broadway show Mamma Mia. I booked over the Internet before leaving home, which was a big saving. The show was great and the theatre, which was very plain outside, was delightful inside - small and heavily decorated with beautiful chandeliers. I had booked a visit to the Statue of Liberty over the Internet and we were to be on the first boat out. You need to be made of stern stuff to cope with the queues and security. It was much worse when we returned, as the queue stretched right around the park. We went through airport type security before we boarded the boat, then at the statue we queued to put bags in lockers. These had two different codes plus a fingerprint to operate! Then we joined another long queue to get into the base of the statue. Thankfully it was quite cold that day, as we were squashed in a tent; it must be a nightmare when it is hot. Next we went
through two more screenings, one of which blew air at you. After a short
talk, we were finally allowed to walk round. You can only go to the top
of the plinth; no one can go up into the statue itself, only look up through
glass. We wandered round the different levels of the base taking photos
and then got a much needed coffee. We explored Battery Park with its statues and fountains, and then decided to ride the Staten Island Ferry as it is free. The views from it are good. We were surprised how many people turned round and went back on the ferry. We went out of the new terminal and walked along the river. There was nothing to see, but the peace and quiet after the city was pleasant as we sat by the river. One evening we walked to Times Square to see the lights. It was incredibly busy, but the lights were just a jumble. For our last
morning we decided to explore a bit more of Central Park. As it was Sunday
it was very busy with a jogging race in progress. We went to see Strawberry
Fields in memory of John Lennon. This was quite disappointing, an area
of trees and a round mosaic with the word ‘imagine’ in it. We
carried on around the lakes, which were really beautiful, with large boulders
and paths through the trees. We found Belvedere Castle after some searching.
It is a sort of folly in a style of a medieval castle on several levels,
with lovely views. Time was getting on so we decided to get a subway back
to the hotel to pick up the car to take us to the airport. We then took a night flight home, after which we had to negotiate road works and diversions on the M4 and M25 before finally arriving home jet-lagged but happy. First published in VISA issue 71 (Feb 2007) |