We checked out of our hotel, stowed our luggage and set out for a final adventure in NYC. We headed up 5th avenue to our first stop, Grand Central Station. It was big and ornate and just like you would expect from every NY-based movie you have ever seen. It has changed a lot since it first opened in 1871 when it’s location was at the outskirts of town. The current version was unveiled in 1913 and has continued to grow as the city expanded and wealth in the area increased.

Our next stop was inspired by Jane. We explored the NYC Public Library. This wasn’t a stop I would normally think to see, but Wow, was it worth it. The building was built by the donations of NY’s wealthy elite. We viewed the treasures room which housed a first edition of the King James Bible (1611), a Gutenberg bible (1455), and the original toys owned by Christopher Robin Milne (aka inspiration for Winnie the Pooh) among other riches.

We wandered by the Empire State Building at street level and were underwhelmed. None of us felt the need to pay $50USD for the view, so we “86’d” that idea and kept on walking. one of the unique views we encountered were the COVID-19 testing tents. These were all over Manhattan. This was obviously to support locals to get tested, but also targeted tourists needing to test to go home.

We worked our tired and battered feedback to the hotel in time for a leisurely trip to the airport. The 45 minute drive went in fits of race & rally driving to snail paced strategic lane changing. Our driver was skilled but it was also ok to keep my eyes focused on the tv screen in the back seat.

Dale and I abandoned our friends at JFK airport and headed to the Business class lounge. This was a treat as Dale will, hopefully, for the first time, cross the Atlantic with sufficient leg room. A bonus is that wine and dinner were included in the waiting area.

One of the things about my aging brain is an inattention to details. I am also still getting back into making the blog work so I apologize for tech differences as we go.

We started our day with a good American breakfast at the diner next to our hotel. They served us huge amounts of food which Dale, Jane and I put to good use walking to and through the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While Jacquie and Brian decided the Museum of Modern Art was the way to burn calories. Everyone saw amazing sights and agreed that 2 hours in any museum is sufficient before you lose the ability to focus We regrouped at the Village Green before heading to lunch.

We started off in search of a highly recommended Shake Shack burger only to discover they had a take out only policy and it was a bit cool to sit outside. Instead we chose Antonio’s for authentic NYC pizza as our alternative. It happened to be in the same building as the theatre where the Late Show with Stephen Colbert is filmed. We felt near to celebrity just being there. The pizza was delicious and gave us the needed energy for our next activity.

We crammed all 5 of us into an Uber built for 4 people and headed to Pier 36 for our river cruise. Getting a larger vehicle is challenging. Apparently New Yorkers never go anywhere in groups larger than 4. We made it onboard in good time. We had a blustery, cool day (10C) on the deck of the boat and had an excellent view of the Manhattan sky scape. We got up close to the Statue of Liberty just as the wind picked up and the sun started setting. We finished our evening with dinner at a seafood restaurant near the pier and an Uber ride home,

Tomorrow we will repack, do a bit of sightseeing and then, off to JFK airport and our journey to Cairo continues.

It is wonderful to start contributing to this blog again. We started our journey to Egypt with a weekend in New York. My travel companions are Dale, Jane Cavanagh, Jacquie Pei, and Brian Moody. We will join a tour group hosted by Road Scholar on Monday, but more of that later.

Our first outing in NYC was to explore Central Park. The weather was brisk (-3C) but warm for us considering the -27C we left behind in Edmonton. We were surprised to see daffodils budding in the park. We eventually needed to warm up and had a great stop at the Tavern on the Green. Refreshed we headed toward Broadway.

We went to see The Book of Mormon at the Eugene O’Neal Theatre. The theatre was built in 1925 and was beautifully decorated over two floors. We were in the first row of the 2nd balcony and had a great view of the stage

The performance was delightful and we laughed ourselves silly. The play was an astute social comedy with lots of irreverence thrown in. After the play, we headed to Time Square. It was chaotic and brightly lit with advertising of all sorts. We made our way through the crowds and found our way past Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Centre. We eventually found a nice Irish Pub for a beverage then found our way to a cozy Italian restaurant near our hotel for supper. Now for a good night’s sleep before more exploring tomorrow.

Hi Everyone, we are getting on the road again. Hopefully you will enjoy travelling with us as you receive updates as we travel.