If anyone is in need of inspiration in the art of filling a day, look no further. I hadn’t realised when we left the hotel this morning how far we would walk or even that it would be 12 hours before we returned, tired with a capital ‘K’.  Which pair of idiots would walk almost two miles from the hotel to the start of the very beautiful High Line walk and then walk another 1.5 miles along this scenic route?  We even walked a few blocks at the end whilst deciding what to do next!

 

The ‘next’ took us to lunch at the Chelsea Market which is a delightfully revamped warehouse full of individual outlets selling every kind of food you can imagine. We fell for the one selling fresh lobsters (served every which way), huge oysters, crabs, etc, but settled for bowls of chowder.  Now what?  More walking before hailing a cab at the Flatiron and heading for the 9/11 Memorial.

 

The queue for the observatory at the top of the One World Trade Centre snaked endlessly around the front of the building. After yesterday’s mammoth queuing experience it was a line too long or a queue too far, so we headed to the beautiful memorial pool and the more recently constructed monument which is based on a white dove of peace and a phoenix rising from the ashes. Onwards to the church which survived the collapse of the towers and a short break for peaceful contemplation of the restoration of the whole area.  New towers are going up – 2 already built and 5 more in process or planning.

 

Now where? By this time we were hurting and it was hot. There was only one solution – the Big Bus hop on hop off tour. A few more blocks and we could sit for a while and enjoy commentaries on the delights of downtown, uptown and midtown New York. We made our final hop off at Times Square and headed for dinner and great blues music at BB King’s. Ribs and a performance by guys who can make their instruments sing. What could be better?  The only downside was that we had stiffened up and had almost a mile to walk back!  Phew.

 

 

“Phew, indeed…”

Carolyn’s Curios & Musical Notes 🎼🎶🖌

As we’re on a Music Tour, I decided to change the subtitle. No other reason, I suppose, than I like it.

So our first full day in New York was a… full day! Lots of walking but compensated with stunning cityscapes and the incredible High Line. Very well worth the walk – including the extra we walked back to find Ann’s preferred Tee shirt! We chatted to one of the many volunteers and she had a distinct London accent. She told us that she came over for a fortnight every year to volunteer and help in the garden areas. Commitment and a belief in the ‘cause’.

I like listening to music and, frankly, don’t do enough of it. However, I, also, have fun with musical miscellany. So, today, walking past the train sidings and bus storage at the start (North) of High Line, I had in mind Debbie Harry’s New York post-punk band Blondie and their classic album ‘Parallel Lines’.

 

As we walked through Herald Square, the song in my head, of course, was “Give my regards to Broadway” and, when we got to Chelsea Market, Joni Mitchell’s “Chelsea Morning” became my ear worm for more than a few moments.

 

In between times, a sign about nude bodies which we didn’t know whether it was a warning or an invitation, an advertisement for Shawn Mendes’ fragrance (forwarded to my granddaughter who has him as her favourite singer of the moment) and the ubiquitous Rainbow which was irrelevant as we brought our very own.