JUST A FLAVOUR OF THE WONDERS OF NEW YORK

Stonework on one of the bridges in Central Park.

The ceiling in the Guggenheim, astonishing building.

A room size Monet,at MOMA, very beautiful,made me cry with its depth.


I'm Back!!!!
And right now I'm coping on pieces of toast and coffee to keep me awake till around 8 tonight when I'll crash out. If I make it till then, I'll have been up for over 30 hours..... I don't do sleeping on the plane.

So this post may not make a great deal of sense, as I'm away with the fairies and buzzing on coffee.

As you can see I've changed all my pics on my header and side bar, I have sixty of them to play with over the coming weeks!

What can I say about New York....... what an experience we've had. This trip was devoted to really exploring Manhattan and doing grown up things without children.

We went on bus trips, uptown to Harlem, downtown and over the Brooklyn Bridge, incidentally the longest suspension bridge in the world, according to the guide. We went on a boat trip from 42nd Street pier round to the opposite side of the island, taking in the Statue Of Liberty, Ellis Island, Lower Manhattan, and the bridges.

We visited the Guggenheim, MOMA and the Met, all fantastic with their particular takes on art.

We ate out all the time as proper New Yorkers do, which meant breakfast in Queens in a local diner before we hit the city for that days adventures. We would then walk and walk and walk..... And even with my sensible footwear I wore the heels out in my boots and finally got blisters.

Then we would pop back to the apartment for a rest before going back out for the evening.

I've been to Harlem, East Side, West Side, Central Park, SOHO, NOHO, Chelsea, Ground Zero, Greenwich, Union Square,the Top of the Rock (Rockerfellor Tower) Lexington Ave, Madison, Ave, Park Ave and of course 5th Ave, where there are the most unbelievable shops I've ever seen in such a concentrated area.

There are lots of posts coming about some of these experiences,because of the impact they have had on me. Particularly St Paul's Church, which is next to ground zero and played a massive role in supporting people who were working during that terrible time.

On the Friday I travelled in from Queens by myself and got myself down to Chelsea to meet Eve, my Philly mate, who couldn't resist coming to spend a day with me. Her brother in law lent us his studio for the day as a base. So we had to as well as shop and eat, share a bottle of champagne before dinner in his apartment!

The last night D and I celebrated our successful holiday by finishing our evening in the Algonquin for cocktails..... a real piece of history that's beautifully restored.

I went alone on the buses,subway I worked out how to get around.

And I was truly and unexpectedly amazed at the friendliness of the citizens of NY. So many people will look you in the eye and smile and say a greeting. And if you sit still for long enough on a bus, you'll have made best friend with someone going across town.

I've come back buzzing there are so many memories to sort out and re-consider.

It was just amazing really amazing!!!!!