New York Day 2

Started the day at an American diner on 9th Ave. My breakfast consisted of 3 large pancakes with fresh fruit and maple syrup. That was me sorted for  the rest of the day. A couple of New Yorkers started chatting to us - Anthony and Angelo. Anthony was fascinated by London and its Underground. He had never been but had seen it on many films. Must say the Americans are very friendly as we chatted for ages. As soon as you mention you  are from London invariably the reply is that they have a friend/relative living in Chiswick/Chalk Farm/Charlton or wherever and do we know them? It was fun chatting to a couple of locals, but time was passing quickly and we needed to be on our way.

  This morning I was taking the free ferry to Staten Island. The weather was very dull and much cooler with rain forecast for later. When you are visiting for a few days then you cannot wait for appropriate weather. I wanted to see the views of Manhattan from the Island!

Helicopters were taking off every couple of minutes close to the Ferry Port. I think they were the tourist trips around New York harbour but I didn't bother investigating because that is one ride that will never make it onto my bucket list.

Foggy view of Manhattan

Foggy view of the Statue of Liberty.

Staten Island Ferry returning to Manhattan

There was hardly anyone on the ferry! It takes 25 mins to cross over to the Island and the ferries are packed with commuters during the peak travelling times and tourists are asked to wait until after 9.30am before taking a ferry.

Once on the Island I located the 'Postcards', a Memorial to the 274 Staten island residents killed in the September 11 attacks of 2001. The two 9m marble wings represent large postcards to loved ones. Without the fog you would be able to see the Freedom Tower which stands next to  the site of the collapsed towers.

Each Staten island victim is honoured with a granite plaque bearing their name, date of birth and place of work on September 11th 2001 as well as their profile in silhouette.

I only spent about an hour on the Island as I didn't see much more of interest to me. It is quite hilly and I didn't fancy all that walking with no views as a reward.

The baseball ground looked in immaculate condition.

The sign for the National Lighthouse Museum. My interest didn't take me any further.

Back at the Ferry Terminal there was a terrific Doo-Wop group called 'Spank' singing. Immediately they started singing a large group gathered around to listen until the ferry arrived.

Back on Manhattan I took the subway to Greenwich Village to have a look around.

Unusual to see small front gardens in the centre of New York. It is a pretty part of town and well worth just meandering through the streets.

On my way back to the subway station I walked through Washington Square Park.

It is Graduation time here in the US and there were lots of gowned people wandering around the Square. Felt quite festive.

It began to rail heavily so I made my way uptown to the Museum of Modern Art. It has one of the world's most extensive collections and a great place to spend a couple of hours. Any more than that and my feet would just give up on me.There was a very good Degas exhibition on whilst I was there. It had so many of his pieces of work from private collectors that I doubt I would see a collection like that again.

My favourites from the permanent collection  are Red, Blue and White by Mondrian (Might be the wrong title)

The Stary Night by Van Gogh and Agapanthas by Monet which I forgot to photograph.













In the evening we found a fabulous restaurant on 10th Ave called 44on10. Not a very imaginative name but the food was fantastic. A bit more French than American and definitely on the fine dining side of restaurant food. It made a delightful change from the diners and fast food outlets. No photos but if you are interested I had the Lemon sole followed by a pine nut berry tart. My mouth is watering now at the memory.