Saturday 28 November 2009
Highlights: Cruise around Manhattan, Empire State Building, Attending Hair – The Musical

Our first full day in New York City after 7 years of planning!   First on the agenda was a cruise around Manhattan using our 3 day NYC Tourist Pass).   We walked to the docks early in the morning not being sure when the first tour left but luckily we only had to wait about 45 minutes for the 10 am two hour cruise.

First thing we noticed was how cold it was, I’m guessing around 6c but add in the wind chill factor and it felt even colder.   Still the cruise was great as we saw the city skyline and I picked out places to visit over the next few days.   I remembered the old World Trade Centres and noticed the big difference from my last visit In 2000 with them now missing from the skyline.   Unfortunately the water was too rough to go near the Statue of Liberty but we will be visiting another day so no loss.

Other highlights included seeing the Brooklyn Bridge, Roosevelt Island and the United Nations Headquarters.  Next up we visited the Empire State Building and boy were the lines long, it took about 1 hour to pick up our tickets.   Still the view from the top was great and it really gets you just how big this city is.   At this point we visited the much hyped New York Skyline Ride, which is a movie ride guided by Kevin Bacon.   While it was okay at 15 minutes in length (the guide book said 30 minutes) it was a little short.

We went back to Times Square and purchased tickets to “Hair – The .   Musical“ .  Unfortunately when we went to the show I Found that I had left my ticket back in the room, leaving Andrew in the line I quickly ran back and 30 minutes later (it was 20 minute walk one way), and despite the cold weather on my return I was sweating but still I got in just before the first song was finished.   I swear I’m losing my mind, probably need Andrew to help me more than I can help him 🙂

Anyway it was a great show, very anti-war but also funny.   There is a big nude scene just before the intermission as well (the attendants very carefully check that the audience don’t take photos during this scene).   Also this is a highly interactive performance; the actors regularly go off stage.   At the end of the show most of the audience at the front came up on stage and danced.

A great first full day in NYC.