Author: simon

Lots and lots of pictures today, but firstly found a few friends when we were having our morning coffee ….

And at the end of the day, when we arrived at our new place in Manchester we were given a piece of advice we’ve never had at home, namely “if you’re out walking in the early morning, keep a watch out for mountain lions – and bears”. Might stick to the main roads then ……

Anyway, here goes. The garden of one of our (wealthy?) neighbours.

A two hour drive north got us to Bennington. Believe it or not, this is the highest structure in Vermont:

These are the views from the top:

The church:

And the town:

The colours are coming.

Then the final hour to Mount Equinox, where we stay for the night. It’s 3,840 feet, and being the USA you drive to the summit. Fantastic.

Not a bad day! Saint Albans tomorrow.

The heading probably sums up the whole holiday – some serious leaf-peeping.

Coffee on the veranda:

Watching the chipmunks doing their autumnal stuff. Then a day of relatively gentle sightseeing and walking.

Then Litchfield – beginning to get the New England white clapperboard look:

And waterfalls near Kent.

Afternoon “tea” comprising ice-cream covered in an espresso, a breve coffee which I hadn’t come across before – latte but mainly cream – and a small slice of pumpkin and cream cheese cheesecake. Yummy!

And finally a couple of “arty” shots from Eileen:

Colours are coming. Those coming down from the north say they’re on their way, and we’re heading that way tomorrow. Meanwhile, one of the abiding memories of Connecticut is the vivid green of the lawns!

Leaving today for New England. Collected the hire car from a few blocks away, loaded up the suitcases and said goodbye to Sarah and Floyd. It has been a wonderful stay in their house, and Eileen said she had loved NYC. I must admit the sightseeing is absolutely full on and there were a couple of times when we were on our knees, but like all good New Yorkers we bounced back.

Hmmm – getting a bit poetic there. Anyway, I came up with a really good idea. That is likely to be the only time in my lifetime that I am in possession of a car in Manhattan, so let’s drive downtown. Brilliant and loved it. Got as far south as 52nd and drove back up Madison Avenue and then back through Central Park. Managed to hit a run of 13 green lights at one stage, which wasn’t bad for a first attempt.

Driving was easier than London – pushy but not aggressive. But so much building going on – makes London look like a quiet backwater. And the delivery vans causing holdups was amazing.

First stop Connecticut and what a difference. Stopped for lunch:

and then in a little town called Cornwall with its covered bridge.

Bit of a walk and grocery shopping – organic farmers’ delicatessen in Sharon, CT is also mind-bogglingly expensive but really good.

And our house for the next couple of days.

Connecticut is gentile, stunningly gorgeous and looks to be fabulously wealthy. More to come in the next few days.

A great and tiring morning, so what next? A little more sedate (although lots more walking). Another hour or so in the Met Museum (different “stuff” but same terrace) followed by a walk down the Upper East Side and tea in a posh cafe:

A walk back across Central Park to the Lincoln Center – fabulous.

And to finish off, how about selfies and food.

The former isn’t going well:

That’s Wall Street not in the background. Then ESBNYC is fine but you can’t really see me!

And I don’t normally make a habit of posting food, but the Coney Island Pizza was fantastic.

Yup. The really is frankfurter and fries on a pizza. Bring on the carbs ……

Two parts for today, as it was full-on sightseeing on our last day in New York.

Here’s the clue to much of the morning. One slight advantage of jet lag is that we’re still waking up a bit early. It meant that we got to the Empire State Building before 9.00 and so no crowds or queues.

Many photos were taken, so only a small selection here:

Others say there are better viewing places, but I like the ESBNYC because I’ve done it before, you get a great view of uptown and downtown, but most of all because you get a great view of the Chrysler Building.

South to Wall Street:

North to Central Park:

East and West:

And us:

One of us went shopping (Banana Republic if you must know) so I tried a few street shots:

Lunch at Blooms on Lexington Avenue:

And a quick look into the Chrysler Foyer which is fantastic:

Needed a rest after all that, but before we headed back (only about 15 minutes on the subway) we had a quick peek into the Reading Room in the Public Library.

We’ve learned two blindingly obvious things today:

1. New York is mind-bogglingly expensive. Actually it is quite expensive, but the fall in the £ makes it a lot more so.

2. New York has far too many things for us to see in 3 and a bit days, so we’re going to have to miss some obvious stuff.

Started with the HighLine – genius idea. And another view of the Empire State.

Couple of random pictures:

Then off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When I was in NYC about 7 years ago, I started the plan to persuade Eileen to visit by getting her a guidebook of this museum …

… bought from this shop.

And not a bad view from the terrace:

Also a view of downtown after dark:

Finally, thought it was about time to start the selfies:

So much to do we did it twice – as the song doesn’t go. Surprise surprise we were awake and out early, then tiring by mid-afternoon so had a siesta, and up and out again for a second time later on.

Midtown was pretty quiet first thing on a Sunday morning, including Rockefeller Center (sic)

Fifth Avenue (from the middle of the road)

My favourite of all, the Chrysler Building (best seen from the top of the Empire State in my opinion)

And Grand Central Station

That was a mighty quick wizz around midtown; part 2 was downtown.

Staten Island Ferry past Statue of Liberty:

With a great view of Manhattan looking back:

Then stopped off in Greenwich Village on the way home and found the Empire State Building:

And the Saigon Shack by chance for dinner which seemed mainly frequented by young Asians – maybe from nearby NY University:

And us!

Best of all? It’s exactly how I remember enjoying it before – boots on, head tilted upwards and sore feet at the end of the day.

Here we go again. Retired on Wednesday and off to New York and New England (in the fall).

Bright and early – the romance and adventure summed up by sunrise over Heathrow ….

Flight ok – we’re getting used to the tedium, and a fabulous view of NYC as we came in to land. Immigration up to its usual efficiency – through in just over two hours, although at least they are friendly when you do end up at the booth.

As we were here by early afternoon, the rest of the day was a bit of a jet-lagged daze. A beautiful afternoon so wandered into Central Park and began to take in the atmosphere.

Eileen has found a fantastic place to stay, as usual. West 95th – so right by Central Park on the Upper West Side. Street looks just like those from the movies – and their house has been used in Sex in the City and Home Alone 2.

Great views from Central Park and Fifth Avenue.

And stumbled on the Guggenheim – that’s for another day.

Managed to stay awake until about 8.30 pm – that’s 21 hours since the alarm went!