Cruisin’ Round Manhattan
On Monday, I enjoyed a well-deserved sleep-in (I am on holidays for fucks sake) before checking out a few midtown sights and the Manhattan skyline.
After taking the subway to Times Square (blah), I headed east to have a squiz at Bryant Park, Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building. Expecting something a little more dramatic, I actually walked past Grand Central Station several times thinking I was lost. But when in doubt, just look for the tourists taking pictures – chances are they’re happy snapping just what you are looking for. After a stroll through the not-as-big-as-it-looks-on-tv Grand Central Terminal, I got something to eat and then took some happy snaps from outside, which conveniently included the Chrysler Building in the background.
A short spell in Bryant Park – not terribly exciting except for some dude playing tunes on a green piano – and I headed up to Pier 83 for a Circle Line Cruise around Manhattan. I get my ticket for the 3-hour Full Island Cruise from the less-than-pleasant mole behind the counter and wait for the next cruise to board. Once on the boat, I get a good seat and off we go. The first half of the cruise was quite good – the boat heads south and goes anti-clockwise around Manhattan – but once you go past the Upper East Side, things get a bit dull. There is tour commentary included by a real person, which I really liked, especially when the guide pointed out several naughty kids that probably belonged to ’people who don’t understand English’ because parents were told at the beginning of the cruise ’children must be accompanied by an adult at all times’. It was funny. I did get some pretty good pictures too, despite the rude people who realised what an awesome seat I had and decided to stand in front of and on me.
Peace out.
The seaplane is far easier to find than the squirrel. Saw the Chrysler Building all lit up last night on pay tv while they crossed from the US open to downtown. It was pretty spectualar, almost as good as the Gateway Bridge from 650 River Road.