New York, New York!

We have now had 4 full days of fun and adventure through New York - here is a quick run down of what we have been up to so far:

On Monday, we saw and visited many of the "must-see" sights in New York. The Empire State Building was first on our list and it did not disappoint. The view from the observation deck, nearly smack bang in the middle of Manhattan, provided unobstructed 360 degree views of the Manhattan skyline and beyond. We also went on the New York SkyRide, which is a simulated ride through New York City (think The Batman Ride at Movie World). It wasn't the best simulation we've ever been on, but allowed us to see some of the sights that we're not able to get to.

After lunch at Hard Rock Cafe (by the way, BEST STEAK EVER!!), we headed to Madame Tussaud's, which is a wax museum, where we met and had our photo taken with alot of famous people :) We then headed over to Grand Central Station - and boy is it "Grand". Forget the fact that this place is massive and caters to over 750,000 commuters each day (ie. it is ALWAYS packed!), the architecture of the ceiling in the main concourse area is truly spectacular. Of course, a trip to Grand Central Station wouldn't be complete with out a stop at the Apple Store.

We then headed over to The Rockefeller Centre to head up to what is called "Top of the Rock" - an observation deck around 80 storeys high. The best part about this observation deck is that you actually get a panoramic view which includes the Empire State Building!! Our plan was to get up the top for sunset, however we were late getting there and only got twilight photos from one side of the building. Needless to say, we will be going back up to get some nice photos from the other side of the observation deck which include the Empire State Building.

On Tuesday morning, we took a cruise from Battery Park (located on the bottom tip of Manhattan) which went out and around New York Harbour. Although overcast, it provided some great views of the Manhattan skyline and also took us out past Ellis Island and Liberty Island, providing some great views of the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately both islands are currently off-limits to the public due to ongoing repairs and restoration due to Hurricane Sandy so we weren't able to get off the boat and explore. After the cruise, the rains began (our only miserable weather of the trip to date) so we headed for cover and took a walk down Wall Street, past the Federal Reserve (apparently the coffers are a little emptier these days!!) and the New York Stock Exchange.

Due to the weather, we then headed for the cover of some shops at Herald Square before visiting the 9/11 Tribute Centre and Memorial. Despite the fact the attacks took place nearly 12 years ago, it was still a very sobering experience. You get two very different emotions between the Tribute Centre and the Memorial. At the Tribute Centre, there were parts of the World Trade Centre (twisted steel etc) on display and audio clips of radio calls between emergency personnel on the day of September 11. There were also photos of the 3,000-odd people that lost their lives and remnants of the wall where family and loved ones placed "missing persons" notices. The feeling here is of remembrance and sadness. The Memorial, however, has more of a sense of reflection and hope, especially as the new World Trade Centres appear around the memorial. The memorial pools themselves a truly a sight in their own right, being the largest man-made waterfalls in the world.

Wednesday morning we headed over to the American Museum of Natural History, where we walked around and looked at all the exhibits. Although we are not really "museum people", there were some interesting exhibits, especially the African animals and the Dinosaurs. After the museum, we went for a very brief stroll through Central Park on our way back to the Subway station to go for our tour of NBCUniversal Studios. On the tour, we got to go into the NBC building and see two studios (Studio 6B - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Studio 1 which hosts the American Today show) and the Broadcast Operations Centre. What was weird was the fact that these studios are all contained in a high rise building in central Manhattan - who would've thought!! We then took a walk to the most photographed location in New York City - the 5th Avenue Apple Store. With it's glass enclosure, it truly does stand out, and like its Grand Central brother, was packed!!

We then caught the Subway over to Times Square and visited the Discovery Centre. Here, we were expecting to see the Harry Potter exhibit, however much to our disappointment, the exhibit had closed in April and the new exhibit, Body Worlds: Pulse, had started. Given our New York Pass already included entry, we decided to go for a walk through anyway. It was certainly interesting seeing all the bodies, which had been "plastinated" as the exhibit walked through all the different parts of the body and how it reacts to different things such as exercise, diet and stress.

Thursday saw us escape the Big City for the day as we hired a car and headed out to one of the largest shopping malls in the USA, Pallisades Centre. On the way, we stopped for breakfast at IHOP - yum! We (Karlee) then spent the day going from store to store, before heading back for late dinner at Applebee's near Times Square.

Today, we are planning on taking a bike through Central Park, followed by a relaxing afternoon. I have uploaded some photos below of our trip so far. Enjoy!