I'm staying at the Waldorf Astoria in Park Lane. This is another of the famous Art Deco style hotels which I tend to look at. The public rooms are grand and the facilities and fittings are fine but it doesn't quite do it for me. American rooms always seem small and low ceilinged. First order of business was a shower then curiosity about the city got the better of me and I decided to go out exploring. The cab ride in from the airport had shown me that New York is large, scruffy and tall. City centre streets are like canyons because the buildings, even the older ones, are invariably tall.
The hotel directed me to the nearest subway station which I found without difficulty, but purchasing a ticket proved a little harder. Although there are staff in booths, tickets are dispensed by machines which only give limited change. Since I'd have lost out if I'd used a twenty dollar bill, I first walked a block to a Pharmacy (more like a small supermarket) and got change by buying a block of Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Incidentally, in the USA Cadbury's is made by Hershey. It tasted very good, but was nothing like Cadbury's at home. At last, armed with a day ticket, I set off downtown. I'll try to keep the 'railway talk' for another post. The system appears run-down but very well-used. It was the Friday afternoon start of rush hour. My train terminated at City Hall so I came 'up top' and decided to walk for a while. Boy, it was cold! Puddles of water were freezing. To the East, I got my first view of Brooklyn Bridge but I walked South on Broadway, skirting the Wall Street financial district, and headed towards Battery Park. By this time, it was raining and starting to get dark. The street vendors around Battery Park were packing up to go and what I took to be the last sightseeing boat of the day was docking. Looking out over New York Harbour, I was struck by the similarities with Liverpool. The Statue of Liberty was visible, with the light in the torch. It was quite moving.
The esplanade took me towards the East River and a large modern building which turned out to be the new terminal for the Staten Island Ferry. Years ago, I saw pictures of the Staten Island Ferry and so I was keen to try it out. I was even more keen when I discovered it's a free ferry!
There were hundreds of people waiting to board but they're large ferries and I got on without difficulty. The ferries are 'double ended' with two wheelhouses to minimise manoevring at the dock. A few keen types moved to the small open deck that would become the bow when we left, and I joined them, at the price of getting a little wet. The experience of crossing New York Harbour in the gathering dark, passing fairly close to Governor's Island, Ellls Island and the Statue of Liberty was worth a little dampness. After twenty minutes, we were docking at Staten Island. They've built a posh new terminal here, as well.
I disembarked but, feeling a little tired and damp, went back into the departure side and queued to catch the same ferry back. I had another great, but damp, trip. Manhatten looked like a mirage in the rain - the dark sky suffused with an orange glow and the faint outline of tall buildings drifting in and out of view. When we docked, I decided to have a hot chocolate drink at a takeaway in the terminal building. The very nice lady who served me said "Where y' from? You've got a great accent - just like Katherine Hepburn!". I didn't know whether to be insulted or flattered, so I settled on flattered.
I caught a 'One Train' from South Ferry Subway Station which is part of the ferry terminal (or will be when all the building work in progress is completed). I got off at 34th Street to look at Pennsylvania Station. The terminal building has been rebuilt but the 'tracks' (we'd say 'platforms') are largely unchanged. I looked at a couple of New Jersey Transit trains before continuing North on Seventh, past Macy's to Times Square. It was still raining hard but Times Square was full of tourists. The sheer amount of light from all the advertising displays was amazing. For blocks around, the sky is light like a false dawn from all the diffused light. Finally, I walked East to Grand Central and made my way back to the hotel, to sleep a little before more fun on Saturday.
