With Christmas over, I was ready for the next adventure - 3 nights in New York with my sister. The day of our flight dawned very snowy, but we didn't think too much of it. After all, this is Canada right - they deal with snowy conditions all the time, don't they? We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, checked in without a problem and cleared US customs quite quickly. (It is nice to be able to clear customs before you even leave!) We sat down for lunch before we flew, and kept an eye on the departure schedule; in spite of the weather our flight was still on track to leave on time and there were only a couple of delays and cancellations.
And then... 15 mins before our flight is due to depart, while we are standing around wondering why there are no staff at the boarding gate (or anywhere else in sight) our flight status goes from "on time" to "cancelled". NOOOOOOOO! So a group of us are waiting at the gate, stuck, not knowing what to do next. We can't go back the way we came in (they get nasty when you try to barge the wrong way through customs and security) and we can't go forward as that involves going through Canadian customs and there are no doors open for us. Waiting, waiting, frustration building, blood pressure going up, voices raising. A couple of people were getting really fired up and I was trying to avoid them; I was hoping that by being nice we stood a better chance of getting on another flight that day. Finally, an airline staff member arrives. Amazingly 'helpful' really, he gave us a pamphlet (yes, seriously), took us out through customs and told us where to collect our luggage. Ummm, is that it dude?? We were sent up to the ticket counter to re-book our flight, but I saw a phone number on our very informative pamplet and though it might be an idea to try it instead of jostling with the angry mob in the queue. An hour and 20 minutes later, we had the best deal we could have - we were booked on the same flight the next day. We were pretty disappointed to not make it that day (our accommodation had been pre-paid) but from talking to the staff at the airport (once we found someone who was actually helpful and friendly) we were damn lucky to get on that flight. Thank goodness for a helpful staff member on the phone!
So, a taxi home with glum faces. I'd given hubby a heads up so he'd briefed our 3 year old. "Mum, are you a bit sad?" Anytime there was a nappy that needed changing, or kids needing food, my refrain of the evening was: "I'm not even supposed to be here today!!" (Clerks anyone?)
The next day, take 2. Back to the airport, more boarding passes, back through customs. (I have 2 stamps in my passport on the same page -apparantly I arrived in the US twice in 2 days.) This time though - success! Take-off, landing, luggage, taxi, hotel. The hotel was a little....disappointing....nothing really wrong with it but it was like a bad conversion of an old backpackers. Our 2 single beds were so close together that we may as well have shared a king! Anyway, there was no time to dwell on that - we had things to do! Step one: book a Broadway show. With tickets to see Mary Poppins that night in our hot little hands, we trekked up 5th Avenue (along with at least a million other people - New York was crazy busy) to Tiffany's. Also crazy busy! But the crowds did not deter us - we left with little blue bags in hand!
And back to 42nd Street we went (with a quick bite to sustain us) to the New Amsterdam theatre. A beautiful theatre I have to say; very good that Disney took the effort to restore it so well during the Broadway revival of the 90s. Mary Poppins was fantastic too - a good fun musical and the kids did a great job with their big roles. After the show we managed to squeeze in a visit to the M&M store (cheesy merchandise anyone?) and a hot chocolate before we went back to the tiny hotel room to hit the hay.
NYC - Day 2. Up and out, breakfast, then on to the Rockefeller Centre to check out the view from the Top of the Rock. The queues looked daunting, but thankfully moved quite quickly. A little overcast, but a great view. Next stop, MoMA. Again - crazy busy. (Is anyone else noticing this theme??) The crowds around some of the big ticket items like Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' and Munch's 'The Scream' were unbelievable. So much for 'enjoying' art too - everyone was just taking photos on their iDevices! At least I had a chance to soak up some Picasso and Monet without a jostling crowd. We managed to get lunch at a cafe there with a minimum of waiting (desite the fact that the cafe was - you guessed it - crazy busy!) before checking out some more art and heading out. Next step, shopping. Bloomingdales was our store of choice for a browse ....and a buy :)
Feet up in our little room for a bit, before freshening up for dinner. We went to a traditional New York Steakhouse and had too much food and a bottle of wine while sitting in a red velvet booth with mood lighting. A good end to a busy day. Tempting as it was to go out after for cocktails, colds convinced us to head home for a decent night's sleep.
Day 3, and the bubbly morning TV presenter tells us: "It's a 5 layer day today!" Apparantly the wind chill was going to be a killer. Not enough to deter us though, as we headed to our nearest subway station to go and check out the Brooklyn Bridge. Surprisingly - crazy busy! A beautiful, blue sky day though. And yes, I'll admit that the wind was pretty cold on the face, but apart from that I really didn't feel cold at all. I must be getting tough after living in Ottawa!
After a coffee, we hit the pavement and walked through Chinatown and Little Italy, where it made sense to stop for a pizza for lunch. The table next to us had 2 Aussies at it - some of the many Aussie accents we heard over the few days. We then crossed town, through SoHo and West Village (it's funny to see quiet residential streets in the middle of such a big and busy city) to the High Line. It's an old elevated railway line which has been converted to a park. I can see that it would be fantastic in summer to stop for a drink and soak up the view, but in winter it was really just people walking. Sadly, the afternoon (my last) was ticking by, so we caught the subway back to our 'hood (but did manage to squeeze in some shoe shopping!) so that I could be ready to catch the shuttle to the airport.
It was sad to say goodbye to my sister as she headed off to her next hotel and I got on the shuttle to the airport. I grabbed a bite to eat which was thankfully substantial as my flight home was delayed by about 2 hours. I don't know what I would have done without a good book, but even so I was struggling to keep my eyes open by the time I got in the front door. Lucky I have a good hubby - he went to work a bit later the next day so that I could sleep in a bit while he got the kids up, dressed and fed. I was still damn tired though!!
So, that was the Big Apple. It was my second bite (couldn't resist the bad pun - sorry!) and I look forward to going back for another taste while we are here in Ottawa. Since I've been back, it's been pretty quiet. Another round of colds has passed through the house, and school/playgroups etc were all on break, but we were back into our normal routine this week just gone. I'll write more about life in Ottawa next time!
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