15th September, part 1 - we love NY!

What a crazy busy day - where do we even start? Well, maybe with breakfast. Our hotel price includes free breakfast, which we made the most of.

Then off to Times Square to join a hop-on, hop-off bus tour.

 

We started with the Downtown loop, which covers the area South of Times Square. So many well-known sites in such a small area!

And quite bizarrely, we got chatting with another passenger on the bus who turned out to be from Hazelbrook!

We hopped off at Battery Park, right at the Southern tip, for a stroll around. The park was full of very cute squirrels, including one rapturously happy one who had found an enormous pretzel. We also visited Castle Clinton....

... and saw views of the Statue of Liberty, which we will be back to see more of later.

Then back on the bus, around past the Brooklyn & Manhattan Bridges...

.... and the Rockefeller Center which we will be going RIGHT TO THE TOP OF, are we crazy???

Off the bus again to traipse around some of the many amazing  opportunities Times Square offers for removing money from tourists...

(We managed to get away with minimal spending.)

Also meandered through a Sunday market on 8th Ave.

Next we did the Uptown loop of the hop-on, hop-off bus. We saw some beautiful apartment blocks and magnificent churches, and went around part of Central Park.

Further up to Harlem....

...where our way was slowed by a march of some sort - it seemed to be political but there was quite a parade with bands and cheerleaders.

Eventually back down past the other side of Central Park, where we stopped for a quick late lunch.

Well done to anyone who made it this far - to be continued!