3 Go Global

September 18th: 

Woke up to yet another glorious day of sunshine. Leisurely start as we had to go and pick up the car from Buffalo Airport. Nobody had a great night’s sleep, I was worried about driving the car and Josh was on mouse watch. We discovered a little visitor in the room and while it didn’t bother Ophelie and I, Josh was a bit freaked out by it! 

At the car rental counter the lady behind the desk said we should look at upgrading as the car was very small for 3 of us and for such a long trip but she has obviously never seen us in the Metro – complete with Ikea dining room table and chairs! It’s the size of a Sierra so not bad. Getting out on the road was great. Listening to the radio where songs twang about a-huggin and a-kissin and an undying love for Jesus really make us feel like we are here. Josh begs to turn it off but the alternative bickering in the back is just not enough reason – oh and are we there yet??? I must just remember – steering wheel in the middle of the road and we were off.  Stopped in Eerie and although the houses were nice there wasn’t really much else going on so we pressed on to Cleveland. We arrived just in time to see The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

 

Gringo in NiagaraOriginally uploaded by roupiesontour

Saturday September 15th. We were sad to say goodbye to NY but it was time to move on. We took the Amtrak train up to Niagara Falls – about a 10 hour trip. It was v relaxing to take the world in at a slower pace. The train followed the Hudson River up for most of the way, beautiful scenery – forest covered mountains, circling hawks and the sun shining off the river. The guards on the trains are characters themselves and really make you feel welcome. We arrived in Niagara late and it was straight off to the hotel and bed.

Sunday September 16th. A cloudy but warm day. Why is it in America you do not seem to be able to get around without a car? There are loads of bus stops but no buses. We decided to “hike” the concrete jungle that is Niagara to the falls – we finally got on a bus after an hour. We’d nearly made it into town by this time!! It is a rundown, industrial area – imagine Bognor Regis in the 70’s – basically a bit of a dump. It took us a while to actually find the falls as they are not really marked.

The falls themselves are spectacular. Hearing the rush of water that fast is amazing.

We donned the famous blue ponchos and boarded the Maid of the Mist, got completely soaked but we were still laughing at the end of it. I wound up the kids saying the lift down to the boat was free but because we had gone over budget that day we had to walk up as you had to pay – ohhh the faces they pulled!!!

Popped into Canada for something to eat – kids were chuffed as the passports were stamped. The view of the falls is much better from the Canadian side – in fact it seems that the Canadians have much more fun as everything was much better laid out. Tip for anyone wanting to see the falls – stay on the Canadian side!

We caught the bus back – all the way this time! We were getting near to the hotel and we stopped (the bus was full) the bus driver shouts – “Hey You Miss – in the sunglasses, come here and bring the kids”. This is it I thought – we have violated some ridiculous little law like sitting on our seats wrong or something. We nervously walked up to the front of the bus and the driver says “This is the last stop on this road, for your hotel I would get off now”. The relief, I really thought we were in trouble. In hindsight I think the driver just enjoyed the power of making you feel a little bit smaller! Dumb Limeys right….

  

Battery Park MemorialOriginally uploaded by roupiesontour

Ha ha I have at last worked out how to access the free internet in the room. I came up last night after uploading the blog from the wi-fi hotspot in the lobby and both the kids were fast asleep!

Got up a bit later today………well we completely overslept after all of yesterday’s walking. First stop was Ground Zero. I don’t quite know what I expected but is certainly a strange place. The site is fenced off as building is underway on a new tower as a memorial – apart from that there is really nothing there. The area is conspicuous as it is surrounded on all sides by massive buildings and the site is a gaping hole. I could only look up at the other buildings and see how far those people who jumped had to fall. I just cannot imagine what the panic must have been like – it made me want to cry. We left the area quickly afterwards. The photo is of a memorial we came across at Battery Park, the fireman’s jacket a freaky icon.

 15 minutes later and my spirits had a chance to soar – I finally got to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge – a top 10 things to do before I die completed.

It was amazing, New Yorkers seem to use it to exercise, jogging, cycling (do not dare to walk in the cycle lane, the abuse a poor Spanish couple received turned the air blue!) and for catching up on gossip while power walking. I touched the arches and again my mind was off wandering about the men who had constructed it – it was such a feat at the time.

Walking around I am surprised about the number of homeless people. The lady in the picture was rummaging through the bins. Some carry laptop bags and look quite smart until you see their shoes are full of holes. One guy we met was handing out cards trying to get people to help test Aids vaccines – he was HIV positive and was also trying to educate people – that’s just the New York style – despite adversity there’s still always time for a joke.

The afternoon saw us catching the orange Staten Island ferry, I can’t believe it is free. Great views of Manhattan and Statue of Liberty and the theme tune for “Working Girl” would not go out of my head all day – “Let The River Run……….” Also managed to visit Hook & Ladder 8, the home of Ghostbusters and the Friends building for Ophelie. She was surprised at how different it looks to the series. I loved meandering around Tribeca and Soho, imagining winning the lottery and having a nice little brownstone here……..as you do. Every time we got the map out for more than 10 seconds someone would come up and ask if we needed help and we would usually end up with a little history about their city too. Can not imagine people in London being as friendly.

We arrived late at the hotel – JFK to Newark was not much fun but we did it and fell into bed exhausted. The subway is not scary at night – just very colourful characters! The art is amazing too…….

We did go through the Lincoln Tunnel on the way though so O now knows how Elf got to NY. 

I am already behind with all this blog thing so I will try to catch up all at once. I am posing a bit and typing this up on the plane – If I make the writing any smaller the people peering over to read it will fall out of their seats.