I mentioned before that some of the recent reviews for the hotel had been less than stellar. There were three main complaints. The one about the condition of the rooms we had managed to put to bed the previous evening. The others were about the noise and the quality of the breakfast. There is a fairly substantial road behind the hotel that is busy around the clock. However, the windows are well soundproofed and all we could hear is a low hum. We live in the city centre right by a busy ring road and this is what we get at home, too. I can understand that this may bother you if you live somewhere very quiet, but I found it very reassuring. I think it actually helped me sleep. We both slept very well. We woke up just before the alarm went off at 7:30.
We got ready and then headed downstairs for breakfast. This was by no means a gourmet offering, but then that is not really what I would expect from a complimentary breakfast in a three-star hotel. There was something for everybody including four hot dishes per day. There were also some really nice touches like flavoured creamers and make your own waffles. We enjoyed the breakfast. Graham had a banana, some tropical fruit cocktail and yoghurt to start with. I made myself some chocolate waffles with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Graham had some hot food. He tried the bacon with French toast fingers. He also had some oatmeal with almonds, dried fruit and brown sugar. I had some tropical fruit cocktail, and some Reese’s Puffs cereal with milk. This alone would have sold me on breakfast. I know the stuff is not good for you, but once in a while as a treat, it is OK. We can get this in the UK, but it is crazy expensive. To have this available for the taking was a definite bonus. I figured I should have at least some protein and had a boiled egg. We both had some coffee. This was slightly better quality than Royal Caribbean blend, but not by much. Graham tried it with hazelnut creamer first and was not to thrilled. I found that was perfectly drinkable with the addition of some French vanilla creamer.
After breakfast, we headed upstairs to get ready for the day. Once we had everything we needed, we headed out. I took some photos of the Christmas decorations and the antique stagecoach on the way out. Then we headed out to the bus stop. We were waiting quite a while for a bus, but when it came, it was relatively empty. This was the same bus we had taken the previous day, but it turned out that where we had got off then was only about halfway. Add to this morning traffic and it took forever. Eventually we did make it to the ferry terminal and the bus station is right in front of it. We followed the signs for the ferry. We still had enough time to quickly use the bathroom and then it was time to get on the ferry.
The Staten Island Ferry is a commuter service that is free to use and runs 24 hours a day. It runs at least every 30 minutes, but during the morning and evening rush hour, the frequency increases to every 15 minutes. I expected something quite small, but the ferries are huge and can fit up to 6000 passengers. They also provide some amazing views over Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. They tried to sell us a harbour cruise near the ferry terminal, but I doubt that we would have seen more on that than we had on the free ferry ride. This was definitely one of the highlights of our stay in New York.
The ferry terminal in Manhattan is on the southern tip and it is opposite Battery Park. Some novels that I had read that were set in New York mentioned Battery Park and it was therefore on my radar. Graham figured it would be worse checking out as there is a famous carousel in there. The SeaGlass Carousel was proposed in 2007 and opened in 2015. At a cost $16 million, this may well have been the most expensive carousel I have ever seen. The carousel is designed to resemble an under-the-sea garden through which visitors ride on fish that appear to be made of sea glass and shimmer as though they were bioluminescent. I would have loved to check this out, but unfortunately during the winter months, it is only open on weekends and public holidays. However, the building is an attraction in its own right. There is also a sculpture trail in Battery Park, and we saw some of the sculptures. The little detour was definitely worth it.
When I made some loose plans for New York before the trip, I had no intention of visiting the 9/11 Memorial again. We had done this in 2016, and I figured once would be enough. However, I had no clear idea just how close this is to the ferry terminal. As we were approaching the Manhattan ferry terminal, I spotted One World Trade Center right in front of us. We could have walked this in about fifteen minutes. However, I figured I would do plenty of walking that day. We took the subway for two stops, and this brought us out right opposite the Oculus shopping centre, which is part of the World Trade Center complex. We then walked towards the actual 9/11 Memorial. On the way we came across a series of animal statues that looked strangely familiar. Yet, I was sure that they had not been there in 2016. I was right on both counts. The series is called A Wild Life for Wildlife and was created by British and Australian artists, Gillie and Marc. The statues were installed in May 2023 and were meant to be on display for 12 months. The reason why they looked so familiar is that there is a statue with two of the characters near Circular Quay in Sydney. I have just found out that one of their statues is right here in Manchester. I think I need to check this out.
We pushed on towards the actual memorial. One of the pools is currently under maintenance. I thought this did not look quite like I remembered it. Then I saw a sign advising what was happening and that the other pool was still how it was intended. We headed over there. I was quite surprised to see some yellow roses. I remembered the white roses from our previous visit. They are put there by a group of volunteers on the birthday of the victims. Loved ones can request a photo of the birthday roses. The yellow roses were new to me. I checked if I could find anything out about them. Apparently, they were put there for Veterans Day for victims who had served in the armed forces. I found this very moving, too.
I did consider for a minute or two if I should check out the museum. In 2016, this was very busy, but this time round there did not seem to be any lines. This did not really grab Graham. He was however more than happy to wait for me. In the end, I decided against it. There was so much I wanted to see, and we only had very limited time. Instead, we went inside the Oculus shopping centre to use the bathroom and then we headed for the subway.
We may have made an error there. The subway station there is an absolute rabbit warren. We ended up going up and down numerous stairs and along platforms. We were just about to give up when I realised that we were right above the platform we needed to be on. Fortunately, just as we came down the staircase, the train we needed pulled in. This took us to Central Park North. When we visited Central Park in 2016, we entered from the south end. I still prefer the southern half, but I am glad that I got to experience both ends. The northern end mainly consists of green spaces and various lakes and ponds whereas on the southern end there are all kinds of interesting buildings and structures. On our wanders, we encountered black squirrels. In certain parts of Germany, there are black squirrels, but they are nothing like the black squirrels in Central Park. The black squirrels in Germany are the more timid cousin of the red squirrel. The black squirrels in Central Park were feisty. We watched then chasing grey squirrels away.
Near the north end of Central Park, there was a lot of construction going on. This led to a bit of an unexpected treat. In the middle of the construction zone was the Conservatory Garden, which is the only formal garden in Central Park. There was a small sign stating that the Conservatory Garden was open as usual. We decided to check it out. Every now and again, somebody passed through, but for the main part we had the place to ourselves. There were all kinds of birds around and I saw my first chipmunks in the wild. The real treat how was on an adjacent building. An osprey had made this its hunting base. This is not the kind of bird you would expect in the middle of a city. I suppose there are plenty of bodies of water in Central Park nor is there a shortage of rodents and small mammals. It was fascinating to watch this majestic bird go about its business.
The conservatory garden was a dead end. There was a detour posted that took you south in Central Park via a fairly steep hill. As inevitably what goes up has to go down again, I did not really fancy this. Instead we exited onto 5th Avenue to avoid the stretch of construction. By then, I was ready for a snack. Before we visited New York in 2016, Graham had repeatedly told me that I needed to have a hot dog in Central Park. On the day, he told me that they are truly awful, and I never bothered. However, the only snacks near Central Park appeared to be hot dogs. I decided to take my chances. We ended up sharing a hot dog. It was nothing special, but it definitely was not awful, and it did fill a hole. We re-entered Central Park at the next entrance. Graham wanted to take a walk by the reservoir as he was hoping that there would be some interesting birds about. We were out of luck. The only birds were some ducks and Canada geese. It was still a nice walk though.
As we were approaching the bottom end of the reservoir, Graham spotted a beautiful church out on 5th Avenue. He asked if I wanted to check this out. I was all for that. The sun was starting to go down and I had done enough walking for the day. We left Central Park and crossed the road. The church he had spotted was Church of the Heavenly Rest. In US terms, this is quite an old church that was founded in 1865. Its name was meant to be a memorial to soldiers that lost their lives in the Civil War. The present church building is relatively recent and was completed in 1929. The style is referred to as Gothic Deco. It is quite a dark space when you first come it. However, when your eyes adapt you realise just how beautiful this is. The main highlight is the stunning art deco stained-glass windows. From the very beginning, the church has provided food, shelter and support to the needy. The congregation today prides itself on being fully inclusive and a big supporter of the arts.
After we had thoroughly enjoyed our surroundings and recharged the batteries a little, we decided to take to the buses to get closer to Times Square. There was a lot to see along 5th Avenue. We passed St. Patrick’s Cathedral, but we decided to keep this for the next day. We passed through an area that seemed to be a million miles away from both 5th Avenue and Times Square, but then we happened upon Broadway, and I knew were where close to our destination.
On our way to Times Square, we found another beautiful church. This church is called Church of St. Mary the Virgin. It is colloquially known as “Smoky Mary’s” because of the amount of incense used in the services. The church has been called one of the finest Gothic-inspired designs of New York’s late 19th century. It was designated a New York City landmark in 1989 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. This is another Episcopal church. If I had not seen the code of arms of the Episcopal church on the outside and seen it mentioned on an information display near the entrance. I would never have guessed this. Unlike the church we visited earlier, this was very ornate and had the look and feel of a Roman Catholic church. I am pretty sure that even though the churches technically belong to the same denomination, they are about as far apart as they come. I suppose this should not surprise me. The Episcopal Church of the United States is part of the Anglican Communion and in the Church of England we have a similar thing with high church and low church with the high church being closer to the Roman Catholic Church and the low church going more in the direction of Lutheran or reformed churches. Although I am definitely leaning towards the latter in my personal preference, this was a stunning church, and I am glad that we had found it.
Eventually we did make it to Times Square. I was reminded very quickly why I dislike it so intensely. It is crowded, gaudy and utterly soul destroying. It was more crowded than usual that evening. I wondered what people were lining up for. Apparently, they were trying to get last minute tickets for Broadway shows. Times Square as one redeeming feature. They have a huge Disney Store. Graham had told me that I could pick out something for part of my birthday present. When I visited the Disney Store in Times Square in 2016, I wanted to buy half the shop. They had a great selection of New York specific merchandise. I love Spirit Jerseys, and the remaining Disney Stores in London and Paris have special Spirit Jerseys. I had intended to get a New York Spirit Jersey. Unfortunately, it turned out that there was no such thing. What exclusive merchandise they did have, did not thrill me. They did have a selection of Disney Dooney and Bourke bags, which I have collected for years. However, the designs they had did not inspire me. I came away empty-handed. I did however take a photo of a statue of Minnie dressed up as the Statue of Liberty.
Dinner that evening was at The Olive Garden. I was surprised that there was one right at Times Square. This was too good to pass up. Graham had a house salad followed by a chicken and shrimp carbonara. He had a mango strawberry iced tea. I am more of a soup than a salad person and had the pasta e fagiole soup. I resisted the offer of a refill. I had the chicken tortellini Alfredo, which was very rich and delicious. Even with declining a second helping of the soup, I did not manage to finish it. I had a Bellini peach and raspberry iced tea. I made good use of the free refills for this.
There was a subway station right next to The Olive Garden for the line that goes to the ferry terminal. There was some disruption, which meant we had to wait about 10 minutes for a subway that went all the way to the ferry terminal, but that was no problem. When we arrived at the other end, it was just a question from coming out of the subway station, crossing the street and entering the ferry terminal. We went upstairs and a few minutes later, our ferry arrived.
I enjoyed the ferry ride as much in the evening than I had in the morning. It was magical to see Manhattan all lit up. We still had an almost full moon, which was right over the Brooklyn Bridge. I managed to get some really nice photos. We were on the wrong side of the ferry for the Statue of Liberty, but I figured I would have another chance for some nighttime photos of the Statue of Liberty the following day, but the moon may not be as cooperative the next day. One we lost our view; we went inside as it was quite breezy. Shortly afterwards, we docked in Staten Island.
We did not fancy taking to the buses after a long and tiring day. We decided to get an Uber. Initially there was some signage for ride share, but this petered out. We asked a security guard, and he pointed us to a shelter around the corner. This made sense. We ordered the Uber and waited. Eventually I got an update that the driver had arrived, but i could not see anything that looked like an Uber. I message him and he had actually gone near the bus station. He told me to wait, and he did come down to the lower level. Once we had been picked up, we had a smooth ride back to the hotel.
When we got back to the hotel, we found a long line at the front desk. We had a letter in the room the previous day that they would be switching the locks over the next couple of days and that once done, new keys would be required. I figured that rather than going upstairs and then having to come down again, I would check with the front desk if our room had been done. They seemed to have issues with programming the new keys. A security guard took people upstairs in batches to let them in. He told us that our floor had not been done yet and was due to be done the next day. He still came by to check if we had managed to get in our room OK, which I thought was nice.
Once we were back in the room, we relaxed for a while to let the food go down. Then we enjoyed our bottle of Caliterra that we had brought from the ship. While we enjoyed our wine, I checked my emails and checked Facebook. When we had finished our wine, we got ready for bed. I read a few pages, but soon we were both asleep.
Dolphingirl’s Travels 
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