After Helen’s first visit to NY almost two years ago
subsequent itineraries now have to include a stopover. On arrival we were
invited by Kate Collins (Jan & Iain’s neice) to a wonderful meal at Arva (141East
48th Street). Excellent food, two bottles of a favourite wine - Santorini Boutari and great company made for a
memorable night. I suspect Kate was pleased she took a train in rather than drove.
Our first outing was to Central Park which was much
busier in 30°C than the minus
temperatures of our last visit.
We travelled using a 48 hour “Hop on Hop off” double decker
open bus tour. One guide was particularly good not just discussing history and
architecture but also suggesting photo opportunities. On reflection he was right.
As for the architecture it is in abundance – some samples….
The readily recognisable Empire State Building
The less well known but aptly named Flat Iron
The Beekman Tower with its rippling effect is a new edition
We took a recommended walk (with thousands of others) across
the Brooklyn Bridge. Although highly rated by New Yorkers we found it busy,
noisy with traffic and with limited views (you walk in the middle). Climbing on
the parapet was one way of improving the outlook. The building in the background
under construction is WTC 1 which will be the tallest building in NY.
We visited the WTC memorial which was an evocative
experience. It comprises two huge square double waterfalls. The names of those
who died are inscribed in the parapet and visitors are encouraged to touch. It
is a great design that allows reflection of the events of 9/11 and includes
those who died in the Pentagon and Shanksville as well as those who died in the
February 1993 WTC car park bomb. Behind the Southern pool is the soon to be
opened museum as well as WTC1.
It was also good to see that flight paths remain unchanged.
From the hotel we were able to walk to The Mall via the White House
The Washington monument
and Capitol Hill.
On either side of the Mall are the Smithsonian museums.
These were initially set up through a large donation. We were amazed that the initial doner James
Smithson never visited the USA in his lifetime but died in Genoa, Italy in
1828. His remains were later brought across for reinterment in The Smithsonian
Castle in 1904.
We only had time for part of one museum and of course, with
Helen, that had to be the Natural History museum. Two highlights: the first was feeding a
Tarantula (with a cricket). These spiders do not kill humans and only bite prey
of a size that they can eat. They do shoot the hairs off their back which can
irritate but that’s all. However, as they only eat every few weeks (one at the
museum did not eat for 52 weeks) they are not the most exciting of pets.
Far more exciting was the second highlight the Hope diamond. At 45.52 carats it is
one of the largest and best known diamonds in the world. The surrounding 16
diamonds and platinum chain with 46 more diamonds aren’t too shoddy either.
We ended the day at Union Station which is a destination in
its own right. Spectacular. After spending all day walking in very hot and
humid conditions we succumbed to a cooling Haagen Dazs ice cream – never mind
the fat points.
The next day was less energetic as we headed for a leisurely
boat trip and lunch on the Potomac river. Good fun. During the trip we passed
the Water Gate hotel, John F Kennedy
performing arts centre and passed very slowly under a railway bridge
with inches (it is USA) to spare. The Potomac river is tidal albeit 100 miles
upstream and sometimes the Odyssey does not fit.
To round off our Washington visit we took the opportunity to
visit Cirque De Soleil – Totem. It was brilliant.
We then drove South for a day to North Carolina and Steve
and Jilly’s place vowing to come back to Washington. The main plot with Steve
and Jilly was to have a leisurely time centred on a bit of golf and a bit of
eating. The latter included a restaurant at the beach (great clam chowder
soup).
and
cheese and wine on the club’s beach house
We at least had a walk along the beach which is vast with
very few people. I suspect with the regular breeze a good deal of fun could be
had with land yachts (maybe a business opportunity Steve).
Mind you care would need to be had near the turtle nests
which are labelled and protected.
One of our more energetic days was spent walking round Brookgreen
Gardens and in particular the Huntington Sculpture gardens. It was hard to pick
amongst many outstanding displays but I did like Heron, Grouse and Loon
as well as the descending Jaguar
Throughout,
the dappled light views engendered a feeling of calm and tranquillity.
We also took the opportunity for a boat trip along the
nearby Waccamaw river. The guide did not see this Alligator but at about a metre
it was pretty small (well compared to an Aussie croc).
This yellow bellied slider tortoise was enjoying sunbaking
while the buzzards were as usual waiting for something to
die.
Steve and Jilly had organised an Australian dinner with some
friends who really entered into the spirit. The range of wine and food was
diverse ranging from meat pies (much too higher quality), pavlova and Tim Tams.
The numerous wines were great but we were taken aback at
the generosity of one visitor (Whit) who brought along a 1982 vintage bottle of
Grange Hermitage. A wonderful note on which to end this years Northern
hemisphere’s venture which took shared experiences to a new level.
