Tuesday 9th October 2012

Tuesday 9th October 2012 was our first full day in New York and what a full day it was.  The weather was not too good - very cold and showery but that did not spoil a good day.

We had an organised bus tour in the morning that gave us a good overview of New York City followed by a boat cruise out past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  We got to see the main highlights of New York City on the bus tour - showing us the bridges, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, Ground Zero, the Financial District including Wall Street, Grenwich Village, Soho, Convention Centre and a lot of the famous buildings that dot the skyline of New York.  It gave us a good overview of the city and how all the street grids work which will make it easier for us to find our way around when we visit the sites in greater detail. 

The tour finished with a cruise which was seeing New York from a different perspective and we got to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty up close. 

After the tour we walked 5th Avenue checking out Trump Tower, Gucchi,Tiffany's, The Apple Store and all the other expensive shops. Then we walked along the edge of Central Park on our way back to the hotel.  Central Park is huge and we saved that for another day as it would require several hours just to get an overview of the park.

That evening we walked down to Times Square and Broadway.

It was a huge day and we got a touch of how cool it can be in New York.  We made good use of our warm clothing today.  The showers were only light and did not worry us too much.