I will never ever forget the first time I saw the Manhattan skyline.   I drove from our apartment in Wayne New Jersey and crossed the George Washington Bridge.  Nigel had a project and we had arrived at night and gone straight to our Condominium complex.  Our apartment was basically in the middle of the woods, with fireflys and deer and raccoons roaming about.  We had a private lake and seven swimming pools and on the weekends the apartment complex hosted wiener roasts.  We were so far from Manhattan and yet really only a 40 minute drive.

I remember seeing the skyline at first rising up in the distance.  The twin towers were huge and completely dominated the end of the island.  The Empire State was stunning and the Chrysler building was shiny and bright.  I loved it.  I drove across the bridge and encountered my first stoop and trash cans and hotdog vendors on the sidewalk.  It was literally like I had transported myself into Sesame Street.  I half expected Big Bird to come wandering around the corner.  I then worked out that the drivers in Manhattan were maniacs and there was nowhere to park so I saved my Manhattan adventures for when I would take the bus into Midtown.   It wasa always an experience to take the bus to Manhattan and then return to this little Oasis in the woods.

Same feeling all these years later but the Twin Towers are no longer and it’s been replaced with One World Trade.  Our first time in New York Nigel and I went up the Empire State and said we will go up the Twin Towers next time.  The next times we were in Manhattan we saw ground zero and a huge construction site and said we must go up that next time.  So finally managed a trip to the top this time and then wandered around the 9-11 memorial.  The lift ride up to the top is a really awesome experience and very theatrical.  The 9-11 memorial was quite moving.  Families there to celebrate birthdays and to remember those who died.  You know it’s their birthday as there is a white rose placed in their name by the staff.  I have to say that I really hope that there is never any day as shocking as 9-11 was for me.  Even now I still can’t believe it happened.

New York was fantastic and busy and covered in police and bollards and security everywhere.  We escaped the crowds and headed for a whole day in Central Park where we sat and watched the squirrels and walked and walked for hours.  It seemed that around every corner was another surprise and another person selling hotdogs.

A friend of mine who is a New Yorker had recommended that we do a show called Accomplice.  He said go with an open mind and your walking shoes and you’ll see a whole new side of New York.  I won’t spoil the surprises but it’s best described as a walking immersive experience through the streets of New York.  It starts with a phone call with your starting destination and then you go from there.  You never really know who are the actors and who are regular people.  It was absolutely brilliant and we both loved the puzzles and surprises and saw some awesome parts of the city.  Highly recommended way to spend a few hours and a few thousand steps in New York.

But our city adventure was over and we were off to the Airport again.  This time to fly to Miami where our Caribbean cruising adventure would start.