Conquering the Empire

At 4.30 this morning, there was a voice in the hallway "wake-up sir, you can't sleep here" ...... hmmm. This continued for a whole hour and it appeared that he had no luck moving the person in the hallway, so he clearly called in the 'big guns', a woman. Her voice could easily move a heard of cattle. It certainly woke me up!! When we exited there was no sight of anything or anyone .... so clearly the woman did a great job!!

Our plan today was to climb The Empire State Building. When speaking to the hotel concierge earlier in the week, she suggested we try to get there between 8 and 10 am; this would help reduce the wait which should only be 30 to 60mins at this time of the day. The best way to see the city was to climb to the 86th floor and then the 102nd floor. Well 'climb' is probably the incorrect word ..... caught elevators to each floor through a labyrinth of weaves, turns and ropes. These were clearly there for when it was busy.

When we arrived at the bottom of the building, we were expecting at least a 30min wait; however, it was straight up and onto the information section and then the first lot of elevators to the 80th floor which was the museum. Here we read (and were told through the audio tour) of this amazing structure being built in the 1920s without health and safety regulating its construction. We saw images of men bolting together the enormous frames of steel without harnesses, even when they were on the very top floors; simply incredible. I thought of Grandad Tom at this time - how can a building be built without health and safety checks and guidelines!!!

We caught the next elevator to the 86th floor to the observation deck. This was simply amazing. There was an enclosed glass observation area, and then you could actually walk out, onto the verandah area and walk 360degrees around this level. The view was incredible; literally took my breath away and made my legs go to jelly when I approached the edge. Even though there were a brick wall and a high wire fence, I still felt overwhelmed by the sheer height of the building. The fact there was an incredibly cold breeze may have also added to my desire to be behind the glass.

The thought of going up to the 102nd floor concerned me a little, especially when we had to go into a small elevator that was hand-driven and was closed by a fence door. Instead of floors, the elevator indicated the height we reached, which by the 102nd floor was 1250feet. The gate and doors opened to a small enclosure (when I say small, it could only hold approximately 15 to 20 people at one time) which gave 360-degree views of the city and beyond from behind glass. It was, as Peter says "simply breathtaking and a once in a lifetime opportunity" - just incredible. Photos can not do the views justice.

It was a very quick elevator back down to the bottom with some wonderful memories. The next important part to our day was to find a good coffee. We were over Starbucks, and being spoilt at the Chelsea Markets with a flat white we knew this task would be difficult. However, now that we had 'conquered' the Empire State Building, we thought this should be an easy challenge. With coffee and New York cheesecake in hand from"Andrews Coffee," we went back to walk the streets, only to place the coffee straight into the closet bin ...... But the cheesecake was simply beautiful, nearly as good as Nanna Lyn's. Disappointed we found an actual coffee shop

called "Coffee Bene" and enjoyed a nice coffee while the girls indulged in a Christmas hot chocolate that was topped with whipped cream and tiny marshmallows; consequently, we sat inside the warmth and enjoyed watching the streets of New York for our final day. We decided that New York is like every large city with its homeless and the constant aroma of cigarette smoke.

We decided last night to allow the girls to go back to the biggest toy store today and to enjoy lunch or dinner out. So with very full bellies (in fact Hayley was feeling a tad ill from all that chocolate) we went back into the cold and made our way to Toys R Us to let Miranda and Hayley explore. Lunch then was a toss-up between Bubba Gump or at Eataly. After lining up at Bubba Gump we left and made the decision to head to the Pizza and Pasta section of Eataly. Now it is still true that we try to avoid eating breads/pastas and pizzas; however, being a once in a lifetime experience, we simply had to go. So we lined up and were told it would be a 40 to 50min wait. Now you have to understand that we had walked from 42nd street to 23rd street with little girls a tad hungry, in the cold, and now we had to wait.

We put our name down and left in an attempt to find somewhere else. It's interesting how when you are hungry and have your mindset on eating something specific that no matter where you go and where you look, there are no food places which look even remotely interesting. Lucky for the biscuit snacks; as we walked for 25mins then decided to go back to Eataly, stay in the warmth and just wait; now it was most definitely worth the wait. We ordered a mixed salami plate for entree, and then between us three different pizzas. Now, while Nanna Lyn's pizzas still rate very highly with the girls, we have certainly found our new favourite. These pizzas are freshly made on-site and with clearly the freshest ingredients. They are light, flavoursome and were very enjoyable. Peter and I indulged in a glass of fabulous Italian Red Wine (which per glass was as expensive as the pizza ..... once in a lifetime!!!!!) and the girls had an Italian lemon soda.

Hayley ordered a pepperoni and mozzarella pizza, Miranda, an Italian sausage, mozzarella, olives and Spanish onion pizza while Peter and I ordered an Italian sausage and mushroom pizza. We sat for an hour or so and enjoyed a beautiful meal and drinks, and then for our last evening, we walked very briskly to the Chelsea Markets once more and then back to the hotel to pack.

What an incredible 5 days it has been in New York, some wonderful memories formed from some incredible experiences. Off, tomorrow to explore a new city and enjoy some new adventures.