Sunday, 29th April

Start spreading the news – we went to The Big Apple today!! :-) And it was a good thing we wore walking shoes!! :-)

We left at 7am for the drive to the City and were on 'high alert' for a glimpse of the famous skyline of New York. Using the Lincoln Tunnel to go under the Hudson River to reach Manhattan, we found parking and caught a typical 'NYC Yellow Cab' to Ground Zero - the site of the tragedy that occurred on 9/11. There was a very somber atmosphere at the memorial to those who died and those who gave their lives on that day. We could not see exactly where the Twin Towers stood as major construction is under way to build 'Freedom Tower' which, once completed, will be the same height as the World Trade Center was and will stand on its foundation. After Ground Zero we walked to Wall Street to see the famous Bull!! There was a crowd of people having their pictures taken, but we managed to squeeze in for a photo or two.

Then it was time to view Lady Liberty herself!! Well, from a distance anyway! We walked to Battery Park and through Castle Clinton to reach the docks where ferries leave to visit the Statue of Liberty. We stood on the docks and took a few team photos to mark the occasion (see photo with the Statue of Liberty in the background)!

From Battery Park we made our way to Chinatown. We went to the Oriental Garden Dim Sum Restaurant – a whole experience in itself! :-) Here follows a list of the food we sampled: spring rolls, shrimp wantons, calamari, dumplings, bok choy, rice noodles with shrimp, Lotus leaf rice, baked roast pork buns and wedges and egg tart for dessert. Oh, and Chinese Green Tea to wash it all down!

We all enjoyed the food a lot (Ferdi and Jaap were so excited they spilt their food all over the tablecloth in a record-breaking 2 minutes!! ;-)) – but nobody enjoyed it as much as Jaap who loved the food so much that he ate the paper that it was wrapped in too (he claims it was by accident - he thought it was meant to be eaten)!!

After lunch, we strolled through the areas of Little Italy and Soho and walked passed New York's City Hall and Supreme Court on the way to the Empire State Building (the one where King Kong fought off the planes! :-)). After standing in line for 40 minutes we made it to the elevator which whisked us up to the open-air 86th floor Observatory in just under a minute!! There air was icy cold on top of the Empire State Building (see team photo) - but that wasn't what took our breath away - the view from the top was spectacular!! Sweeping panoramic vistas showed us a breathtaking and serene side of New York (very different from the hustle and bustle below!). I think its safe to say that in a day full of highlights - the Empire State Building took the cake!

After spending a bit more time 'on top of the world' we made our way to Rockefeller Center to see the famous gold statue of Promethues (Greek legend says he brought fire to mankind - this statue is cited as the 4th most familiar statue in the US (behind the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty). We then went to St. Patrick's Cathedral (where, amongst others, the funerals of Babe Ruth and Robert F. Kennedy were held) and then strolled down 5th Avenue and popped into Trump Towers on the way to Central Park. Central Park covers 843 acres (which is 6% of Manhattan) and is a beautiful oasis in the middle of this awesome city!

We went to the Carnegie Deli for dinner - where we had Dr Brown's Creme Soda and sandwiches which were so huge they have to been seen to be believed!! We all arrived hungry (after a really hard day of walking!) and no one could come close to finishing their meals!

After dinner we 'marvelled' through Times Square with all of its flashing lights and its incredible vibe!! If the Empire State Building took the cake - Times Square was the cherry on top!! :-) It was the perfect end to a perfect day!! :-)

Thanks Cindy and Chris - YO!! ;-)