New York, New York!

Just for the records: it's our 64th trip to the U.S. and our 21st to NYC. The flight was uneventfull, plane half-empty, and we arrived on time. It only took us two hours from deboarding to our friends' place in Harlem by public transport, which is pretty good. Since we wanted to still buy some beer and breakfast items, we explored Harlem's 125th Street a little in the dark and it was unusually warm outside.

As always, NYC is wearing you out. It's like a sponge, absorbing all your energy. Feet are hurting from all the stairs up and down from and to the subway (escalators are unknown), not to mention the distances we walk in addition. Today we spent hours on the train to get from Harlem to Brooklyn and there to different neighborhoods. Only good thing is, that a 2-hour-train trip only costs $ 2,75!

NYC is crazy: there is always so much new to see, new attractions, new architecture, changed neighborhoods, and, time is always much too short and flying. Today was our "Brooklyn Day" and I still have to catch up with yesterday's pics, just loaded all down before we head out to Upstate New York tomorrow. Well, please, bear with me, it's late and here are only a couple of Manhattan pics from yesterday.

We started with AAA at Columbus Circle (pic above) - the automobile club – to pick up maps in the morning and continued to Times Square where we had to see a couple of new attractions, among them "Gulliver's Gate", a miniature/toy train world (pics)

More or less spontaneously, we decided to take profit of the superb weather and the fact that Governors Island is only open for one more week (then the season to visit is over till May) and took the ferry (10 Min, $ 2) over to this fantastic island, a former military fortress and training facility, now used as a recreational island with different gardens (among them our favorite, called "Hammock Grove" for obvious reasons - see pic!), environmental organisations, playgrounds, a promenade and gorgeous views towards the Statue of Liberty, the skyline of Manhattan, but also towards Brooklyn, where the Queen Mary II was anchored at the cruiseship harbor.

Back in the afternoon explored South Street Seaport (the former harbor neighborhood) with its historic vessels (pic) and on to the World Trade Center Site (pics) - which is always a special place.

Walked over to Union Square with its great farmers' market and took the subway back "home" to Harlem, to unload and dress up for our dinner with our friends working in the restaurant business, Magdalena and Michael. Met at a new Italian place in SoHo called Altesi and, so-to-say, ate the whole menu up and down, from pizza and pasta to artichokes and scallops, to salmon and chicken. Of course, with the fitting wines... A long and interesting day, which ended at about 11 pm.

Last pic shows the Southern-most tip of Manhattan - old & new.