Trump Tower, Starbucks
Coffee … mmm. Actually, US coffee is foul (thick and insipid), but very necessary. After a whistlestop tour of Fifth Avenue my credit card is smouldering and my feet aching. Why do clothes look more attractive when the price is in dollars? And handbags, and shoes, and earrings …
Times Square, TGI Friday’s
The queue for cheap tickets from TKTS outlet in Times Square is around the block by the time we arrive. But even at full-whack the Legally Blonde matinee is a snip at $45 (£23) each. And so worth it! We haven’t stopped giggling since – though the cocktails may have something to do with that.
Outside, grid-locked yellow cabs jostle nose to tail across Broadway under the fluorescent glare of neon lights. New Yorkers and tourists throng the streets eager for Saturday night – but we’re yawning between mouthfuls, and decide to call it a day.
SUNDAY
World Trade Center, Ground Zero
It snowed during the night, so we get treated to Central Park dusted in the white stuff – and deserted at 8am, but for a few beleaguered joggers. Two hot chocolates later, we trek down through Chelsea, Greenwich Village and SoHo to the financial district.
It’s impossible to visit New York without making a pilgrimage to the site of the World Trade Center. Not that there’s anything to see: Ground Zero is just a big hole full of mud and cranes. The memorial is neither sentimental nor informative – and perhaps is better for it. Artist’s impressions of the future Freedom Tower adorn the hoardings under the advice to ‘reflect, move on, it’s time’ – a message of such simple poignance it defies the dry-eyed.
JFK Terminal 12, McDonald’s
Can’t believe we’re in Maccas, but when in the Big Apple (or an airport) …
We’re exhausted! After ambling down to Battery Park, we discover it’s far too late in the day to join the snaking queue for the Circle Line ferries out to Liberty Island. We settle for filling up our memory cards (Lady Liberty is surprisingly portly close-up) before meandering up Wall Street and past the Woolworth Building (my new favourite skyscraper, with its elegant green trimmings and ornate balconies). Then it’s a mad dash back to the hostel to retrieve our bags, and another manic cab ride out to the airport to check in. If I don’t sleep on this flight, there’s no hope.
MONDAY
Earl’s Court, TNT Towers
I didn’t sleep.
I have that wired, wide-awake feeling you get after a 24-hour bender. But it’s so worth it.
I had a wonderful weekend – and I’ve got the rest of my life to recover from it.
Bites of the Big Apple
First visit to NYC? You’ll want to see some sights. Choose wisely to make the most of your time …
The Statue Of Liberty
Give Lady Liberty (and the queue to, er, get inside her) a miss. Not only is the view from Ellis Island just as good, the museum about US immigration is fascinating.
Culture vulture?
There’s not much to choose between New York’s fabulous art museums – but whichever you pick will demand your time. Save the culture for a longer visit.
Top of the Rock
What’s more quintessentially New York than seeing the Manhattan skyline, including the Empire State Building, from on high? Whizz up to the Rockefeller Center’s observation deck for unsurpassed views – or go after dark to see the lights twinkling.
Off the tourist trail
Head across Brooklyn Bridge for a magical view of lower Manhattan. Go inside the phenomenal marble hall of Grand Central Station. And poke your nose inside the Chrysler Building’s imposing, hushed lobby.
Shop till you drop
Don’t believe the brouhaha: Saks, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Barneys are nothing more than giant department stores. If you’re short on time, go with a list in mind – Fifth Avenue isn’t the place for aimless browsing.
