First bite of the apple

My first day in NY was a great success! After sleeping like a monkey that had spent the entire day swinging through the treetops, I woke up at 8am to receive door locking and unlocking instructions from Donna before she left for work. I then spent a lazy two hours showering, organising, and generally getting ready for stepping out into the Big Apple for my first solo adventure. Preparation is everything!

Donna and Simon live on Worth street in Tribeca, and from there I walked down to the Brooklyn Bridge, which is just beautiful. Every few steps I was checking to see if I could see the Statue of Liberty, but it wasn’t until I looked ahead for a while that she came into view by surprise.

Statue of Liberty from Brooklyn Bridge

See - there she is! Way over there in the background! This was my first ever glimpse of her.

I traversed the bridge then came back to the island over the Manhattan Bridge, which is no where near as lovely, but did offer lovely views of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Brooklyn - how sweet it is!

Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan Bridge

I returned home for a water break, getting my first NY hot dog (with mustard AND ketchup thank you!) from in front of the court house on the way (they’re smaller than you’d think!), before heading out again, this time down Broadway.

That's my hot dog stand - the umbrella behind the car!

I saw, and looked in, St Paul’s Chapel and Trinity Church, then wandered down Wall Street to see the New York Stock Exchange. Back on Broadway, I continued down to Battery Park and, having seen the line up for the Statue of Liberty Tours, I have decided I will definitely be taking a ride on the Staten Island Ferry instead!

St Paul's

Trinity from Wall Street

Trinity Graveyard

Trinity graveyard

The New York Stock Exchange

I sat on a park bench and watched some street performers in Battery Park (there were four guys and they all took their shirts off – it wasn’t a hard decision!), and the meandered up along the shoreline before cutting back in to Boadway and heading home for a well earned 2.5 hour nap!

The Positive Brothers performing in Battery Park

My Donna is now cooking a delicious paella for dinner, after which we may head out for a drink. Huzzah! Day one in NY was fabulous. Tomorrow I’m thinking Empire State Building, Times Square, the NY City Library (where Carrie *almost* married Big!) and Grand Central Station! Double Huzzah!