Day 18 | Arriving into New York
This morning we checked out of the Hilton Woburn with the feeling that there’s a lot more to do in Boston and the coast, even north all the way to Nova Scotia. Getting repacked we noted it was less than -5 degC outside but it is a beautiful clear start to the day.
We stopped in at a Paniera Bread at Concord for breakfast. They have the ordering terminals and we get our orders in. They come piece by piece except Angus’ (thankfully not his coffee but food). Turns out they didn’t have the bread for the order so basically just deleted it. All very apologetic afterwards but we’re on a schedule. Jemmz also had concerns her coffee wasn’t made with competence.
It is a long drive into New Jersey and to the Air B&B for the NY phase of the trip. There’s an arrival window of a couple of hours we’re aiming at and just following Karen (as we have dubbed the GPS) not knowing how on-track we are. The early part of the journey affected by the Boston commuters but then it is swift going. One thing is obvious it is every stars-and-stripes we see is flying is at half-mast in honour of GW Bush Senior whose funeral is today. He was laid in state in the rotunda in the Capitol where we stood the other day. Very sad.
Approaching from the north we have to first cross the Harlem River onto Manhattan and then things get complex but we’re trusting Karen. Before you know it we’re west-bound on the George Washington Bridge. Seems we’re lining up with the Holland Tunnel but then we don’t, and we’ve arrived at the Air B&B at Journal Square. We’re right on time for our check-in window, too. Got parking at the building next door, which was great.
Wow, the apartment is fantastic. We’re on the Penthouse level (that’s on the top floor). There are massive windows and we can see One World and the Empire State buildings across the river. Spacious and everything feels new. There are a lot of facilities here including a roof-top we can get to. We quickly bring in our bags and start orienting ourselves. One of the features here is the PATH train (Port Authority Trans Hudson) that travels beneath the Hudson to the World Trade Centre downtown or the 33rd St mid-town.
We go across to the station and get our 7-day unlimited passes cost about $30 USD and take the train over to One World Trade, where the amazing Oculus PATH station is. It is decked out with decorations and projections and Christmas pop-up stores (we’ve seen these feature in both Philadelphia and Washington DC).
We wandered out taking in the ambience of the memorial which is always moving. Then we checked out Brookfield Place where they are ice skating out the back and an amazing lightshow going on. Anyway, we decided to return as we were just trying out our passes.
Wondering about dinner options we thought we’d try the Uber Eats at the apartment after checking out the neighbourhood. Most of the restaurants close are Indian and we don’t want to venture far in the cold. So Uber eats for dinner involved a bit of Chinese and some local dishes.
Highlights:
Angus | Amazing accommodation in New Jersey
Rosie | The nice apartment with the view
O’Regan| Finding out the room in Jersey was a penthouse with my own room
McKay | Climbing out the bleached whale carcass – the Oculus
Jemmz | Seeing NY at night
O’Regan’s photo from the roof of our apartment.
