Around this time last year, my oldest son announced that his wedding was going to be in New England in October 2019, so the family set about organising our trip.
First stop was New York. We had a good flight, as we booked early and got seats with heaps of leg room.
A minibus took us to near our Airbnb, where we dropped our bags at a Bagbnb – brilliant idea, saved us lugging them around until we could check in.
So, free from luggage, but a bit weary, we strolled over to Central Park.
We fed the squirrels and saw American robins and Blue Jays, and stopped for Bagels.
Revived a little, we then headed back and checked into our apartment, before setting off for an evening wander.
We found a great Italian restaurant, Pasta Lovers, for great pasta, salad and pizza, and taking our leftovers, we paid a quick visit to see Times Square, which was along the same street to our Airbnb, then headed back for some rest.
The next morning we decided on a good American breakfast of pancakes, yummm.
Some sights along our walks, I love the small old buildings huddled between huge skyscrapers.
We then caught the subway to the 911 memorial, where we were awed by the beautiful and touching memorial.
A white rose is placed in the names of each person on their birthday
The entrance to the World Trade center.
This image would have reflected the twin towers, a very sobering thought. 
The day was very warm, around 30°C, and muggy, so we decided to take the Staten Island ferry for some fresh air, while Pete and Jess visited the Museum.
So we walked down to Battery Park, and caught the ferry to Staten and back.
Some great views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, then just off the ferry, run round and back on for the return journey.
Back at Battery Park, we spotted some Monarch butterflies in the gardens.
After a cool beer, we set off back towards the 911 museum.
The museum is a startling timeline of events that day, something that our internet world allows in amazing detail now, but it is also very personal, showing glimpses of the lives affected that day.
After a sobering and thought invoking visit, we decided to take a short section of the High Line, an old raised rail line that was converted to walkway and garden after it had fallen into dis-repair, despite our feet hurting from all of our walking. A lovely patch of greenery above the city..
There were also sights and art work to be seen from this raised walkway.
We had booked tickets for the Rockerfeller Top of the Rock the previous day, so we caught the subway there for our sunset trip.
This is set at the top of the Comcast building, allowing you to walk around the top 2 stages of the roof. We did this trip rather than the Empire State building, as our tour book suggested it was quieter, less queues, and good views of Central Park. We were not disappointed, but some bad weather was closing in, removing the views as the sun set.
In the rain, we walked back to the apartment.
Thursday was forecast to rain all day, and with blisters on our feet, we decided to visit the American Museum of Natural History, catching the subway directly there. These mosaics are along the subway tunnel to the Museum entrance.
The museum is huge, so we started with dinosaurs,
and then some human history to follow
To end the day, we dined at West Side Steak House, for some delicious steaks, then we had tickets for The Jersey Boys Show, at New World Stages, an underground theatre with 5 stages.
The show was incredible, and we left singing Four Seasons songs…. Sherry, Sherry baby ♪♪♪ which were to be the sound track for the rest of our American trip, back soon…
Shardlows Highs 