NYC Day Three Saturday 29th September 2012

Day Three Saturday

Got up the next morning and dosed up we went back out to explore Midtown again, had a lovely breakfast at the Tick Tock Diner, I had eggs, home fries and bacon, home fries were not what I was expecting at all, a hash type mix with onions which was very tasty, Carl had grits with eggs and sausage, the service was excellent and the waiter was very amused with Carl ordering grits and was trying to talk him out of it, when they arrived he said he would replace them with home fries free of charge if needed, he was convinced Carl would hate them, we both tried them and found them similar to Tapioca pudding without the sugar, not bad but would not order again.

After breakfast it was still early so we did a bit of window shopping then sat in Greeley Square for a while until some shops opened, went in the Manhattan Mall, JC Penny's and Jacks 99c store.

 Had a walk past Madison Square Gardens and The New York Post Office Building, I was looking out for some Eagle statues that I had read about, these were rescued from landfill when they knocked down the original and very beautiful Penn Station.

We walked bast some grocers with lots of huge pumpkins and Squash, then went on a hunt for the location of Tin Pan Alley, found it but did not find the plaque I had read about, think it may have been under a hot dog cart.

 

Carried on down Broadway to Madison Square Park to the original location of Shake Shack, there were loads of Squirrels in this park. We ordered our meals and were given a gadget to take away, when the food was ready to be collected the gadget buzzed and vibrated so you knew.

 Our Shack Stack Burgers and fries, very nice with a bread crumbed portabello Mushroom and cheese

 Spot the Squirrel!

After lunch we carried on down Broadway to Union Square to see the farmers market, there were some great rainbow coloured Carrots and lots of lovely fresh produce.

 

Now it was time to use the subway for the first time, the map and guide I was using the most for this trip was The New York Map guide by Michael Middleditch, this was excellent and is very battered and dog-eared now we are home, however it got loads of use and was just the right size. I also used the Embark app a few times although the subway map was clear enough for most journeys without the app.

 

We went from 14th street Union Square to 59th and Lexington for our first subway journey, came out on street level and got my bearings, went for a little look at Bloomingdales, did not like this place at all, there had been a sale of some kind on at it was a mess, on all floors, like a jumble sale, expensive clothes hanging off hangers and on the floor being trampled on, people pushing and shoving each other out of the way, think we picked a bad day to go but are not into shopping much so got out of there quick, feet sore again so stopped for a drink at Dylan's Candy bar, had a Root Beer float for the first time, tasted a bit like our Dandelion and Burdock. Enjoyed a look around at the sweets but very overpriced and we were visiting Economy Candy later on in the holiday so did not buy anything.

Next stop was the Roosevelt Island Tram, a nice ride over the East River alongside the Queensborough Bridge with great views, a great method of transport for those that live on the island and we had a nice time looking back at Manhattan and resting our feet, watching lots of boats going up and down the river. Used our Metrocards for this.

After this we went back to the hotel for a rest, using the subway to get back was simple and we made good use of our unlimited cards over the week. That evening we went out for a walk around Times Square, went in all the usual tacky places, Toys R Us, M&M's, Hersheys, Found the Brill Building, walked up to W53rd and Sixth Avenue to find the Halal guys food stand, we shared a Chicken and Lamb combo Gyro with rice and pita bread and salad $6, this came with a mild white sauce and a very very hot red sauce. It was delicious and on the list for a revisit when we return.