Lizzie and Scott

OK - this is going to be a LONG post! It will cover what we've been up to over the last three days, but will include a surprise at the end!

Yes, you can just skip ahead if you want to, but you'll miss all the fun we've had since my last update!

Day 2 - 22 November 2024

We started today with a walk along Central Park to find The Dakota building. This is a beautiful old residential apartment building that was completed in 1884, and has been home to some incredibly famous names including Paul Simon, Lauren Bacall, Rosemary Clooney, Rosie O'Donnell, Judy Garland, Jack Palance, Yoko Ono and John Lennon to name but a few.
The reason for us seeking this building out was because Scott wished to pay respect to one of the greatest singer/songwriters to ever live - John Lennon. He was, of course, one of the founders of the world famous and enduring Beatles! He was also murdered as he entered this building on the night of 8 December 1980!

Yoko Ono announced the day after his death that there would be no funeral, and some time later, scattered his ashes across the road in Central Park in an area that would become known as Strawberry Fields in tribute to the great man.
Leaving The Dakota, we wandered through Central Park to the Upper East Side.

Central Park is home to quite a few sculptures, and little hidden treasures to be found by intrepid explorers. One such sculpture was dedicated by a husband to his wife, and depicted the characters from Alice In Wonderland.

Of course, nobody can talk about Central Park without mentioning the squirrels. They are everywhere, and not the least bit shy!


Lizzie had never been to the East Side and my observations were that this area was not as classy as the West Side. It seemed to be more working class, whilst the Upper West Side is known for being the home of quite a few celebrities.

We wandered around this part of town for a little bit, before turning our noses towards the big city and one of Lizzie's favourite places! It was about this time that I started questioning some life choices as I realised just how big this city was, and the amount of walking I would be required to do! But, I carried on rewardless, like the trooper that I am. I'll gratefully accept any medals bestowed on me when I return home for my unwavering heroism!

And so we trudged on, rebuffing the countless offers of half price carriage rides around Central Park. And just like that, we found Lizzie's dream accommodation - The Plaza Hotel - you might know it from the movie "Home Alone". Unfortunately, there are quite a few construction works going on near the front of the hotel, so the only photo we could manage was around the corner at a side entrance.
Whilst we were admiring this beautiful building, Lizzie pointed out a peculiar stack of luggage in the distance. We went further in to the city and found the old Louis Vuitton building right in the heart of NYC!
I say it was the "old" building, because just around the corner on 5th Avenue was the "new" and slightly less impressive home of the fashion giant. I have no idea what the future holds for this building made to look like cases, but it would be a shame to lose such a unique building.

Just down the road, we found Trump Tower - we didn't stop...
Figuring we were now right "in the thick of it", we continued on to Rockefeller Plaza and found the sight of the enormous Christmas tree that is still surrounded by scaffolding as the workers toil to get it decorated for the big unveiling. Lizzie sweet-talked one of the workers and scored some bits of the tree for a keepsake - we'll see what Australian Customs has to say about that!
Leaving Rockefeller Plaza, we found this cool little van selling a variety of hot chocolate style drinks. The really neat thing was that they covered the lip of the cup with toasted marshmallow! I really wish I could describe this experience to you, but suffice it to say, I was in sugary heaven!
After that sugar hit, we wandered home for a rest before heading out again for dinner at The Emerald Irish bar. This place came recommended by our host, but was a bit of a disappointment.

All up, today we walked 12 Km! No wonder my muscles are aching!

Day 3 - 23 November 2024

So today was meant to start off with a bit of a surprise for Lizzie. Little did I know that I was the one that would have the surprise.

One of Lizzie's favourite movies is Home Alone. So I decided that I would take her to see the Home Alone house - you know, that beautiful two story home where Kevin and his family lived? My research showed that the home was actually in NYC, and only a 30 minute walk away! So, we headed off with me leading the way, promising Lizzie she would love what she was going to see.

When we arrived in the general area, I noticed the streets were very narrow, and certainly not the kind of residential street you would expect to play home to such a beautiful mansion. I had to grab Lizzie's phone to double check my directions and then I realised that instead of Kevin's home, I was taking us to the townhouse featured in Home Alone 2! And then, just to underline my error, the house was obscured by scaffolding!
Lizzie loved it anyway, and we both had a laugh at my poor attempt at finding the house. Apparently, Lizzie informs me (now), the house is actually in Chicago!

We wandered for a bit before deciding we needed to eat, and happened to find a great little bar called George Keeley. Yes, that was the name of the bar! It turned out to be a bit of a sports bar with a great, lively atmosphere. College football (NFL/gridiron) was playing on the big screens, and the crowd seemed to be predominantly college students with an interest in drinking and watching the game!

We had a couple of beers and some lovely burgers and onion rings. These set us back over $100 AUD, including taxes and tip!!!
Now, while I think about it, let me educate you - in America, it's not a "fillet" of fish, but a "fillay" of fish. Either way you say it, it's still fish! Lizzie enjoyed it, so that's all that matters!

Something else Lizzie enjoys is a celebration. Whether it be Christmas (her favourite!), Easter, Halloween or celebrating the harvest, any decorations immediately catch her eye. And New York is currently awash with harvest celebrations heading in to Thanksgiving.
We meandered home and had a lovely dinner of home-made spag-bog, but not before I managed to block the toilet! I hate America toilets! I am yet to visit the US without having a blockage. For those of you who don't know, their toilets differ from Australian and UK ones in that the bowls are full of water to start with and then dump this water when you flush. The pipes are also considerably smaller than ours, so it doesn't take much to get a blockage!

We tried every home remedy and internet tip to unblock it to no avail. I guess we'll cross our fingers and hope it clears itself overnight! Today's step-count saw us cover 8 Km.

Day 4 - 24 November 2024

What a day!!!

Firstly, the toilet's still blocked!

OK - so one of Lizzie's dreams has been to ice skate around the Rockefeller Plaza ice rink. We've spent the last 12 months learning to skate, and even bought our own ice skates!

I am so happy and excited to announce that today, Lizzie realised this dream and skated at Rockefeller Plaza!
I am so very proud of Lizzie for making this dream come true, and so happy I had the chance to share the experience with her!
After this little achievement, we went for another wander and found Radio City Music Hall all dressed up for Christmas. We'll be here again in a little bit to watch The Rockettes perform.
Then we took a walk back in to Central Park to find Wollman Rink, which is another dream of Lizzie's. We'll make this one come true in a week or so.
Being a Sunday, there were quite a few vendors with path-side stalls set upon throughout Central Park. This included quite a few artists who would sketch your portrait whist you sat for them. I was particularly intrigued by this one fellow, who really seemed to capture the likeness of the lady sitting in front of him. What do you think? I wish I had waited to see her reaction!
On the way home, we stopped at Target and bought ourselves a plunger - and when we got home I rolled my sleeves up and went to work on the toilet. I'm pleased to say that the blockage is cleared and normal programming is resuming!

This afternoon has been a time to get some laundry done, and as I type this, we are cooking a lovely beef roast for dinner. Lizzie and I are loving life, and would you believe, she has just discovered we have the Hallmark Channel set up on telly! I guess I'll be doing the rest of the sightseeing by myself as I doubt I'll get Lizzie out of the apartment!

Thanks for reading, folks. The next five days for us are spent on a guided tour throughout the city, and learning how to navigate the subway. Wish us luck! See y'all in a few days.

Scott and Liz, you are certainly getting around, you’ll need to buy more walking shoes, another 500 US dollars!A lot to see there, at least the Hallmark Chanel is a good excuse to sit down and rest. Great reading, keep it coming.xx

Fantastic review Scott, we can picture everything you’ve done so far. Looking forward to some sightseeing tips when we meet up with you
The toilets are annoying. Daniel and Victoria have plungers in each of their toilets! Go easy on the toilet paper in future
Peter has always pronounced it fillay!
Looking forward to your next post xxx

Bravo Bro. Nice roundup of your adventure. It was well worth the read and a good excuse to take a break from the chores I have. You are still able to laugh at you minor setbacks and/or mistakes and that will always make for a good discussion around the campfire in future years.

Amazing pics! Keep them coming. Glad you’re both having the best time xxx

Amazing, glad ure having a great time, Lizzie surely looks her " Dreams have come true" spoilt! Enjoy every moment of this adventure, and thank you for sharing.

Just a bit of an update - yesterday we spent on a guided tour (and the next four days) and by chance, the first half of the tour showed us exactly what we showed ourselves!

We saw The Dakota, where John Lennon lived; Strawberry Fields; Bethesda Terrace; and a few other spots in Central Park, then on to The Plaza hotel and the Louis Vuitton building.

Fun fact: the LV building looks like a stack of cases because they are renovating the building and don't want the public to see what they are doing.

Another fun fact: every second person here smokes marijuana. The city legalised possession of up to 3g for personal use, and it seems you can't walk a block without passing through a cloud of wacky tobaccy!

Scott wrote: ↑Wed Nov 27, 2024 12:20 am Just a bit of an update - yesterday we spent on a guided tour (and the next four days) and by chance, the first half of the tour showed us exactly what we showed ourselves!

We saw The Dakota, where John Lennon lived; Strawberry Fields; Bethesda Terrace; and a few other spots in Central Park, then on to The Plaza hotel and the Louis Vuitton building.

Fun fact: the LV building looks like a stack of cases because they are renovating the building and don't want the public to see what they are doing.

Another fun fact: every second person here smokes marijuana. The city legalised possession of up to 3g for personal use, and it seems you can't walk a block without passing through a cloud of wacky tobaccy!

Yep that's one of the things I hated about NY last year, you are perpetually walking through clouds of marijuana...horrid stuff.

Pete

What a moment Liz ice skating around the rink, your smile says it all. Not sure if you’ll be smiling when you try getting part of the Christmas tree through

Lizzie, you did it!!!!
Not only hands-free but also taking a selfie on the ice....
Now that shows real skill

You both are beaming with joy, NYC can just plug their Christmas lights into you two to power them up

Great you're covering so much ground (twice )

Which Hallmark movie should we track down 1st, Liz?