Day Eighteen - Empire State Building

It was Kathryn's last day in New York before she heads home so we wanted to go up the road a few blocks and to the top of the Empire State Building.

Before we went thought Jo & I packed up our prison cell at the Latham "Hotel" and gladly checked out 3 nights early. We walked 2 mins to the glorious saviour of the MAve Hotel on Madison Avenue. They stored our bags whilst we went for breakfast.

Jo and I at the top of the Empire State Building

After some food and coffee, we walked up to 34th Street and the Empire State. It was $20 each to get in and to be honest I was sceptical about value for money here but once up the top on the 88th floor the views really are spectacular.

Looking North from the Observation Deck

We waited until today as the weather forecast was good and we had blue skies but it was windy up there! I wouldn't bother paying the extra $15 to get to the 102nd floor but we got some excellent photos of all Manhattan, New Jersey, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx from the observation deck.

Looking down at the bustling city of Manhattan

It was hard to get a good spot but some jostling for position all three of us managed to get some good shots of us and the view.

Once down on ground level around 1pm we headed up on the subway to Central Park for walk around and some more exploring of the city. We wandered around in search of food and Pret a Manger came to the rescue in the overpriced tourist area of the city. After a great toasted wrap, our feet were still too tired to walk so we all agreed that a cup of tea and a chocolate brownie would do the trick and also keep us seated for a bit longer.

Waiting for the 6 to take us south on the Subway

We took another subway back 'home' and Jo and I finally checked into our hotel - it's fantastic! Very modern and funky, the bed is super comfy (unlike the spring laden crap at the old place) and very clean. Absolutely perfect and absolute heaven!

Looking South down towards Wall St and south Manhattan

After downloading some photos for Kathryn we walked her to the subway and said goodbye :( It's been 2 years since I last saw her and not sure when we'll all catch up again but it was so great see her again and spend some time together I hope it's not too long before our next time.

Kathryn posing for pics at the Empire State Building

Jo and I had the afternoon to ourselves and it was pretty uneventful - I spent most of it at the laundry place washing and drying our clothes whilst Jo picked up some food and went back to our hotel to unpack.

It's so nice to be in a decent hotel room again that we stayed in, had a cheap bagel for dinner and enjoyed a few cold beers with the footy! Heaven!