Pax Wholesome Foods on 51st and 3rd Avenue is a great place to have lunch in Midtown. There is a salad section, where you choose the ingredients, the type of dressing, and they will mix it for you, which is a concept we have not seen in Australia before. They have fresh sandwiches, and there other stores all over New York. I think they would do very well in Sydney.
We strolled down to the United Nations (pictured above), and did our bit for international relations by taking photographs for some Japanese people out the front, before passing through security into the lobby. Most of the rooms were closed today, probably because of the crisis in Georgia with Russia. It’s so 1980’s for Russia to bring back the Cold War isn’t it? Yes, the thought has passed our minds that we are in probably the second biggest target in the United States, and are going to the first, Washington DC, tomorrow. To top it off, there’s a hurricane in Florida, our destination after Washington. We do like this statue out the front though (pictured below).
Walking up 42nd Street we passed the Chrysler Building, and onto the New York Library (pictured below) on the corner of Park Avenue. “Louise in a library?” I hear you ask. It’s actually more like a palace, with marble floors, staircases, ornate wooden paneling, and painted ceilings. If Midtown gets too much for you, duck into the library, and don’t hesitate to speak to the groovy librarian (pictured below) if you need any assistance
New York is pretty hot in summer, so we descended into the relative coolness of the Grand Central Station Dining Level for some gelato from Ciao Bella Gelato. A word of warning though, the mint choc chip, tastes really minty.
It’s an 8 block walk to our hotel, but there is no need to walk when you catch the subway, and we were home in five minutes. Then it was time for Louise’s nana nap, because we were heading out to see the Broadway Show, "Boeing, Boeing" in the evening.
"Boeing, Boeing" was a hilarious comedy, about a man juggling three girlfriends who are all airline hostesses, however the arrival of the new faster Boeing jet has upset his delicate timetable in order to keep them all seperate. It was no surprise that the English actor, Mark Rylance, won the Tony for best actor in a play, because he was simply outstanding. Also starring were Bradley Whitford (West Wing), Christine Baranski (Cybil), Gina Gershon, Kathryn Hahn, and Mary McCormack who was hysterical as the german hostess, Gretchen. We had great seats in the first row, and they were so close we could of touched them (see below).
Well, it's our last night in New York, and we've had a great time. It's easy to get around town if you use the subway, just avoid peak hour if you can, and for only $25 for unlimited rides a week why wouldn't you? See the Downtown and Civic areas on the weekend, and definitely go to the Rockefeller Centre, and to the "Top of the Rock". Broadway shows are brilliant, and they should be on your must be on your to do list. The only way to see the Statue of Libery and New York Harbour is flat out, on the thrilling Shark jet boat ride. I know its a cliche, but I really do "love New York!"
Tomorrow we're catching the train to Washington DC, unless we get lost in Penn Station.
