Stepping out - oh my aching feet

Steph is still posting on Instagram so check: stephatkingscliff

Tue 7 Mar

Bought 7 day, unlimited travel cards for the subway and headed Downtown to the Greenwich Village area just to have a look around. The weather was a bit warmer but occasional rain meant we had to borrow an umbrella from the cupboard in the apartment. Ate our lunch in a nice little park then headed Uptown to Times Square. 7.1km of walking. Some touches of spring with flowers in the shops.

Steph got a bit obsessed with the dogs and walkers around the city - never got a good view of them though.

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Wed 8 Mar

A beautiful day in the city so we took the subway to Times Square again then walked across to 5th & 6th Avenues. We ate lunch in Bryant Park where lots of people were enjoying the sunshine, playing boules and table tennis, drinking coffee. Had a wander around Central Railroad Station. The interior design is breathtaking in its detail. I wonder if New Yorkers appreciate it.

Inside Central Station

View along E 42nd St to the Chrysler Building

Eventually walked around to the Rockefeller Centre and watched people ice skating on the rink there, then headed inside the building to enjoy our "Top of the Rock" adventure with tickets Myka gave us for Christmas. The view from the top 70 floors up is just amazing. All of the city is laid out below including Central Park and from the East River across Manhattan and over to New Jersey. Just incredible. Thanks Myka. 9.8km walked.

View south from the Top of the Rock - Empire State on left, Hudson River on right

View north from Top of the Rock towards Central Park

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Thur 9 Mar

Started the day taking the subway to High St in Brooklyn then found the path to the Brooklyn Bridge. Decided we could walk across and back. It is a fantastic structure considering it was begun in 1870 and finished in 1883. The number of people crossing it also amazing: on foot, bicycles and skateboards not counting the traffic below us.

Then took the subway up to Central Park where we sat down to eat our packed lunch then explored areas around the southern part of the park. The serenity of the park stands out mainly because of where it is. We eventually found Strawberry Fields and the John Lennon "Imagine" memorial. We exited onto Central Park West to look at the expensive apartments along this street. Started talking to a guy who grew up in Australia and left over 40 years ago to live in Italy, but has lived in New York for the last 3 years. He started remembering things from his childhood including buying pies from a pie shop in Yatala, south of Brisbane. He was shocked to hear that the shop is still open and still popular.

For those into the Rap scene, 9th March was the 20th anniversary of the death of Rap artist, Biggie Smalls a.k.a. The Notorious B.I.G. Madame Tussaud's had his mannequin out on the street so I had this picture taken. His real name is Christopher Wallace. Myka posted it on Instagram as The Notorious B.I.G. and The Notorious D.A.D.

FYI: the wax dummy is on the left

Our evening treat was going to see the musical, Kinky Boots on Broadway. It was a highly polished performance, great cast and orchestra. The music and lyrics were written by Cindi Lauper. We loved it. Great night. Great day. Over 15km walked.