Sunday in Central Park

Sunday 03/12/17

Despite the time difference and the ever present threat of jet lag (which I still don't believe exists) we got up at a completely normal time, got ready and headed out to do some exploring. Our first stop was the Empire State Building. We had a quick look around the lobby which has been the backdrop of so many movie scenes and then headed to the Rockefeller Center, another movie worthy location! Despite arriving before 9am the place was starting to get busy and people were already queuing for the ice skating! 

We stopped off at a few sights as we made our way to a TripAdvisor recommended bagel place. By the time we got there it was queued down the block and as I have absolutely no patience, we gave up and went to a nearby diner. What a mistake. For $30 we got an entirely underwhelming breakfast of pancakes and waffles.

Naturally I was absolutely raging so we made our way towards Central Park, stopping at the only other thing that could make me as angry as a bad breakfast - Trump Tower. We spotted the odd protestor but other than that we entered the building, had a look at the water feature and the tacky campaign memorabilia and then left. Donald Trump is the President of the United States of America, if it wasn't so tragic it would be hilarious.

This particular area is obviously geared towards wealthy residents and tourists alike. We marvelled at the shops but had no desire to do any of our own shopping! I had considered taking a "look at me eating breakfast outside Tiffany's" picture but there were so many other people doing it that I couldn't bring myself to do it. Props to the woman who literally spend 15 minutes standing with a bagel in her mouth while her husband took what could only be thousands of pictures of her!

I was however, feeling much braver when it came to the Plaza. Despite a multitude of signs that state only guests can enter the hotel, Rory and I slipped past the doormen, entered through the iconic rotating doors and found ourselves smack bang in the middle of my childhood dream. I can see why Kevin chose the Plaza as his New York base. The location is exceptional and the interior mirrors this. The layout wasn't exactly the same as the movie but most of the key features, the floor, the chandeliers and the overall luxury of the place haven't changed in the last twenty years. We had a good nosey around and feeling satisfied, if a little disappointed that Cedric didn't come to take my bags, we left and made our way in to Central Park.

We had planned on visiting the Zoo as it features in the Judy Blume  Fudge Series (Tales of Fourth Grade Nothing is a personal favourite) but with so much to see and do we couldn't justify it. Instead we set about exploring the park. It's surreal, seeing so many places that you instantly recognise from the many movies that have been set here over the years. We even ventured outside the park to the Dakota Building and saw where John Lennon was shot. Perhaps this was a little morbid but unilke the other groups of tourists, we refrained from talking a smiling selfie at the scene!

From here we stopped for a hotdog at the famous Gray's Papaya. I'm not sure why it's famous because as far as I could tell, it was just an expensive IKEA hotdog but who am I to question Matthew Perry in the movie Fools Rush In! Naturally we needed dessert so we visited Levian Bakery for a fresh from the oven and still warm chocolate chip cookie. 

Adequately sustainable we headed back to the park, got lost in the ramble area, saw dozens of fat grey squirrels and eventually made it to the Bethesda area. We even had a quick look around the museum of natural history, stumbled across a flea market, sampled some pretzels at a farmer's market and finally, exhausted and with aching feet, we made our way back to the hotel.

Despite intending to go straight back to the hotel, we had one last walk through Central Park where, in a city of millions, I bumped in to an old university friend! What a small world. I'm not sure what I expected from Central Park - it features in almost every New York movie and there were certainly some very beautiful areas, the Bethesda Fountain in particular but I have to agree with Rory who thought that the paved paths and occasional roads through the park took away from the wildness that we look for in a park. Having said that, I have no real complaints, apart from the lack of snow!

Back in the hotel we finished the day off with an excessive amount of niceys. That's right, Dunkin' Donuts sell 6 donuts for $6.99 and they also sell 12 donuts for $6.99. I might have been in special maths class but I know a bargain when I see one! This was washed down with Rootbeer and pizza and accompanied by a re-watching of Home Alone: Lost in New York. Perfection.