The City of Dreams - April 4-6, 2019

For our hero and his lovely wife, this would be their second sailing into New York City and this time, it would be in the light of the day. The first time had them sail under the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and past the Statue of Liberty in the pre-dawn darkness. But it doesn't really matter, moving into that celebrated harbor and up the Hudson River, past that iconic skyline, is just as cool any time of day or night.

It was sadly the end of a long cruise made most enjoyable by a beautiful stateroom at the front of the ship, a room that it was hard to leave. The comfy bed, the beautiful décor and the abundance of space in this cabin, made the cruise a delightful experience. And as always, the attentive staff that serviced the room including the best butler that Gym and Mrs. Gym had ever had, helped this particular cruise shine brighter than some of the others. Inevitably though, the time had come to say goodbye to the Marina. So they closed the stateroom door one last time and descended to Deck 5 with their carry-on bags (the big stuff had been removed to the pier a few hours before).

Our intrepid couple had all day to disembark because they couldn't check in yet at the hotel they had booked. However, they weren't going to follow the color and number protocol for leaving the ship. They simply left when they got bored of standing in the lobby. Upon disembarking, they entered Pier 88 and its Custom's Hall to grab their luggage, breezed by  the U.S. Customs agent and subsequently,  they invaded the Big Apple.

This was to be the end of the cruise but thankfully not the end of the trip, as the plan was to spend a few nights at the Marriot Essex House Hotel, right across from Central Park. This was actually walking distance from Hell's Kitchen where the ship parked but moving the luggage would have been problematic, and so, Gym hailed a cab.

Originally, the goal was to see the play Hamilton during their stay in New York but after talking to some American friends two other options were presented. It turned out both of the recommended plays were in theaters located on the same side of 45th Street, just off of Times Square. The Ferryman and Come from Away were so close together that it seemed easy to buy tickets to both and giving our heroes an opportunity to walk through Times Square twice, on two consecutive days. Times Square is sort of like the beating heart of Manhattan's cheesy side, a definite wonder of the world in terms of colorful people and spectacles.

Come from Away was a feel-good play about the welcoming of planeloads of transatlantic passengers in Newfoundland, Canada in the aftermath of 9/11 when all air traffic was grounded. The Ferryman was a little darker play about an Irish family with an unfortunate connection to the IRA, during The Troubles in Ireland. The first play was a buoyant and delightful production leaving the traveling duo feeling good about humanity. The second play was delightful as well but as it was a Shakespearean Tragedy, so several characters got whacked at the end and it sort of left the patrons with a darker emotional experience. After some discussion though, both plays were a great investment in time and money and allowed for some nice strolls from W59th Street.

The intrepid couple also strolled into the Upper West Side on a couple of forays. These jaunts were usually connected to a search for sustenance. On one such occasion, the foray began north into Central Park and then west towards The Lincoln Center. The mission was to find a Mexican place that Gym and Mrs. Gym had eaten at before. When they found it, the line-up was so long they had to move on. As Gym got busy on TripAdvisor to find a suitable replacement, his lovely wife screamed, "Hey, that's Alan Alda" and Gym looked up to follow his companion's gaze to the back of a very tall and slender, white-haired man that had already passed by them on the sidewalk. Gym had to take his wife's word on this sighting. Eventually, after walking a couple of miles in a counter-clockwise loop and ending up back within a couple of blocks of the hotel, respite was found in a very decent little Italian restaurant where a good caesar salad and some delicious pasta filled the void.

The JW Marriott, Essex House is not a luxury hotel but it is a very comfortable older establishment and you just can't beat the location. We had a quiet room in the centre of the building and slept well on the comfy beds in the small but well-appointed room. The hotel has doors on both 58th and 59th Streets so, depending on which way you are headed, you can choose the most convenient entrance.
There is a very nice hotel restaurant on the ground floor facing Central Park. Breakfast was taken there each morning. On the final morning, a driver arranged by the from desk provided transport to Newark, New Jersey and the direct, Air Canada flight home back to Calgary.

"Mission Accomplished" on this springtime getaway. Our seafaring couple connected more dots on their quest to cruise around-the-world. They visited some new counties in Latin America and had some wonderful cultural, gastronomical and ecological experiences. They crossed from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the amazing Panama Canal. They hey visited several new countries. But most importantly, somewhere along the way they forgot about what a brutal winter they had just experienced and stayed warm the whole time.

Our heroine, has requested that the next trip be more of a "sit-on-the beach-type-experience" and Gym does what he is told. So in the fall of 2019,  Gym has booked some beach time in a surprise location. On the way there though their will be a stay in a city that will prove to have a few touring opportunities for Gym. Until then, stay tuned!

When you pass under this bridge you see Manhattan on the horizon.
The Verrazano Narrows Bridge is an impressive bit of infrastructure.

There she is, you never get tired of that thing.

Sailing past Wall Street

Steering into the Hudson River

A view looking over to New Jersey

This is a playground in Hell's Kitchen. It used to be a rough neighborhood
but now it is upscale, like everywhere in Manhattan. The ship docked only a few blocks from here.

And a few blocks farther east is the Theater District.

Before the second play our travelers grabbed a cocktail at the revolving restaurant on the top
of the Marriot Marquis at Times Square.  It was raining but still a great view.

Time Square at night

The famous NY hot pretzel.

Union Square is just two blocks from the Essex House.

This are typical shi-shi walk-up homes of the rich and famous in the Upper
West Side, one block off of Central Park, Near here Mrs. Gym spotted Alan Alda.

Carnegie Hall at night

The next trip should prove to be very interesting indeed. Trump has made it much more difficult to travel, especially when one wants to go back to Asia. Stay tuned!