A NY weekend - II

Today was Labor Day and a public holiday in the US.  This is the weekend that signals the end of summer for the locals and we had stunning weather all weekend -  in the mid-20’s - that we were determined to get out and about.  As much as I am looking forward to a white Christmas, I don’t know how I’m going to cope with the winter here and we are making the most of the outdoors while we can.

On Saturday we wandered around the West and East Village stumbling across a street art fair near NYU where we bought one piece to decorate our walls.    On Monday we took the subway to 53rd St and walked 50 blocks north along Madison Ave as we had heard it was a good walk through the Upper East Side.  I hadn’t been this far north outside of Central Park and it was like night and day to the West Village where we live.  It was very high end shopping the whole way.  Jimmy Choo, DKNY, Ralph Lauren – I lost count, and interest to be honest, as we wandered past shop after shop.  It’s a different life up there!

Ash had fun claiming some pieces of wood for one of his art projects at home from a dumpster outside a building site which he then carried through the Upper East Side – I wish now that I took a photo!

Sunday was my favourite day.  We had been planning this for a week or so and I was excited and keen to get out of the house in the morning.  We hired bikes at the shop nearby and rode along the Hudson River Park south to the ferry that took us to Governors’ Island.  In NY Harbor, this Island was once a Naval base and Coast Guard community with many buildings including schools and swimming pools.  These days most buildings have been left to fall apart, including one building the fire dept had done a test through and you can see the fire damage through the broken windows.   The return ferry is free and the Island is now a public park with bike paths all around it.  My idea of a lazy, quiet day relaxing in the park was a naïve one, as we determined as we queued for the ferry with hundreds of other people.  It is NY, a city of 20 million people, and it is free, and it is a beautiful summer weekend – of course it would have been busy!

We circumnavigated the Island and then as we arrived at the ferry dock we managed to cycle straight onto a departing ferry and crossed back into Manhattan.  What we hadn’t planned, but decided we had the time and the energy, we cycled up the East River to Manhattan Bridge, across to Brooklyn, picniced under the bridges at Dumbo and then back across the Brooklyn Bridge.  It was such a great day, the streets of Manhattan weren’t too scary with bike paths most of the way and we wore helmets, even though it is not the law here.   All up we rode for about 5 hours, needless to day I have a sore rear end for a few days  :)