Finally, after years and years of wishing and waiting, I visited New York!!! It’s my dream city and my trip has but only etched the yearning to live there, deeper in my heart. I love the vibrance the city exudes. What more can I say than “I love NY”.
Our plan was to fly to Philadelphia, meet Siva and Malar and then drive down to NY. But thanks to a delayed flight we were stuck in Detroit for the night. We boarded the first flight to NY the next morning and arrived to find that our baggage had landed in Philly!!!
Thanks Northwest, for your prompt and accurate service.
But the little frustration over the lost (misplaced?) baggage could not dampen my spirits! We met Malar and Siva at the airport and drove on downtown. Siva kept pointing out every bridge on the way, telling me it was the Brooklyn Bridge and suggesting I strike that entry off my “Must see places” list!!!
We parked somewhere near the 46th & 2nd and walked down to the Grand Central Terminal. It reminded me so much of the Railway station in Chennai…ofcourse…. definitely a lot cleaner!!! We had lunch at an Indian food stall on the lower level (Café spice.. Malar and I had rumali roti with chicken tikka, Siva had biriyani and Jag had a combo meal) and then walked to the Ellis Island ferry ticket booth.
There was a snake like Q winding along the whole place and after standing in line for about an hour we decided to opt out and board the Staten Island ferry instead.
So we walked down to the boarding area for the Staten Island ferry and saw the War memorial on the way. We had a good view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. Once back, we headed towards Wall Street. We saw the Battery Park and the famous “Bull”. We took some pictures on Wall Street and then walked on to Ground Zero. Looking at the place brought back memories of the burning towers and it made me feel sad.
Our next stop was the Empire State building. After some photo ops we headed to Times Square. It was amazing! The lights and the life ….I can never forget. We dined at SBarro, shopped on Fashion Avenue (ok ok…. t’was at Kmart) and then headed back to the car. I was so tired it felt like my legs were threatening to break off. All said, it was a wonderful action packed day and all thanks are due to Siva and Malar for being our guides.
We reached NJ an hour past midnight and had a restful break at Sampath’s place. The next morning, Sampath drove me and Jag to Nalini’s home. It was very nice to see her after such along time and I am very glad we squeezed in that short visit in our otherwise tight schedule. We met Sundar Dinesh and Uma for lunch at AAchi’s and then just hung out at Sampath’s place watching Sathi Leelavathi for a couple of hours. Our next stop was Atlantic City. It was my first visit to a Casino and I enjoyed the glitzy feel of the place. We gambled at Trump’s Taj Mahal (tight fisted Jag only approved $27) and Bally’s and snacked on funnel cakes. After waving goodbye to Sundar and Uma, the rest of us drove on to Philadelphia. By the time we got there, I just had strength to admire Malar’s kitchen before curling up for a nice and restful sleep. The next morning (last day of our getaway) was very unlike the previous couple of days. We just stayed home and ate and ate…thanks to Malar’s egg +milk omelette: D, ishtu and veggie fried rice. On the way to the airport, we drove by Siva and Malar’s new home. It has a brick front and had a very nice and cozy look.
Later that day, we were back home with happy hearts and tired legs. Wow what a whirlwind of a weekend!!!
