This will be the last word on our New York-trip. Our last day in the Big Apple was lovely, the weather was great: bright sunshine with a light breeze, just perfect to walk around, to discover some more streets and nice squares and lovely parks. Bought our last things (you can really shop till you drop over here!) and then put our credit cards to rest. We took the underground to Jamaica Center and then the airtrain to JFK. We took a stroll in the tax free department and bought ourselves a bottle of eau de toilette. Which proved to be a problem back in Gatwick airport!! Because USA doesn't belong to the EU and therefore the fragrance needed to be checked in !! DUHHH?! How can you do that when the tax free shop comes AFTER the check in?! And why can you bring perfume with you when you come via Heathrow and not when you come via Gatwick? Beats me ! We were NOT happy! Had to go all the way back to arrivals, past the customs, then go back to check in, have one of our backpacks- which was handluggage- checked in, prayed for it to arrive safe and sound in Brussels, then go to the oversized luggage corner and handed it in. Sigh...what a hassle! anyway, we arrived well on time in sunny Brussels and all our luggage arrived at once and immediately! Cool! And that was the end of a superlovely week in an unforgettable city!!
We do have a few tips: never, éver go to the shop LAFNAC on 42nd Street, between Fifth Ave and 6th Ave ! The are almost right next to Zara. They advert in their window with very cheap prices, to get the customers inside but they don't do honest business ! They have very good and sleek salespeople, but it is a rip off ! Do not go there. We learned it the hard way!!
if you want nice breakfast "in style", go to Balthazar in Spring Street. Not cheap but worth it! And if you look for a nice lunch to take away or to eat right next to the deli, go to Gourmet Garage on the corner of Broome and Mercer Street, it is lovely!
And if you'd have a question or a doubt, you can send us a mail via this blog. Meanwhile, take good care of yourself and thank you for reading our blog. a big hug, Marc & Ann Take good care of
good morning everybody! Today was our "left-overs"-day: we went to change a few of our purchases. Had breakfast from Le Pain Quotidien (thank you Didier !) in Bryant Park which has a lot of chairs on the lawn, perfect for sunbathing, actually....perfect to just hang around there! And apparently they were making a movie there too, but we did not stay to have a closer look. We had a stroll down Wall Street, got some sunburn as temperature was at least 30°C today! Lovely! The Raging Bull came into sight again, this time completely "decorated" with schoolkids (!!!of corse, we met those again today!!!! ) who all seemed to be quite keen to touch his balls....ahum! beats me why that would be so lovely!!! Then we went off to Battery Park City to have a walk along the Hudson River. Ooooh, all very posh! Definitely the yuppie area and the more wealthy part of Downtown. But what's more: you have lovely views on Liberty - and Ellis Island! Aaaahhh! And perfect for biking ! (Didier, tip?) Then we headed back to drop off somestuff at the hotel and to have a stroll through NoHo, north of Little Italy. What a superdeluxe cosy neighbourhood! It goes without saying that this is a real shoppingparadise ! All kinds of small boutiques of designers and wannabe designers in a row, and they all had a sale! Cool! (a hard tragedy for our bank account though ! ) With the weather being so lovely it was great just walking along the streets, looking around to what there is for sale, what kind of "weird birds" you meet, etc. We like it here a lot more than for example Fifth Avenue, which is so packed with people who are all running into their own directions...very tiring! That is the thing about New York: you have the cannot be missed-sight seeings, but next to that there is something to discover behind every streetcorner, around every block. Of course, we were blessed with superlovely weather which made the picture complete and perfect! We had dinner in a very cosy restaurant (eum...that is, on the sideway néxt to the restaurant!) called L'Orange Bleu. On the corner of Crosby and Broome Street. Good food, very good food, moderate prices, moderate service but cute: one of the waiters is black and has half a penbox stuck in his hair. Probably with the temperature appeared his natural "speed", read: sloooooooooowwwww! And the waiters there have the strange habbit of putting your plate in front of you and then go search for napkins and cutlery! duhh! But hey, with a temperature of about 25°C at 22:00 hrs, who can complain? Unfortunately it is almost the end of a beautiful, sparkling, bubbling experience. We have seen a LOT in these 6 days, and for sure we must have missed still a whole lot! (we haven't visited ALL the shops yet!!!) MoMa, Guggenheim, Staten Island, a show on Broadway...a few things which we didn't do, but will for sure be on the list for our next trip! So for all of you who would like to go to New York: you have to see the Top Sightseeing tips, but definitely don't forget to go to Greenwich Village, to visit SoHo and NoHo, go to Battery Park City and don't forget to enjoy some free concerts in Bryant Park and take the weird bike in Central Park, for sure worth the ride! Tomorrow we'll be walking our last walks in the neighbourhood and will be heading for Brussels at night. Thank you for reading this blog and for our friends: see you soon! xx
Jéééééllooooh everybody! We woke up with a beautiful sunshine and about 22°C today, which has gone up during the day to 27°C...lovely, beautiful, great ! A hint of summer in our spring holiday ! aaaahhhhh.... We have been about everywhere today, had a walk to the end of Fifth Ave to get something from Abercrombie & Fitch.And I hàve to say something about this store: two handsome guys are at the entrance, dressed in A&F outfit, then you walk in - from sunshine into shade/darkness- but not before passing a half naked young man...at my age, that is "fainting" material!!! woohoo! But then: very loud music is torturing your ears, and on every floor the passage is blocked by a dancing (and very skinny) young guy or girl. Not only very good for the self esteem but also quite annoying when it is busy and these people ask "hey, what's up?" Why do YOU care?! Then you try something on...eum...I have seen many, many, many muffin-like people, not to say "fatso's", but they DEFINITELY DON'T go shopping in A&F !!! because their largest size is a Large, yes...right! About half my body and an arm fits in it!!! Duuuuhh! So...nothing to be done, we were "banned" to the men's floor. The loud music still banging in your ears and the smell of their perfume (ok, smells good, but quite heavy) ruining your nostrils, and along the way the dancing skinnies....sigh! NOT a shop for me, I'm too plain, too old, too boring for it. What a happy, cheerful thought to start your day with! But then we discovered Rockefeller Center, and the NBC shop, where we saw a hysterical T-shirt of a drawing of Ross, Rachel and Chandler with the sofa on the stairs: "pivot ! pivot! pivot!" hysterically funny as it reminded us instantly of our own Friends-episode when trying to move a dressoir to the first floor!!! We had a lovely lunch at a take-away deli around the corner: some freshly made springrolls with giant shrimp, avocado, carrots and salad and a very good sauce to go along. Finished with some fresh pineapple and strawberries...we are acting already like the Newyorkers! We had another look at Time Square...that is not to be "captured" by the human brain: billboards, people, people, noise, cars honking, ... As said before: quite Las Vegas-like, too many people, too much noise, too much lights and things moving ...Maybe we are getting old ?! One tip for those of you who'd like to come to NYC in May: you will be surrounded by classes and classes of youngsters, having their yearly trip to Rockefeller, Madame Tussaud's, Empire State, ...wherever we go, there are there too! But...we also "discovered" the most beautiful part of New York: Greenwich Village. Lovely, peaceful, friendly, quiet, beautiful...I could live there!(except...I'm not that rich and neither is my husband!) We sat down for a while along the side of the Hudson River (amazing that a plane has landed there!) and had a look at sunbathing and jogging and simply-hanging-around New yorkers (don't these people ever have to work?! Wherever you go, whenever you go there, there are always lots and lots of people on the move!!)After discovering that the Spotted Pig restaurant was quite full, we tried to find something else and...we did! A very good address in Greenwich/Meatpacking District is The Place on 310, West 4th Street (Didier, that is a tip for you, it is not really cheap-cheap but very good and cosy to sit!) And now, our feet hurt again like hell, our legs have shrunk again a few centimeters and we have no clue with what we will fill our last day (except for shopping of course!! This is a very bad place for shop-aholics, but at least we'll know what we'll be working for in the coming months!!!) Sleep tight and tatààà!
Empire state building and walk in the neighbourhood
Good morning all! Before I start with the reporting of our day, I'd like to tell you something about the American toilets... why, oh why do they all have to be open on top and open on the bottom?! And not just a small space of a few centimeters, I'm talking about 40-50 cm!! Why is there still quite some space between the door and the lock so that people who would like to take a peek can do so?! I DON'T LIKE THAT !!! I'd like to take a leak in all quietness and serenity, not making noise like the Niagra falls with the entire population being able to hear it!! And...if ever you'd go to Central Park, near Belvedere Castle and you are a man...prepare for an adventure! Just imaging you are strolling around the park and need to go for number 2 . Well, I can tell you: the whole world can witness it if necessary, coz the toilets over there don't have doors!!!!! Marc got into the toilet for a pee and looked straight into the face of a man, trousers at the ankles, arms on the knees, taking his time to do this thing. Oh my God!
Anyway, having said this, let's go back to today: not much to report, we had breakfast at Starbucks and visited the Empire State Building. I must say the organisation is really very smooth. The scare the living shit out of you by saying that "you're on your own at the roof", "you'll never make it without a map", yeah, yeah...cool down woman! We've been to Yosemite !! It goes without saying that it was fantastic, super, magnificent, beautiful up there! Just lovely and worth the money !! Afterwards we spend one full hour or even more in a shoe store, deciding what shoes to buy and waiting for the guy to bring them to us. Then we went to Grand Central Terminal, where we visited the Oyster Bar and had lunch there. I must admit though that what I had was not worth the price and I don't want to have any more lobster for a few months now !(as if I have it every day!) Blègh! The oysters were good, that is, if you like to have a chewable gulp of seawater in your mouth The Terminal is lovely, really very nice! We ran into a Korean/Chinese/Japanese couple that was getting married and having their pictures taken. Always good to see something like that! For the rest of the day, we walked around in the area of Broadway/Midtown Manhattan, had a lovely time in the sun in Bryant Park (just great!! I wish I was young again and living in NY!) Via Madison Square Park and the private park of the English area (Cramercy Park) we went back home by underground. Strange though, this tradition of giving the people who own a house around the park, a key to the park and make it thus exclusive....phuh! We went to the hotel, got changed and went into Little Italy for a lasagna and a pasta and were sitting next to two men from Tenessee...we had a very interesting conversation with them. Now back to bed and have a small rest for tomorrow. We didn't manage to get to Greenwich Village but that is on the plan for....soon!! bye everyone!
The early bird catches the worm..... In order to avoid long queing for the ferry to Liberty Island, we got up early, took the underground and got in the line.After a good half hour waiting (or even longer) we were admitted to Castle Clinton to buy our tickets and then had to undergo an airport-like control: belts off, watches off, if needed shoes off, all in a basket and through a scanner. And when arriving on Ellis Island the same procedure, this to avoid that the 20 fish that swam along would enter the island with something illegal in their pockets !! Oh dear ! It was very impressive to be this close to one of the most famous ladies of the world, and the view on Manhattan was stunning! Same goes for Ellis Island...it must have been quite an adventure (in the broadest sense of the word) for those thousands and thousands of immigrants who came here, hoping to set foot on and start a new life in America, which was not an easy thing for quite a lot of them who were turned back to their homelands. We took the ferry back to Manhattan, had a stroll down Wall Street, a closer look on Ground Zero (which is now filled with cranes etc for the construction of the Liberty Tower) and then walked in the Century 21 store....Oh my God!!! That is worse than sales in a shopping mall! I had heard from several people that you should not just turn around and walk out again, but "bite through" the first impression. And an impression it was!! Not really the place to be if you don't like the sales atmosphere like I do, but probably seventh heaven if you are fond of shopping and finding "treasures" for little money. But again: not for me! you have to make your way via ladies with rolling shopping baskets, crawling over them (the baskets that is!!!), pushing them gently aside or with a loud and clear "EXCUUUUUSE me"....sigh! After that shop, we decided not to come in here ever again (so hopefully Marc's trousers will fit as he was not allowed to try them on) and we walked on direction Pier 17. It was really nice here, with a beautiful view on Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge. And then decided to have dinner in the Bridge Café, the oldest bar/restaurant in New York. It appeared to have been a saloon once. Well...prices are not outdated, for sure! But food was delicious!And so was dessert of butterscotch pudding and breadpudding with caramel and scotch !! That needed a brisk walk of course, to burn some calories, so off we went to Brooklyn Bridge-by night again to take some more pictures and then again in the subway to head to the hotel. I have to make a small side remark here: I guess that my English is not understandable. What is so hard in "I'd like to have a room on the backside of the hotel, not the front side"??? Oh yes, we got another room (in order to be more quiet), two floors higher than the original one but ON THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING! Again: sigh.... guess I'll have to head for reception again... Have a nice day, we're on our way to Greenwich Village !
Today was again a "green day": a day in the park. This time in the most popular and known park of New York: Central Park ! The weather did not look too promising when we woke up this morning: it had rained overnight and the sky was very grey and there was a fierce wind. But that did not scare these globetrotters, so off we went. We had to get out of the underground a bit too early as there had been an incident (at some works on the line) so instead of sitting in the train, we decided to go for a walk. And we went to CP via Fifth Avenue.Yes, there we were: in the scenes of Sex and the City. Except that I haven't seen any Blahnik shoe store yet! We did find a very nice bookshop and bought a travel guide, the english version of the "Wat en Hoe in New York". So now we are "on track" again ! When we arrived in Central Park we first bought a map of the park. For those of you who still want to visit NY: do not do that! Because you can get a free map (a small version but who cares?) at the Belvedere Castle. We rented some crazy bikes and drove around the park. It took us exactly one hour, no stops, no nothing, just having a good workout with these vehicles. You can simply not call that a bike! Marc craved for his Merckx-version! Anyway, the park is really huge, you can't understand if you haven't seen it.Then we walked along, had a look at Strawberry Fields, at the Lennon mosaic, at Belvedere Castle, ...And as today was the "NYC Walk for Aids", there were a lot of things going on and a lot of people on the move. After some good 2-3 hours, we went back via 5th Avenue, did some windowshopping and had a Starbucks coffee. Then we decided it was time to have some dinner and we read in the book that East was a great sushi bar. Now...you must know that sense of direction is not my strongest feature. So instead of reading "East 44th Street", I read "West 44th Street", leading us straight into Broadway! But what a great surprise that was: looked like Vegas but different! Amazing and fascinating! Anyway, back we went to the restaurant on the TOTALLY other side of the street! Past 5th Ave, through Grand Central Station (very lovely in the evening, also very hot!) to discover that the restaurant had suffered a fire and was now redecorating....sigh!! but the paper on the door suggested to try someone they worked with: West Udon, only two blocks away. "Udon" seems to be standing for "bouillonsoep", we were the only white people in a room full of Asians but we ate our noodles and tempura shrimps with our chopsticks as if we never ever do anything else ! And now it is bedtime again, our feet are heavy, our legs need a good massage and our head need a noiseless night... Sleep tight all, tomorrow we will visit Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty, hopefully the sun will accompany us ! Bye !
Italië 2024
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