an NYC NYE

And we thought the day before was big.... Up early in the hope of beating the crowds was the aim. Breaking fast in our (well its ours now as its the second visit) eatery/café next door to the hotel - the subway beckoned. Diving down into the dirty, gloomy tiled corridors ( as are most subways around the world) we navigated the ticketing system and journeyed downtown below town. Efficient system: really, really long trains (compared to home) full of a wide variety of people of all classes, creeds and mindsets (aka: characters). Popping up around the corner from the World Trade Center we joined the queue for tickets. This is what everyone does in NY. Stand in queues. Well the visitors do anyway. Generally the queues are sort of efficient and most of the big queues are related to security. The longer the wait - the more likelihood of a thorough security check being performed. This had a QWT of approx. 30 mins. This was just for ticket purchase. then we had a QWT of 10 minutes to get in and through the security checks and we were into the 9/11 Museum at Ground Zero.

This was as tastefully done as possible considering the subject matter. Very moving and would be well received by those close to the event and the consequences. Much better if it had not have happened at all of course. There is no doubt that there is now a huge industry booming (security) as a result of the stupid situation. The few hours were there was not really enough, however time was pressing as were the as were the crowds. Extracting ourselves from the our first of many presses of the day we then subwayed a few stops north for a walking tour of Grenwich village. Lunch in a traditional diner (complete with short order chefs) beforehand set us nicely for a 2 hour stroll around this Bohemian historically story rich part of town. From the gentry to Hendrix, the Friends apartment to the smallest house on the island. The locals make claim to many facets of the town. Vowing to return we rushed back uptown to get ready for the big night. Starting with a (free) return to the Top of the Rock the night was clear and we got all the snaps we wanted.

From here we also saw the ball go up in Times square. The security and the crowds were quite simply insane. All roads to the square were blocked off. Unless you had a pass or proof that you should be in the zone - you were turned away. Little did we know this beforehand as our restaurant was indeed in the zone. Needless to say we managed to penetrate it couple of times without either. Our fine dining diner was very enjoyable, however as they had two sittings ( no advice beforehand) we were ejected at 9:00 pm. People just outside were being frisked by the cops so we stayed in the zone and went up to join the party on 6th for a while. All we could see was a sea of people all looking at the temp tv screens showing the action on the stages set up in the square.

A full on variety show going on. After getting the vibe we left the building crowd of a million people(!!) and went to a pub to while away an hour or so. couldn't believed out luck. The pub wasn't busy at all. No one could get near it. So after a fun build up we grabbed our plastic party hats an hightailed it to Central Park. Passing on the way thousands of people queuing to get into the zone. Had they have got in ( which they wouldn't have - they would not have seen anything anyway). So while we stood on a hill watching the fireworks in the park they stood in a queue on the sidewalk watching... nothing. Yay to us.

So a stumble back through the crowded yet joyous streets to the hotel. Where we had a very confusing time getting back into our rooms due to access cards being cleared, stupid policies and a faulty door. Eventually collapsed into bed about 2:00.