Our last day here and the weather was much warmer than the last few days... up to about 16 deg C. On Saturday the temps stayed below zero all day so it was a nice change not to have to layer up so much and actually take off our jackets while walking around the streets.
Last night we went to a little south american restaurant right next door to our hotel. It was tapas style food to share and we were both really looking forward to it. Unfortunately I copped a huge chunk of the strongest blue vein cheese I have ever experienced and that ruined the rest of the meal for me... Jase liked it though, he was fortunate to only get a small dose of the killer cheese and wasn't deterred.
So after a so-so dinner we hopped on the subway up to 5th ave to have a look around. The shops were mostly closed but they still looked absolutely amazing all done up with their Christmas decorations. We saw some of the ice skating show under the huge Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Centre, the tree is decorated with a huge Swarovski Crystal star on top, and 5 miles of coloured lights... So beautiful.
We also caught some of a recording that MTV were doing of the Ting Tings, they looked very cold up on the stage and weren't really there for the crowd, only for the cameras.
After subway-ing back towards home so Jase could check his emails, we then decided to go back out to find somewhere local for a drink. We walked a couple of blocks and found this little club called the Slipper Room, we were told that a band were about to play, and then a dj was to follow, and the password was "patrick swayze". It sounded good so we payed the $5 and went in... A really cosy place with an eclectic mix of New Yorkers all waiting for the band to start. They were called "Bugs in the Dark" and sounded pretty good so we bought their EP for $5.
One of the bartenders took a liking to us, so when the bar (as they always seem to do) runs out of Canadian Club, he went into a mad panic. His search for a new bottle consisted of first standing on the bar to check what was on top... no CC there. Then he ran down this tiny staircase to the basement and was searching around for a while... and eventually he found it! As a result of his happiness in finding a new bottle, he poured us triple the normal amount, and finished it off with the tiniest splash of coke. Whoa. That last one was enough for both of us so we decided to call it a night. We had made some great friends there though... between our happy bartender, and some guy who we met waiting for the restroom, a lot of funny moments. (Jase can elaborate on that one...)
So, today we were both feeling a bit tired but still managed to get out and about by about 9. We first visited Bryant Park and watched the people ice skating (no funniest home video moments though), then we headed up to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building for a great view of the entire city and surrounds.
We walked from there up to Central Park, and checked out some of the touristy market stalls at the southern end. The wintery feel of the park was really peaceful, lots of squirrels running all over the place and lots of people walking dogs or hanging out. We walked all the way through the park to the Metropolitan Museum, which was closed today, so we went a little further up to the Guggenheim. We were both so tired by this stage... we'd had a late night and walked so much, but we had free tickets with our Citypass, so decided to check it out. The architecture of the museum is amazing, and we saw some more famous works from picasso, manet, kandinski, cezanne, van gogh, degas.... Very glad we went in but SO tired afterwards. Hopped back on the subway for the long ride home and here we are....
I had a quick nap which has refreshed me enough to go out to grab some dinner, but then it will definitely be early to bed tonight as we are getting picked up at 7.30 in the morning to go to the airport.
We are on standby with Air Canada to Montreal but the flight had 25 seats available this morning so should be fine. We pick up our hire car from the airport in Montreal and will drive straight to Quebec City for the next leg of our trip. I'm sure it's going to be colder up there so back to layering up for us!
Hope everyone is doing well and not missing us too much.
xx N.
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