New York, NY

I started off the day getting off the subway at Central Park West to see Strawberry Fields – the small tribute to John Lennon.  It is in the park, near to the building where he lived and was murdered. 

From there it was back on the subway to the Museum of Modern Art.  I am there for one thing only – to see Dali’s “Persistence of Memory’, but that floor is closed for renovations.  It’s Europe all over again!  I found a City Pass at MOMA which gets me into 6 attractions around town for half price, so I picked one up to use over the next couple of days.  From MOMA I walked over to Radio City Hall and to the outside of the Chrysler Building. 

From there I walked across town to the Hudson River to the USS Intrepid.  This is a retired navy aircraft carrier which is docked on the river and now serves as the Sea, Air & Space Museum.  I loved it!  There was heaps of information on the carrier itself but it was the space missions that caught my eye.  It was sad reading about the Challenger disaster from many years ago.  Also on the ship was the Iwo Jima statue of the 6 Americans hoisting the flag after the Battle of Iwo Jima.  Next to the Intrepid is another retired naval ship and a submarine, the USS Growler, which I took a guided tour of.  The submarine was way too small for my liking.  It made me feel very claustrophobic.  Having said that I am 6 inches taller that the limit to be a crewman.  I could think of nothing worse than being stuck under water in this tin can. 

USS Intrepid, New York

After the Intrepid I headed back across town to the United Nations Building.  Unfortunately it was closed in preparation for a meeting next week.  So instead I walked up to the Empire State Building (the 3rd attraction on my City Pass) and took the lift to the observation deck on top.  The view of Manhattan, both north and south, was marvelous.  Could also see right down the Hudson as well as over to New Jersey.  I had wanted to stay up there for sunset, but cloud cover killed that idea.  I took a ton of photos before heading back down.  I walked over to Times Square for a slice of pizza before heading back on the subway to the hostel at about 8.30pm.

View of Southern Manhattan from The Empire State Building, New York