Friday, 20th June 2014
Related posts: Paris 1 night, NY Day 1 and 2, NY Day 3 and 4, NY Day 5, NY Day 6
Today is our last day in New York. I woke up very early, around 6AM. Me and my friend went for breakfast at Cafe Metro, nearby the hotel. Surprisingly, the food was quite OK. Finally some decent food in New York!
From there, I took the subway to Empire State Building. I arrived around 8:30AM, just 30 minutes past its opening time. As expected, it was quite empty, save a few early birds. I quickly passed the security check and took the lift up to the observation deck on the 86th floor.
It was a clear sunny day and the views were spectacular. There were various historical information on the tower and photos of the construction phase. I was surprised to know that the 102 floor tower was completed in 15 months and officially opened on 1 May 1931. That’s quite fast for a tower of this height!
From the Empire State Building, I went to Tiffany & Co on 5th Avenue. Aliaa wanted me to buy a silver necklace as she said the prices of Tiffany’s in the US is much cheaper than anywhere else in the world. The price of the jewellery aside, I was quite surprised to find the Tiffany’s store is 6 stories high!
From Tiffany’s, I walked towards Central Park. I went for a stroll near the zoo. I didn’t have time to enter the zoo, so I only read the information panels and admired the surroundings . For a small zoo, they have a sizable number of animals being exhibited. From there, I took a cab to the Museum of the City of New York.
The Museum of the City of New York didn’t have a lot of exhibitions. I went to the museum mainly for the Timescape film exhibition that received high reviews on travel forums. The Timescape exhibition is a 22 minute film that shows the history of the city from the early days of early European settlement to its present day. I highly recommend the film.
After I was done at the museum, I took a cab back to the hotel. We asked the hotel to arrange for a private black car service to take us to the airport. They told us they have difficulty in finding a large enough car to fit all of us with our luggage, so we had to wait for a while. After a few minutes, our ride arrived. We were shocked to see the hotel sent us a white limousine! A fancy ride to end our trip in the Big Apple!
From New York, we went to London for a few days as we have another meeting with Transport for London (TfL).
Imran Jaafar 