Today - another day of transit. Although there wasn't nearly as much time wasted this day. Before heading out of New York I ventured into Times Square. Now that was quite a sight.
Catching the subway to Times Square was no proble. I've figured the system out. One thing that I noticed (almost straight away) is that it isn't the cleanest service around. However, to the credit of the New York subway system services are quite frequent around Manhattan.
Times Square was impressive - very impressive. It looked much beter than the photos that i've seen on the internet. Times Square is intense. I should think that you really need to be there to feel the atmosphere - the size of the buildings, the flashing of neon signs, the chaos that make up people and cars. It's great. There are people everywhere, true hustle and bustle. I ended up taking lots of photos as it's something that is worth remembering. (Apologies for the sporadic explanation - it's really hard to describe).
I only had a brief look around as the hotel checkout as at 12pm (midday). I managed to venture into a couple of stores - the most notable of which is the Toys 'R' Us superstore - "The Centre of the Toy Universe". Yea, no exaggeration there... and i'm serious. The store is so big that there is a 50 foot ferris wheel inside the store. Crazy. Here, I bought a few toys for my nephews Matty and Danny also.
Before heading back to the hotel, I popped by the Visitor Information Centre. I grabbed a couple of brochures and took off. Don't worry it's all free, the NYPD (just across the road) won't be arresting me today.
There are quite alot of things to do in NYC. Especially when compared to Sydney and Los Angeles. There are bus tours, helicopter tours, stacks of landmarks and theatre. Looks like its going to be full on and choc-a-bloc when I return to NYC. I'm definitely considering a helicopter - tres expensive... but i'm sure it'll be worth it (problem is... do I have time?). Hmm.. that also reminds me - need to brush up on my French and German.
Moving right along: I checked out late and was not charged for it. Bonus! Then I ran into a bit of a problem - how can I get to Penn Station from Grand Street? See map. Hmmm... first option looking at Manhattan would be to change lines twice. Not so good - especially when hauling around luggage. So what did I end up doing? Have a look at the subway map and see what you would have done. I was impressed with what I came up with - i'm a genius! Have a think before reading on.
Considering the fact that I was lugging around luggage (assonance, anyone?) the number of transfers should be zero or one. Furthermore stations with disability support would be highly desirable, as they have elevators. So, I ended up taking the subway out to Athletic in Brooklyn (east across the river). Mark, you're a genius - yep. Haha. Anyways, the plan worked out nicely and that placed me at Penn Station.
Amtrack, the American national railway has electronic ticket booths. I went to a booth and picked up a pre-ordered ticket arranged by my cousin. Easy. America is great - lol. One thin that I noticed at the booth was that the carry-on baggage restrictions for all Amtrack services. Two bags maximum, smaler than 26' x 24' x 11' (something like that) or 50lbs. Oh dear. I was carring 2 bags of luggage and a backpack. So what I did was to shove my backpack into my larger suitcase and hoped that they wouldn't check. They didn't. Woohoo!
The train was the 3:52 pm service to Harrisburg, PA (Pennsylvania). It was on-time, full, and clean. Three out of three. Well, what can I say - it was a nice train and a pleasant journey. Although the train fell slightly behind schedule by the time I got to my destination.
Upon arrival I was somewhat shocked because my cousin Jaon and his son Matty was already waiting for me. I wasn't shocked because they were there on time, but I was shocked because they were waiting at the door out of which I disembarked. Strange co-incidence.
Today was a special day for my cousin as a surprise party was planned for him. This party took up most of the evening. Unfortunately he wasn't 100 percent surprised. He knew a party was coming, but luckily he didn't know that it was today. So a partial success.
One fact that I didn't know (and perhaps many of you don't know) is that there are a fair number of Aussies and Kiwis in Philly. So much so that there is an Australian Club there. There you go - you learn something new every day.
Times Square
Times Square at Night
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