Day 7 - Monday 20 November - New York

Had a busy day today.  Pete and I decided to go our separate ways today and do our own thing.

First thing, I went down to the NBC studios where they film their morning show from Rockefeller Centre.  Saw lots of people but not much else.

Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall

1251 Avenue of the Americas office building and fountain
1251 Avenue of the Americas office building and fountain

Construction of Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree and crowds outside NBC Studios
Construction of Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree and crowds outside NBC Studios

Ice Skaters in Rockefeller Centre
Ice Skaters in Rockefeller Centre

Flags at Rockefeller Centre
Flags at Rockefeller Centre

NBC Studios, Rockefeller Centre
NBC Studios, Rockefeller Centre

Golden Prometheus statue at Rockefeller Centre
Golden Prometheus statue at Rockefeller Centre

Christmas Decorations around Rockefeller Centre
Christmas Decorations around Rockefeller Centre

Rockefeller Centre
Rockefeller Centre

Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue

St Patrick's Cathederal
St Patrick's Cathederal

St Patrick's Cathederal
St Patrick's Cathederal

Next I caught the subway down to the World Trade Centre, where for $13.50 you can go up to top of the south tower. Had blue skies and the view was spectacular (although a little smoggy). Took a great 360 degree panorama from the top - you can actually go outside on the rooftop. They also have a simulated helicopter ride round the city.

World Trade Centre
World Trade Centre

World Trade Centre north building
World Trade Centre north building

World Trade Centre buildings
World Trade Centre buildings

Foyer of World Trade Centre south building
Foyer of World Trade Centre south building

Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges from WTC
Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges from World Trade Centre

Midtown Manhattan from WTC
Manhattan from World Trade Centre

Midtown Manhattan (panorama 1)
World Trade Centre North Tower and Manhattan

Midtown Manhattan (panorama 2)
Manhattan

Midtown Manhattan<br>Through all the smog
Midtown Manhattan

Woolworth Building and Municipal Centre
Woolworth Building and Municipal Centre

Model of Manhattan in WTC
Model of Manhattan in World Trade Centre

Model of Manhattan in WTC
Model of Manhattan in World Trade Centre

Liberty Island and Ellis Island from WTC
Liberty Island and Ellis Island from World Trade Centre

View W from WTC (pan 1)
View west to Jersey City from World Trade Centre

View NNW from WTC (pan 14)
World Trade Centre North Tower

Jersey City railway station (I think)
Old Jersey City railway station

Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges from WTC
Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges from World Trade Centre

New York (pan 5)
New York

New York (pan 7)
New York

Transmission tower on WTC
Transmission tower on World Trade Centre North Tower

After an hour and a half at the top of the World Trade Centre I wandered round lower Manhattan and the civic centre, then walked most of the way across the Brooklyn Bridge and back.

Woolworth Building
Woolworth Building

New York City Hall
New York City Hall

Municipal Building from Brooklyn Bridge
Municipal Building from Brooklyn Bridge

Municipal Building with gold statue on top from Brooklyn Bridge
Municipal Building with gold statue on top from Brooklyn Bridge

Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge
Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge

Midtown Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge
Midtown Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge

Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge
Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge

Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge
Lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge

Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge
Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge

Tower and suspension cables on Brooklyn Bridge
Tower and suspension cables on Brooklyn Bridge

Next caught another train up to Central Park and walked around there for a bit.

Horse-drawn carriage in Central Park
Horse-drawn carriage in Central Park


"The Mall" in Central Park

Bethesda Fountain in Central Park<br>Unfortunately most of the fountains in New York and DC were empty for the winter :(
Bethesda Fountain in Central Park
Unfortunately most of the fountains in New York and DC were empty for the winter :(

Wagner Cove, Central Park
Wagner Cove, Central Park

Dalehead Arch, Central Park
Dalehead Arch, Central Park

Ice Skaters in Central Park
Ice Skaters in Central Park

Then wandered back into town, zig-zagging my way through midtown, visiting Grand Central Station and looking at the shops before ending up at 34th St.

Chrysler Building
Chrysler Building

Grand Central Station<br>Bad lighting because the station is nestled in amongst much taller buildings
Grand Central Station
Bad lighting because the station is nestled in amongst much taller buildings

Grand Central Station<br>They had a laser light show being projected onto the ceiling but of course it stopped before I got a chance to get a photo
Grand Central Station
They had a laser light show being projected onto the ceiling but of course it stopped before I got a chance to get a photo

Clock in Grand Central Station
Clock in Grand Central Station

Had some Maccas to keep me going.

Ran into Pete outside Macy's (I only knew one person in New York City - what do you reckon the chances are of running into them?  Totally spun me out).  Went into Macy's but didn't buy anything.

Empire State Building
Empire State Building

Inside Macy's department store
Inside Macy's department store

After that it was mostly dark, so went across to the Empire State Building and went up.  Was utterly spectacular - lights of the city looked fantastic.

View S from ESB (pan 15)
View south from Empire State Building

Spire of Empire State Building
Spire of Empire State Building

Midtown Manhattan from ESB (pan 1)
Midtown Manhattan from Empire State Building

Midtown Manhattan from ESB (pan 2)
Midtown Manhattan from Empire State Building

Midtown Manhattan from ESB (pan 3)
Midtown Manhattan from Empire State Building

Outside of Macy's from Empire State Building<br>They were rehearsing for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade
Outside of Macy's from Empire State Building
They were rehearsing for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade

Empire State Building at night<br>In autumn colour scheme
Empire State Building at night
In autumn colour scheme

Walked back to the hotel after that to find a film production company filming a scene for a movie in our hotel lobby!  It's going to be called "Love the Hard Way" but I didn't know any of the stars.  They had a bunch of lights pointed at the windows which were lined with white paper - presumably to give the look of being daylight from the inside.  They also had this huge lighted globe in the area between the buildings of the hotel - maybe to simulate natural light?  Bizarre stuff! :)

They were filming this movie
Movie production outside our hotel
They were filming this movie "Love the Hard Way" in our hotel lobby!

Natural lighting ball for the movie production
Natural lighting ball for the movie production

Area between buildings in our hotel lit by natural lighting ball
Area between buildings in our hotel lit by natural lighting ball