New York New York

Well, here we are in the Big Apple staying in Brooklyn with Lindsay and Judi Harris. It is 21 years since we were last here and we are looking forward to the revisit. On our first day here, Lindsay took us uptown on the subway and oriented us to the subway/public transport system, Times Square, Union Square and so on. We now each have a weekly ticket which means we can go anywhere at any time, which is great. Lindsay also took us to the Dallas Ribs Restaurant for that quintessential American culinary experience - “ribs”. Dianne and Richard Woods’ son Arron (from Mildura) is completing some work involving the U.N. in New York and is also staying with the Harrises.

So far we have been to the top of the Rockefeller Centre, visited the memorial at ‘Ground Zero, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, been to Tiffany’s, been to a baseball game at Shea Stadium and Milton has walked across the Brooklyn Bridge with Lindsay.

The view at the ‘Top of the Rock’ is excellent (last time we went to the top of the Empire State) but we were a bit disappointed at Tiffany’s. We particularly looked at the sterling silver jewellery on the third floor with the intention of buying something for Judith. However, we were very underwhelmed by the design and range, even given that it is made by well known design houses. We also went to a jeweller, Aaron Faber, who is better known for contemporary jewellery and this was a lot better than Tiffany’s.

Milton is interested in Art Deco design and architecture, so when we saw the Fred French Building from the Rockefeller Centre we went down to have a closer look. While the exterior at ground level is obscured by renovations, the foyer is still accessible and is indeed very impressive.

After a great meal at an Italian restaurant in the heart of town, we all went to a rock musical on Broadway on Thursday evening called Passing Strange. This was an excellent show with a very tight band and first class production values. Although the second half was not as strong as the first, we all agreed it was an impressive show.

Friday afternoon Lindsay and Jude flew out for three weeks in Australia and Aaron flew out to London, so we now have the house to ourselves – not that that matters as we had a great time catching up with our hosts and seeing New York through their eyes.

Judith and Lindsay in Times Square.