New York City - continued further

Hot and humid today (Friday) and about to get hotter and more humider over the next couple of days..  Slow start this morning as I had a teeny weensy hangover.  Last night I had a nice dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant which included a glass of proseco and a glass of a tasty Sicilian red, showing remarkable restraint so I thought.  Anyway as I walked back through the lobby of my hotel I thought well I could have a nightcap and went to the bar and ordered a vodka martini (with a twist).  Well I was the biggest martini I have ever had, must have been close to half a bottle of vodka in it.  And then I met my new 2nd best friend, Alfred from New Jersey and a fine time was had by all, my other new 2nd best friend, the barman kept on topping my drink up so I have no idea how much vodka I drank, but judging by the way I felt this morning it was a lot. 


I have been for a walk along 45th street to 1st Avenue where the United Nations buildings are located.  I had some idle thoughts of maybe doing a tour of the UN buildings however when I got there and saw the length of the queue and how they were standing in the hot sun I decided this wasn't for me and my delicate condition.  I wandered up 1st Ave, stopping for a large Coke on the way, and made my way to the aerial tramcar that goes over the East River to Roosevelt Island.  The tramcar depot is next to the 59th Street Bridge made famous by the Simon and Garfunkel song "Feeling Groovy (59th Street Bridge Song)".  I also would have walked past the street that Flashy and Lady P stayed in when we were all last here in NYC in 2008.  I think that it was somewhere around 54th Street.


Roosevelt Island is in the middle of the East River and is quite small, it is about 3km long and probably 1/2km wide.  The island used to house NY's lunatic asylum and various hospitals but is now mainly apartment buildings with some offices and medical research facilities.  There are lots of parks and open areas and it has been set up as a bit of a model village.  It was quite strange there as it was very quiet and peaceful yet NYC is only a stones throw away across the river.  The aerial tramway is a large cable car and is part of the public transport system so I could use my subway metrocard to pay the fare.  I had lunch of a slice of pizza and another Coke on the island and a little sit in the shade in one of the parks.


I caught the cable car thing back to Manhattan and walked back through the West side district to my hotel.  On the way back I had a serious need for a sugar boost so I have had my 1st doughnut for the trip and delicious it was too. 


I meant to mention this before but it is good to see that the American dream is still alive and well.  I travelled by taxi from Berkley to San Francisco airport to fly to NY.  The taxi driver had been a refugee from Nigeria but had lived in the USA in San Francisco for about 30 years.  He was telling me about his children, his daughter was going to college in SF at one of the good universities there.  His son was studying medicine at one of the prestigious uni's on the east coast to become a doctor.  Still not many countries in the world where this could happen.


A couple of observations about NYC.  When I was here with Jon and Clair in 2004 one of the features of the city was the constant noise of car horns tooting.  When I was here in 2008 you hardly heard a horn toot (a new law had been passed banning the use of horns except in the case of an emergency).  Well the horn tooters are back in town, not as bad as 2004 but certainly more than 2008.  The other thing is the number of police around the place.  There are police everywhere, especially around the bottom end of the island around the World Trade Centre and the Statue of Liberty ferries. 


Deciding what to do for dinner tonight.  Might catch the subway shuttle to Times Square as I haven't been there of a night time yet and walk back and find somewhere nice for dinner or I might go to Bryant Park, there is a nice little outdoor bar there.