Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: A Taste of the Deep South (2013)
Take the High Line
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| ABOVE: Ground Zero, May 2013 | |
Bruce was up and gone by 7am. It wasn't the first time that such an early-morning parting of the ways had occurred and I daresay it won't be the last. He was taking the American Airlines day flight to London Heathrow, followed by First Great Western's Night Riviera Sleeper train to Cornwall.
I
got up shortly thereafter. I was awake anyway and besides, I wanted
to be ready for an early night later. For the third day in
succession I had breakfast at Cafe Bravo, which was virtually empty
so early on Memorial Day. It was another gorgeous morning, although
still a little fresh at this hour. With the usual crowds nowhere to
be seen, I decided to have a closer look at the current state of
Ground Zero. The new One World Trade Center (1WTC, formerly known as
the Freedom Tower) reached into the clear blue sky, its clever
design featuring upward- and downward-pointing triangles making the
structure look both striking and beautiful to my eyes. At 1,776 feet
tall - a reference to the year of the US Declaration of Independence
- the tower had become the tallest building in the western
hemisphere.
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| ABOVE: The Empire State Building | ||
Following a brief return to the room to get organised, I walked to Wall Street Station and took the subway to 34th Street, where I managed to fend off numerous approaches from ticket sellers for the open-top bus tours to take some photos of the Empire State Building.
I then walked along some mildly run-down-looking streets towards the Chelsea district to see to some unfinished business from just two days ago. The original plan for Saturday had included a visit to an unusual and relatively new attraction: the High Line is a mile-long, elevated linear park running from 30th and 10th to Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District, built on the converted trackbed of the former West Side Line of the New York Central Railroad. Somewhat to my relief, this rather arcane-sounding facility proved to be incredibly popular, with people converging on it from all directions - and no weirdos among them! I walked the full length of the footpath in what was now very warm and pleasant sunshine.
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In due course I returned to the Marriott by taking the C train to Chambers Street, affording another view of the new construction at Ground Zero.
It was soon time to check out and catch a cab for JFK. I was very impressed by American's Terminal 8. I ate some lunch and enjoyed a glass of sparkling wine in the F Lounge and made my way to the gate in plenty of time to catch my short shuttle flight to Boston.
| BELOW: Some Memorial Day images of Kennedy Airport, Terminal 8 | |||||
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(Link to flight log in side panel)
On arrival at Boston Logan, I decided to walk to the Hilton via the bridge from Terminal A. What a nice hotel! Having been upgraded to the Executive Floor, I went to cocktail hour in the lounge and made the food offering there serve as a light evening meal. I had to pay for my glass of wine, however, apparently due to Massachusetts law! Back in my room, I watched the US version of the Antiques Roadshow for a bit, made my preparations for the morning and had that hoped-for early night.