Robot Claw

I woke feeling the weight of two very active days. Many said to me ‘take it easy’ on this trip, and I’ve really tried, but even my east days seem to consist of a lot of exercise!

I ate the remainder of yesterdays sub for breakfast before heading here:

It’s the United Nations. I wanted to once again visit the stamp counter, which had been closed for over three years due to Covid. After waiting in very hot sun to get through the multiple steps of security I was in… and had to wait a bit longer for the stamp shop to open 🙂

Unfortunately the stamp selection wasn’t as large as last time I was there, and they also weren’t selling postcards. I did have some on me (here’s a protip: always carry spare postcards just in case) but hardly enough for everyone. I’ll know next time.

Now I’m on the train in my private ‘roomette’ trying hard not to fall asleep as we travel along. I had fun in the city and I bought me and KLS some fun stuff but it’s a little bittersweet that summer is now coming to an end and work begins again very soon.

I guess I’ll look forward to our fall trip to NYC in only two months 😉

I’m in New York City for an end-of-summer mini vacation!

Today I did a lot of shopping, a lot of walking, and a lot of eating. It rained a bit before lunch, then got very hot and humid, so it was a bit of an uncomfortable day. But to this veteran of hostile climes, I barely felt it!

I’m here to visit two more observation towers, and todays destination was the Empire State Building. It opened in 1931 and was the worlds tallest building for almost 40 years, and still ranks as one of the tallest (and very likely the most well-known) buildings in America. People have been ascending to the observation level for almost 100 years now, and today it was my turn.

It wasn’t very busy, and I was able to enjoy at my leisure the many displays visitors pass through on their way to the elevators. These include extensive histories and historical artifacts, a curved ‘theater’ showing excerpts from the hundreds of films in which the ESB has featured, a section where King Kong himself looks through the windows at you as you pass, and a gallery of celebrities that have visited the tower over the years, only one of which impressed me:

And then I rode the lift to the 86th floor for some sky-high views of New York City:

The green patch in the middle is Bryant Park, and the black and gold building on this side is the hotel I’m sitting in right now! As you can see it was a bit hazy today, but the views from the outdoor observation level were still fantastic. If you look closely you can see three buildings disappearing into the clouds in the distance: these are all residential skyscrapers. Imagine living with views like this?

Here’s the view in the other direction (south) toward Battery Park and the Statue Of Liberty (which isn’t really visible in this pic, but I could see fairly easily from the tower). I’ve given these pics a ‘ye olde’ filter since there was a sense of history being up the ESB. It wasn’t my first visit, but I barely remember the other time 18 years ago and the full experience is a lot more professional and impressive now.

Of course they exit you through the gift shop, where I briefly considered buying Bernard this lovely King Kong stuffed doll, before coming to my senses and heading onto the streets again to look for dinner.

Speaking of food: here’s what I ate today! A turkey sub, two mochi donuts (from different shops) and a chicken kebab from the just-opened and new to America ‘German Doner Kebab’ chain. It was delicious!

Tomorrow: another tower. Stay tuned…