We’re in New York, staying at the elegant Algonquin Hotel near Times Square in Midtown Manhattan.
The hotel opened in 1902, alongside the Harvard Club and Yale Club.
It’s known for hosting the Round Table of Vanity Fair writers and critics in the ’20s headed by Dorothy Parker. The hotel has some lovely Art Deco features inside.
Yesterday we wandered around the Times Square area and had a look around Grand Central Station, which is really grand!
Today we had breakfast in a diner. I had French toast with bacon and maple syrup (yum!) and Jan had an egg, tomato and bacon sandwich with fried potatoes.
We then took the subway down to Battery Park, then rode on the Staten Island ferry to get some views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. We had a look at Wall Street, wandered through TriBeCa, then walked along the High Line. The High Line used to be a raised rail track, but has now been turned into a linear park. It’s a great spot to get views looking down along the city streets.
There are lots of NYPD around as President Obama is in town at the UN climate change conference. The traffic is crazy, not sure if that’s the usual NY traffic or made worse by all the visiting dignitaries.
It’s great to be in a place that has become familiar from novels, TV and films over the years. Now we know what uptown and downtown really mean!
