We arrived in Los Angeles mid afternoon, eventually checked in to our hotel (the cab driver took us to the wrong one!), did enough unpacking to get the kid's swimming gear out and then headed down to the pool :)
Tomorrow we are heading to Disneyland!
Monday, July 10, 2006
Around The World In 30 Days - Day 11 - New York
After a very late night last night we had a quiet morning before heading to Broadway and the Minskoff Theatre where we were going to see The Lion King.
Wow, what a great show! I was so glad we were able to get to see it - things like that just don't come to Dubai :)
After the show we did a little more shopping and then dropped into Planet Hollywood in Times Square for dinner. Then it was back to the hotel to pack!
Tomorrow we are off to Los Angeles :)
Wow, what a great show! I was so glad we were able to get to see it - things like that just don't come to Dubai :)
After the show we did a little more shopping and then dropped into Planet Hollywood in Times Square for dinner. Then it was back to the hotel to pack!
Tomorrow we are off to Los Angeles :)
Around The World In 30 Days - Day 10 - New York
July 4th - American Independence Day and Liam's birthday :)
We went wandering down to Times Square after a leisurely breakfast and hit one or two shops in search of birthday presents :) After a visit to Virgin Megastore and Toys 'r' Us we had a happy boy in our midst :)
After lunch we headed down to the East River to check out spots for the fireworks later that evening. There were people already camped out and the fireworks were still several hours away.
Not long after we got back to our hotel it started to rain! Thankfully it didn't last long because it would have been a disappointing end to a pretty good day for Liam. Ken disappeared for a bit and then came back asking us how long it would take us to get ready as he'd organised a 4th July fireworks dinner cruise on the harbour and we needed to be at Chelsea Pier before 6pm! It didn't take us long and we were at the Pier in plenty of time :)
The cruise was expensive but it was a great way to see the fireworks and we didn't have to battle crowds down by the river front. Best of all ... Liam had a pretty memorable birthday :)
We went wandering down to Times Square after a leisurely breakfast and hit one or two shops in search of birthday presents :) After a visit to Virgin Megastore and Toys 'r' Us we had a happy boy in our midst :)
After lunch we headed down to the East River to check out spots for the fireworks later that evening. There were people already camped out and the fireworks were still several hours away.
Not long after we got back to our hotel it started to rain! Thankfully it didn't last long because it would have been a disappointing end to a pretty good day for Liam. Ken disappeared for a bit and then came back asking us how long it would take us to get ready as he'd organised a 4th July fireworks dinner cruise on the harbour and we needed to be at Chelsea Pier before 6pm! It didn't take us long and we were at the Pier in plenty of time :)
The cruise was expensive but it was a great way to see the fireworks and we didn't have to battle crowds down by the river front. Best of all ... Liam had a pretty memorable birthday :)
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Around The World In 30 Days - Day 9 - New York
We did a bit more walking today but also experienced the subway. Not as good a system as the tube in London I must say. Still we worked it out and got to Battery Park where we joined yet another queue to get tickets for the ferry to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Islands. It was going to be an hour long wait in the queue for tickets (you can tell its summer holiday time :)) but whilst we were waiting a very kind lady gave us her tickets as the queue to actually get on the ferry was too long, and her party didn't want to wait any longer. She actually had given us five tickets and since there were only four of us, Ken found someone else in the queue to give the spare ticket to.
After lining up and going through security we eventually boarded the ferry and headed out to the Statue of Liberty. It is actually smaller than I imagined it would be. I have only ever seen it in pictures or on tv. It was a bit like seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time. It is such a tiny painting and not at all what I'd expected!
We had a wander around Statue of Liberty Island and took lots of pictures :) After the kids and Ken consumed hotdogs we headed back to the ferry. We missed the last one to Ellis Island but by this time the kids were quite weary so it wasn't a bad thing. We didn't have too long a wait for a train in the subway and it pretty much took us all the way back to our hotel so we didn't have much of a walk from the station.
Tomorrow is Liam's birthday so we will be having a quietish morning checking out some shops and doing some birthday present shopping, and then later we will head down to the river to catch the fireworks :)
After lining up and going through security we eventually boarded the ferry and headed out to the Statue of Liberty. It is actually smaller than I imagined it would be. I have only ever seen it in pictures or on tv. It was a bit like seeing the Mona Lisa for the first time. It is such a tiny painting and not at all what I'd expected!
We had a wander around Statue of Liberty Island and took lots of pictures :) After the kids and Ken consumed hotdogs we headed back to the ferry. We missed the last one to Ellis Island but by this time the kids were quite weary so it wasn't a bad thing. We didn't have too long a wait for a train in the subway and it pretty much took us all the way back to our hotel so we didn't have much of a walk from the station.
Tomorrow is Liam's birthday so we will be having a quietish morning checking out some shops and doing some birthday present shopping, and then later we will head down to the river to catch the fireworks :)
Around The World In 30 Days - Day 8 - New York
Today we put on our walking shoes and did some exploring of the city. Our destination was the Empire State Building via Broadway and Times Square.
During our travels we came across a theatre along Broadway that was showing The Lion King and since we couldn't get tickets to see it in London we thought we'd try here. We managed to get tickets for the Wednesday matinee session so we were pretty pleased about that.
By the time we arrived at the Empire State Building the queue to get tickets was 90 minutes long, then it was another 20-30 minute wait after that to go up to the observatory. We didn't fancy standing around in the hot sun for 90 minutes so we decided to leave it for another day.
We are not rushing to try and see everything each city has to offer otherwise it wouldn't really be much of a holiday. There will be other trips :)
During our travels we came across a theatre along Broadway that was showing The Lion King and since we couldn't get tickets to see it in London we thought we'd try here. We managed to get tickets for the Wednesday matinee session so we were pretty pleased about that.
By the time we arrived at the Empire State Building the queue to get tickets was 90 minutes long, then it was another 20-30 minute wait after that to go up to the observatory. We didn't fancy standing around in the hot sun for 90 minutes so we decided to leave it for another day.
We are not rushing to try and see everything each city has to offer otherwise it wouldn't really be much of a holiday. There will be other trips :)
Around The World In 30 Days - Day 7 - London/New York
We were up at 6am so we had plenty of time to get dressed and catch a cab to Paddington train station to catch the Heathrow Express. The cab driver we had thought we may have a wait at Paddington as it had been closed to the public earlier in the morning by the police. Not sure why. Thankfully it was open by the time we got there and we had a clear run all the way to the airport. We arrived with plenty of time to spare :)
For the next seven or so hours we spent on a plane so no real excitement there :) I did manage to stitch quite a bit on St Georges although I probably should have tried to get some sleep like the rest of my family! I was a bit weary by the time we arrived in New York.
After we'd checked in to our hotel and freshened up a bit, we went for a bit of stroll around Central Park, grabbed an early dinner and basically had an early night. We've got some more walking planned for tomorrow :)
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Around The World In 30 Days - Day 6 - London
We ended up going to the British Museum for our dose of culture and history :) I am not sure why but Caitlin was keen to go to the National Gallery and see some art. Perhaps next time we are in London I will take her to see it and the V&A as I don't think the boys were particularly keen :)
There was lots to see in the museum and it kept us all entertained for the better part of the day. It was then back to our hotel so I could finish packing while Ken took the kids and himself for one last swim in the hotel's pool.
Then I think it will be a light meal in our room and then an early night for all of us. Our flight to New York isn't too early but we still have to be up at the crack of dawn to get ourselves to Paddington train station to catch the Heathrow Express to the airport in plenty of time.
There was lots to see in the museum and it kept us all entertained for the better part of the day. It was then back to our hotel so I could finish packing while Ken took the kids and himself for one last swim in the hotel's pool.
Then I think it will be a light meal in our room and then an early night for all of us. Our flight to New York isn't too early but we still have to be up at the crack of dawn to get ourselves to Paddington train station to catch the Heathrow Express to the airport in plenty of time.
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