Trip report DLR and NY

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Loving the trip report, keep the updates coming

 

[PrincessInOz]

Fantastic! Keep the pictures coming..!

 

[hjd0411]

Great so far! Loving your pics, too. Looking forward to reading more.
Thanks for sharing..!!

 

[cappucinno]

I am really loving the report too!! Great photos.

 

[Busy Busy]

Another fan here! I have a photo of my kids in that same aqua car in Toon Town.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

oooohhhhhhh...I want that Spock t-shirt [blue one for none trek's]
scissor paper Spock.......another trekie do I detect?????

anyway, I def want to go to DL now and do voyage of little mermaid....thanks for the great shots.....

Ka-pla!!

karen

Treckie, Big Bang Theory, Dr Who fan.... Think Geek website has lots of great T's and other great gizmos-postage to Aus is dear but (using couriers but you get it quick) so need to do a big order all at once to make it worthwhile.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Day 4 A somewhat unsuccessful day in LA (forgive us DLR)
Slept in late. Collected our included breaky from the little breakfast room and took it back to our unit to eat (simple but nice cereal, bagels, croissants, coffee, fruit). Rang the Mums as we had one in the process of purchasing a retirement home and one awaiting surgery so getting on by the time we headed out for the day. Took some daytime photos of footprints outside Manns as the shots with the flash didn't come out as well and I couldn't resist the following pic:

Also for those sci fi fans amongst us

Had planned to catch a Hop On Hop Off bus today but so late getting underway figured would then only have time for one route-in retrospect we should've done but instead decided to buy a Tap card and purchase an all day public transport pass (buses and subway). Had major dramas as it took our notes but kept rejecting coins and swallowing some. As it only took some values we were running low but in the end got it sorted-and calculated in the event only actually about a $1 out of pocket. I had took some info with me on what to catch where just in case so as bus #217 came past we hopped on. Bit worried we might have got it wrong as another tourist asked the driver if he went to "The Grove" and he said no-I wasn't confident enough to tell her-look I'm sure it does and she didn't get on. Anyway we stopped at the Grove as I'd read-we carried on though and hopped off outside LACMA as we wanted to visit the La Brea Tar Pits. LACMA was huge and looked worthy of a future visit if we have time in LA again. DD wasn't 100% this am-bit of an upset stomach so not up to doing heaps. We all really enjoyed the Page Museum here-some pics below. Outside the tarpits still bubble away.

Sculpture outside

A woolly mammoth skeleton

and audiotronic mammoth (not quite as good as Disney's but still very cute)

A bison fossilised skeleton

Dire wolves

A sabretooth attacking a gigantic sloth (also animated)

You can watch them work (Sat so no one today)

Me and a friend

Getting hungry it didn't seem far to walk back to The Grove which we did - could have spent the rest of the day shopping here-reminded me of Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast.

We also checked out the nearby Farmers Market but it was so big and crowded it was almost a bit overwhelming. We wanted to buy supplies to take back to eat and actually ended up buying some stuff from the brilliant chain in the US - Wholefoods Market which has lots of organic produce. Not too long a wait in the heat for a return #217 bus. By now it was closer to 3pm than lunchtime but we had some delicious fresh homemade ham and salad sandwiches and cakes and then made the mistake of sticking with the original plan-which was to go down to Santa Monica for sunset. It also seemed a waste to have bought an all day pass and barely used it.

The bus that went directly there left from Santa Monica Blvd so I figured we'd just walk down there-wrong. Even though it was late arvo it was very quiet, very seedy, tattoo parlours etc and we really felt uneasy and it was a much longer walk than I anticipated. We waited for ages and when a no. 4 came along which I knew (I thought!) went there we hopped on. Interesting trip through the suburbs and we went through Beverly Hills-amazing difference as suddenly sidewalks are lined with trees and thick green grass and flower beds and sculptures. Could have got off but time was marching on. Then the bus came to a stop in the middle of no-where really-the end of the line. I got it wrong-the no. 4 only went all the way on the evening service! D'oh! DH was getting testy. Luckily not too far away we could catch the express 706 (the bus I had been originally waiting for all along on Santa Monica Bvd). So we finally got to Santa Monica around 6pm. It was freezing down there and DD commandered my thin cardi I had stuffed in my bag. It was also really crowded-reminded us a lot of Manly in Sydney actually with a busy "party" mall lined with eateries etc and the beach. We walked down to the pier but didn't try to get into the fairground-see the crowds in the pics below. The beaches were golden and stretched in each direction and were busy with families. We liked the way they had wooden broadwalks through the sand down to nearer the waters edge. DD and I had a paddle-it was FREEZING and people were swimming of course. Wandered back up checking out the cliffs behind the beach and a row of beach houses on the beach with a freeway squeezed in behind them and the cliffs-noisy! Sunset was ho hum so no pics. Now the problem was where to find the buses to get home again-oops my notes didn't cover this and our mobile phone was rapidly running out of juice. We were all so cold. Couldn't find where the buses left from-directions sent us spinning in circles. Eventually hopped on a no. 4 again but knew we had to change somewhere as there was no way we were doing the walk the way we went after dark. DH is getting testier by the minute!!The buses air con was even colder than outside so shivering away DD and I scanned the timetable and yes-at our old friend the Farmers Market we could change to a 217 in a "safe" place. But of course bus 217 took forever to appear-there was heaps of locals waiting too-seems the bus that was due never turned up so had to wait 30 mins for the next one with everyone jiggling because of I gather unseasonably cold winds. Finally we made it back. Here's some shots of Santa Monica but really spent most of time getting there and back-not a clever move! (and I could have been at DL!!) I think it could be a good place to stay though with a party vibe if you didn't mind crowds and of course Venice Beach is in walking/cycling distance further along.

View of the cars

and the pier

The beach

and paddling

 

[Toy Story]

i am really enjoying your TR - looking forward to reading NY.

We will have a 12 hour lay over at LAX on our way home. The TA suggested we get a bus down to Manns Theatre, after seeing your photos I think that will be our plan.

 

[admel00]

This is great Wendy!! I love the pictures of the pier, it looks fantastic.

 

[kylieh]

Enjoying your TR! It's bringing back some great memories from our last couple of trips - I can't believe we're going to WDW this time! I'm starting to miss that we're not going back to DL and LA, and now I want to go there instead.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Hi Toy Story
It is a very compact area so you can see the stars in the pavement, Manns, the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars are held, the hand and foot prints, always characters about, the Hollywood sign from the raised balconies and a range of shops and eateries. Also a Disney store across the road!! (we spent more time in the NY one so can't comment on LA's but NY was fantastic) and there is a wax museum that in my researches looked very good as very interactive allowing you to pose with all the exhibits etc-I think it does get crowded though. I would have gone if I had more time. You can also catch lots of tours from here like movie star homes etc if you were into that (from friends trips they saw lots of hedges and roofs! but they say you do get good fun commentary and see some grand architecture) so you could easily spend several hours. Better than hangng at awful boring LAX (LAX has to be the WORST airport to have to wait in in the world).

 

[australiankaren]

Treckie, Big Bang Theory, Dr Who fan.... Think Geek website has lots of great T's and other great gizmos-postage to Aus is dear but (using couriers but you get it quick) so need to do a big order all at once to make it worthwhile.

Yes we love think geek......and you have now reminded me to place an order to be shipped to my hotel in 15 days....

so spock t-shirt here I come

 

[shushh]

Another TR. Yay!!! I just caught up and the photos of Disneyland is making me very excited! Thanks for sharing.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Catching up! You're braver than me. I would never catch pub(l)ic transport in LA.........











(says me who has no issues getting on public transport in SF)

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Being fairly reknowned for my love of organising limos to pick me up from everywhere, I'm not sure what came over me but when we were in LA in 2009 we thought it would be good to catch public transport to Santa Monica too. Hmmmmm, wouldn't do this again. It took over an hour on the bus, with many interesting and sometimes scary people hopping on and off the bus. I kept grabbing the kids tighter and tighter to me .

Needless to say, we caught a cab back to our hotel in Hollywood, that was the best 60 bucks I ever spent

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

KylieH, is this your first visit to WDW? You will adore it.

 

[Busy Busy]

Hmmm - maybe the scary public transport in LA is the reason that so many people there drive cars! Just sayin'......

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Actually the buses themselves were fine (though cold air con!) and had no issues with fellow passengers-see more wierdos on the trains here in Brissie and the "busy" roads were fine-just the streets of LA south of Hollywood Blvd seemed a bit suss-if you knew the area though they could be OK. Lots of locals won't walk in the Valley in Bris but we have always done so, no probs, only we do know which streets get deserted and best to avoid late at night. The buses in LA do take a while (but buses do everywhere)-but we enjoyed the scenery and seeing all the different nabes along the way. Wouldn't hesitate to use public transport again in LA and it was easy to use just would make sure I checked out timetables and route numbers better and knew the streets I was catching buses from on google maps first and stick to busier thoroughfares.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Day 5: Heading east
But first why do my pics post so big compared to most others?? Using photobucket. Any techo's out there let me know. Thanks. NB The days in NY are mostly a duplicate of a post I made on TA NYC forum.

Early start to the day (4.30am). The driver recommended by the hotel arrived early and got us to the airport promptly - only 30 mins that early in am. (Harry from All City Express. I took his card as he was so good for future ref as think he will do runs all over the area-have his number if anyone interested but not sure how many maximum passengers he can take). Thus we ended up with a couple of hours wait. The trip with V America was fine and a smooth landing into JFK but quite a wait for bags.

Caught a yellow cab from the official line but it was raining and the freeway was jammed so we all agreed he should rat run - saw some interesting views of Jamaica (I loved the Dutch-style houses) and Queens as we certainly twisted and turned our way around the streets and the driver entertained us with info on things we passed. We stayed at Chelsea Pines Inn on 14th st and we can't say enough complimentary things about this place and the wonderful owner-operators and staff. We got a good rate booking 6 mths in advance. Only downside the stairs. Each room is named for a classic movie star and has posters from their movies decorating the rooms. We were in the Lee Remick room (confess didn't know her but did recognise some of the movie names like "That's no way to treat a lady").

Outside of the hotel

and inside our room for 3 (bar fridge and bench and little table and 2 chairs behind us and ensuite)

After checking in we ducked out for a quick bite heading towards the Hudson River and came across Bills Burgers and Bar-ended up being pretty average burgers actually-but filled the spot and then wandered down to the river as the rain had eased. Saw our first very misty glance at the SoL (so hazy am not posting pic) and then walked a stretch of the High Line (railway tracks from the 1930's that were suspended above the streets and carried freight to the north of the island). This has recently been turned into a public walkway with sections being opened in stages and is a great place for a stroll. In the end heavier rain drove us homewards for an early night. Had grand plans to come back and walk the length of the High Line as loved how they have landscaped this and the views down to the cross streets but regrettably ran out of time-story of the entire trip-ah well. Next time.

The High Line southern end- note how the chairs slide on the old tracks.

Had a cuppa from the kitchen (help yourself all day until late evening incl. cookies) and just crashed.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Day 6: 4th July in NYC
Woke to a cloudy am so tossed up Brooklyn or Central Park and Central Park won. Breaky was included with our room so filled up on divine bagels and cream cheese (and vegemite!-I had never liked bagels-but obviously never had a real NY bagel before!), home made cake (they called it bread but we'd call it cake-butterscotch today), fresh fruit and good coffee we headed out. The subway was just a few metres away from the front door so bought our 7 day passes (very easy cw LA and later Washington) and 10 mins later arrived at Columbus Circle, at the southern end of Central Park.

Subway art-sewer alligator by Tom Otterness-he has cute sculptures everywhere.

We enjoyed a slow wander up through the park mostly along the east side following a rough route I had made so we didn't miss some of our "musts" like the statue of Balto, the Bethesda Fountain and the Alice in Wonderland sculpture. Spent too long watching squirrels too (novel for us). By now the sun had burnt through the clouds and it was a beautiful day. We were surprised by the rocky outcrops at the southern end of the park-expected more flat terrain and impressed with the great kids playgrounds. If my daughter had been 6 we would have never got out of the park! They also had great buskers everywhere with the music style suiting the mood of the environs and far enough apart not to overlap.

A squirrel in the southern rocky end.

and close up

Balto

Alice in Wonderland

The Belvedere Castle

Bethesda Ftn

View of the Skyline from the Great Lawn

Reached the Met which was open as it was a public hol. I had a number of galleries I wanted to look at and no interest in the Alexander McQueen show which is attracting the crowds (sorry-just not our cup of tea). I had planned to limit us to 3 hours to avoid museum overload but we ended up spending about 4 hrs - mostly concentrating on the
1st floor on the Egyptian galleries and the American wing and then on the 2nd floor some artists in the 19th and early 20C galleries and the Ancient Near Eastern gallery. Could easily have spent days and days here. We went up to the roof for the views-it has a small cafe and bar and limited seating. Grabbed a wrap to eat as still too full from breakfast to have a larger lunch in one of the cafes here as I had thought we might.

The Temple of Dendur

18C graffiti

A tiny dog from the Tutankhamen treasure

Sekhmet

Tiffany stained glass

View from the rooftop terrace

We meandered back across the park, busy now with families and sunbakers on the Great Lawn and down to the Lincoln Centre to pick up our internet ordered tickets for the RSC performance later in the week, thence to Columbus and called into the Wholefoods store in Times Warner to buy take away salads for dinner (we need this chain in Aus) and headed back.

Had a couple of hours rest and ate our light dinner at the hotel before jumping back on the subway about 7.45pm to the Hudson River walkway to watch the fireworks. I had followed advice posted on a travel forum and what we do locally-head up river from the official viewing spots and still get a good view but avoid the masses. We got out at
72nd and though people were gathering had a river railing spot and only light crowds. Took some spectacular sunset shots here.

Examples:

and fireworks of course (blurrier)

]

We enjoyed the fireworks though would be better if we could have heard the music too. We then shuffled in the amazingly heavy but very polite crowds (no pushing or shoving) back to Broadway and deciding subways would be packed hopped on a near empty bus. Got out in the Times Square area to see the craziness at night. Found a little cafe-no idea of its name and had tea and muffins before subwaying home-already officially loving NY.

Times Square at night